Introduction to Early Modern European History, 1500-1800

3 Units

Europe has not always existed. To find out who created it and when, this course will ask two fundamental questions: First, how did the geographic, linguistic, religious and ethnic characteristics of European identity develop during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? Second, how did Europeans in this period influence other parts of the world and vice versa? Through close readings of memoirs, treatises and chronicles, and discussions of secondary literature, we will explore the political, social, and religious history of Europe from roughly 1500 to 1800. Topics include: exploration and conquest; Protestant and Catholic reformations; witchcraft and popular culture; science and medicine; Atlantic Slavery; Enlightenment and Revolution. Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course.