HIST 840 National Memory in Tudor Britain
This course is a research seminar that explores the connected topics of national identity, the uses of history, and print culture in sixteenth-century Britain. It is about the history of history: the ways in which understandings of the then-past were created and understood, in political and cultural context. Emphasis is upon the printed products of that understanding, which includes "history" as usually understood but may extend into literature and even cartography/geography. The initial core reading for the first unit of the seminar ranges through the early-modern period in order to lend a broader context, but the emphasis of projects will be upon the sixteenth century. The principal aim of this course is to help students develop their ability to conduct a substantial piece of research based upon primary sources and deep immersion in historiography. The course begins with four weeks of common reading that is intended to introduce the current state of study concerning the course's topic. After that each student will present a selection of reading from that student's chosen principal source. The rest of the seminar will consist of preparation and presentation for peer critique of a formal research proposal, a detailed outline, a partial draft, and finally the finished paper.