Course Catalogue

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This course is an examination of the history of feminism as an idea and a movement in Europe, the preconditions for its emergence, the circumstances in which feminists formulated their ideas and their actions, and the variety of ways in which women challenged ideologies, systems and institutions which excluded or subordinated them between the French Revolution and the Women's Liberation Movement. We will explore the legal, economic and social position of European women, women's responses to their objective status and the ideological and practical responses by those seeking to change this

This course is taught twice weekly as scheduled in MyCampus

Successful completion of third year honours

None

N/A

Two essays, each 2,000 words in length worth 20% each - 40%

Two seminar papers (2 x 20 minute oral presentations) together worth 10%

2 x 2 hourly examinations in the April/May diet, together worth 50%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ prepare students for independent and original analysis of a complex range of evidence, including source materials, thereby developing intellectual skills which will be of benefit in a wide range of careers.

■ show students how a professional historian works.

■ familiarise students, through source-criticism, with a wide range of problems of interpretation arising from different usages of language, underlying meanings and intentions, differing standards of objectivity, and the variety of purpose and intent associated with historical evidence (written, visual or other).

■ ensure, through student-led discussion, that the relative validity of alternative historical interpretations is fully recognised.

■ encourage students to develop the confidence, imagination, skills and self-discipline required to master a similarly demanding brief in the future, whether in historical research, or in any sphere of employment where these qualities are valuable.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify the debates about the nature of woman in this period and understand, compare and contrast the diverse ideologies and discourses informing women's position and experience;

■ describe the objective position of women in a variety of European states across the time period and identify and explain moments of change and their causes.

■ identify the variety of ways in which women across Europe understood and interpreted their experience and the ways in which they sought to change this; in other words, understand and demonstrate your knowledge of the variety of feminisms in this period.

■ critically discuss the main historical debates and interpretations on the position of women and women's responses in the form of feminist ideology and activism

■ critically engage with, discuss and contextualise primary sources; and distinguish between different types of sources (textual, visual, audio, computer aided, web-based) requiring different means of interpretation.

■ present research based on primary and secondary sources in the form of seminar presentation and discussion and in essays.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.