Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Nicholas Baker
Contact via nicholas.baker@mq.edu.au
W6A 412
Wednesday, 11 am-12pm, Friday 2-3 pm
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
In 1348 a horrific pandemic struck the Eurasian landmass. The Black Death killed between one-third and one-half of the European population and threatened the collapse of Western Europe's glittering medieval civilization. This unit explores what happened next. Over the next four-and-one-half centuries, Europe experienced a period of dramatic and enduring change, out which many features of the modern, western world emerged. Beginning with the horrors of the Black Death, this era witnessed the splendour of the Renaissance, violent religious disputes and changes, the challenge of the new world of the Americas, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and closed with the bloodshed and upheaval of the French Revolution. Students will analyse the multiple and contradictory impulses that shaped Europe and it engagement with the wider world between 1350 and 1800.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Reflective Journal Blog | 20% | No | Weekly |
Document Analysis | 20% | No | 27/03/17 |
Short Paper | 20% | No | 01/05/17 |
Final Synoptic Essay | 40% | No | 09/06/17 |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%
Each week from Week 2 onwards external students will post a short reflection on the readings and lectures for that week to the External Students' Blog creating a semester-long individual Reflective Journal. You can find the blog in the Activities Block on the right-hand side of the page or/and immediately below the Unit Guide link. Each post should be around 200 words in length and should address the connections between the lectures, the readings, and the weekly theme. Ten posts will count toward the final grade, so students may miss one week without penalty. Students will receive brief feedback in the form of comments each week and posts will be graded weekly. The final post must be made by Monday 5 June, when the blog will close.
Due: 27/03/17
Weighting: 20%
A 1,000-word analysis of a primary source as an historical document: to assess and evaluate it usefulness, reliability and limitations for historians in understanding early modern European society and culture. This task requires applies the skills in analysing historical documents that will be practiced in tutorials to a previously unseen document.
Due: 01/05/17
Weighting: 20%
A 1,000-word paper that answers a historical question identified in the Document Analysis.
Due: 09/06/17
Weighting: 40%
A 2,000-word synoptic, reflective paper that synthesizes the material covered in the unit into a coherent, big-picture argument in an innovative or creative manner, in answer to one of three assigned topics. Students need to attend all lectures and complete all the assigned weekly readings to complete the essay successfully.
The text is required and is available for purchase from the University Co-Op Bookshop. It is also available in both hard-copy and e-version via the MQ Library.
1. The European World, 1500-1800: An Introduction to Early Modern History, ed. Beat Kümin, Second ed. (London & New York, 2014)
2. Students will also read a variety of primary source documents available electronically through the MQ Library. Due to Faculty of Arts policy, printed unit readers are no longer provided so students are expected to print out these documents and bring them to class in hard copy for close reading, analysis, and other activities.
The following general, introductory texts are available on Reserve in the University Library and are highly recommended for additional reading.
Euan Cameron ed. Early Modern Europe: An Oxford History (Oxford, 1999)
Johann Huizinga The Autumn of the Middle Ages (Chicago, 1996)
George Huppert After the Black Death: A Social History of Early Modern Europe, 2nd ed. (Bloomington, 1998)
Merry Wiesner-Hanks Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 (Cambridge, 2006)
This unit uses iLearn. All students are expected to have internet access and use of a computer. All students are expected to have basic computer skills (such as use of email, word processing, and web browsing).
Week 1 | The Medieval Legacy |
Week 2 | A Century of Crisis |
Week 3 | Renaissance |
Week 4 | The Natural World |
Week 5 | New Worlds |
Week 6 | The Sacred and the Profane |
Week 7 | Intimate Lives |
Week 8 | Reformation |
Week 9 | The Social World |
Week 10 | Leviathan |
Week 11 | The Scientific Revolution |
Week 12 | Enlightenment |
Week 13 | Reading Week |
A detailed, weekly schedule of lectures, tutorial topics and readings will be available to enrolled students via iLearn.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Written work must be submitted online via Turnitin. For instructions and information see the iLearn Student Guide to Turnitin http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm
All written work will be returned online. Weekly quizzes will be returned in tutorial classes.
Students who encounter difficulties in meeting the deadlines for written assessment tasks should apply for an extension via ask.mq.edu in advance of the due date. Students should familiarize themselves with the University's Disruption to Studies policy before submitting such a request.
Work submitted late without an extension will be penalized -2.5% per day. Any student who wishes to submit the assignment late without an extension must submit it direct to Dr. Baker and must be prepared to explain (in person) why the assignment is late. Assignments submitted more than two weeks after the due date will only be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. The last date that any late assessment task will be accepted for grading is Friday 9 June 2017.
Turnitin will not accept late submissions for this unit - you must contact Dr. Baker directly in order to submit any assessment task after the due date.
Students should familiarize themselves with the University's Disruption to Studies policy before submitting such a request.
Students can submit Disruption to Studies requests online via ask.mq.edu.