Midterm Quiz = 10%

The midterm quiz will take place in your tutorials on Thursday, 3 October and will be based on the material covered between 3 September and 1 October. It will consist of three parts.

Part 1 is worth 30%. It consists of twelve multiple choice questions and one short-answer question.

Part 2 is worth 20%. You will be required to indicate 10 places on a map provided at the exam. You will have choice. This part will be based on our in-class examinations of maps of early modern France. The map that you will receive will be based on the one that appears on p. 11 of The French Wars of Religion.

Part 3 is worth 50%. You will be required to identify and explain the historical significance of five items (e.g. persons, events, institutions) in three or four sentences. You will have choice. Remember to answer these questions: Who/What? Where? When? Why? Clearly indicate which item you are identifying and do not write more than four sentences. Do not use point form. Aim to produce a succinct answer that limits itself to providing accurate and relevant information. Expert answers will relate the item to a larger theme of early modern French history.

Midterm Essay = 20%

Write an 800-word essay on one of the topics below. Superior answers will directly address the relevant question and will be based on a clear, well defined thesis statement sustained with logical consistency and by compelling evidence in the form of quotations from and/or specific references to The French Wars of Religion and/or Society and Culture in Early Modern France. The essay is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 3 October.

Review the guidelines for writing essays on pp. 3-4 of the syllabus.

1. Mack Holt believes that "religion was...the fulcrum upon which the civil wars balanced" (p. 2). In what sense, according to Holt, were these religious wars? Do you find his thesis convincing? Why or why not?

In answering this question, concentrate on your evaluation of Holt's thesis. How consistently does he maintain this thesis, and how compelling is the evidence that he presents in favour of his thesis?

2. Does Natalie Davis' analysis of poor relief and of urban women support or challenge Mack Holt's approach to the religious divisions in sixteenth-century French society? Base your answer on a thorough analysis of Chapters 2 and 3 of Society and Culture in Early Modern France and on a comparison of these chapters with relevant aspects of The French Wars of Religion.

3. How effective or successful is Natalie Davis as an historian? Base your answer on an analysis of three of the essays (chapters) in Society and Culture in Early Modern France assigned for reading in our course.

To answer this question you must carry out a critical evaluation of Davis' essays. A critical evaluation is a response or reaction, based on intelligent judgment, to a text or texts. It is not a summary of the contents of a text. As you formulate your answer to this essay question, develop your evidence and analysis by asking yourself questions such as: What are the strengths and/or weaknesses of Davis' essays? Does Davis delineate a clear purpose in her essays? Does she accomplish what she sets out to do? Do the essays have a thesis? What are the theses and how well does Davis prove them? Do you think the essays make an important contribution to its subject? Why or why not? Please note that a critical evaluation is not necessarily a negative evaluation.
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