Unit name | Revolution and Theory: British Political Thought 1603-1689 (Level C Special Topic) |
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Unit code | HIST14001 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Reeks |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
HIST13003 Special Topic Project |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The seventeenth century has been described as a ‘courtly dance’ between the opposing theories of common-law ‘ancient’ constitutionalism and divine right ‘absolute’ monarchy. The intellectual backdrop of this ideological clash provides one of the central contexts to this century of revolutions. Close examinations of both the context and documents of British political history will allow students to see how key modern political principles – toleration, rights theory, and liberalism – developed through the political writings and agitations thrown up by the political turmoil of the seventeenth century.
Students will approach this subject in three ways. First we will examine the political history of the seventeenth century, examining how and why Crown and Parliament continually came into conflict. Second, by examining texts in political thought we will see how the opposing ideologies of both parties developed and changed in this context. Third, we will investigate the emergence of radical and revolutionary thought during the acute crisis of the mid-seventeenth century. An investigation of the radical sects, such as the Ranters, Quakers, Diggers and Fifth Monarchists, will allow for a deeper investigation of how political ideas emerge from certain historical contexts. This unit will introduce students not only to a range of well-known political thinkers, such as James VI & I and Thomas Hobbes, but also to a plethora of less well-known but no less important personalities, such as the prophetess Anna Trapnel, the Leveller John Lilburne, and the agrarian-communist Gerrard Winstanley.
On successful completion of this unit, students should have developed:
1 x 2 hour seminar per week
1 x 2 hour exam