History 223: Early Modern Europe (Fall 2014)

Schedule of Weekly Readings and Questions

Instructor | Office Hours | Syllabus |
Format for footnotes and bibliography: Second and First Essay and Research Assignment.

Students should be familiar with the following SFU policies and resources:

  • Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Policies
  • Academic Integrity at SFU.
  • Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism, Student Learning Commons
  • Course withdrawal under extenuating circumstances.

    Historians should be aware of what is happening today:

  • CBC News
  • BBC World Service
  • The Economist
  • History podcasts: BBC Witness, BBC History Hour, BBC History Magazine podcasts,
    New Books in French Studies (by our History Department's own Dr. Roxanne Panchasi) or subscribe at the iTunes Store.


    • Part 1: A Survey of Early Modern Europe

    Objective: to familiarize ourselves with a basic narrative of the essential themes.

    For questions click on the link for each class.

    T 2 Sept. Introduction; Cameron, Early Modern Europe, xvii-xxxi, 1-28.
    R 4 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 31-62.

    T 9 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 63-101.
    R 11 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 102-33.

    T 16 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 137-70.
    R 18 Sept. Quiz #1, preparation for Essay #1.

    T 23 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 171-205.
    R 25 Sept. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 206-30.

    T 30 Sept. Quix #2; Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 230-64.
    R 2 Oct. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 265-97; Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, 191-213 = "Philosophers Trim the Tree of Knowledge.".

    T 7 Oct. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 298-344.
    R 9 Oct. Cameron, Early Modern Europe, 345-374.

    T 14 Oct. Quiz #3. Preparation for Bibliography Assignment

    Part 2: Was the Reformation era early modern?

    Objective: To evaluate an interpretation of Early Modern Europe, in particular of the Reformation era.

    R 16 Oct. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 1-19; Essay #1 due.

    T 21 Oct. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 21-86.
    R 23 Oct. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 89-121.

    T 28 Oct. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 125-97.
    R 30 Oct. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 202-45.

    T 4 Nov. Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe, 252-301; Bibliography Assignments Due
    R 6 Nov. Quiz #4. Discussion of topics 1 and 2 for Essay #2.

    Part 3: The End of Early Modern Europe?

    Objective: to determine, through an examination of different social groups, whether the Old Regime was on the road to social and political upheavals that would bring about its end.

    T 11 Nov. Remembrance Day: Class cancelled.
    R 13 Nov. Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, 9-72 = "Peasants Tell Tales"

    T 18 Nov. Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, 75-143 = "Workers Revolt" and "A Bourgeois Puts His World in Order."

    R 20 Nov. Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, 145-89 = "A Police Inspector Sorts His Files"

    T 25 Nov. Quiz #5. Discussion of Topics 2 and 3 for Essay #2.
    R 27 Nov. Essay #2 due