Module HIST30V3: Baroque Rome, Portrait of a Court Capital

Department: History

HIST30V3: Baroque Rome, Portrait of a Court Capital

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least TWO level two modules in History.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to the history of Rome and its courts from the late-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth centuries
• To teach students to examine a variety of source material, including written and visual
• To develop critical acumen in considering the secondary material based on the sources.

Content

• In December 1655 Queen Christina of Sweden made her spectacular entry into Rome, under the triumphal arch newly-completed by the papal architect Gianlorenzo Bernini, with its universal welcome: ‘For a Happy and Fruitful Entry’. Rome was Europe’s premier court-capital, with the papal court at its heart, though with a myriad of satellite courts of cardinals and nobles. This module will look at Rome from the last decades of the sixteenth century to Christina’s entry. The module explores this vibrant period of new building, of palaces, fountains, squares and churches. Rome, the ‘Theatre of the World’, as contemporaries wrote - was a ceremonial city of court processions and public festivities, and a major tourist destination, with its remarkable array of buildings and art collections. Rome was a strikingly cosmopolitan court-capital with large communities of foreigners and a major Jewish community, and it was an international hub that attracted diplomats and high-profile visitors from Europe, Africa and Asia. It was also a place of intense street violence and popular politics, not least when popes died. The module will explore these themes using different types of sources, with an emphasis on visual material. We will look at contemporary images of the city, contemporary maps, its architecture, paintings and decorations. We will also use written sources, including guidebooks, travelogues, diaries, news reports and scurrilous satire. All material will be in English.

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of early modern Rome as a court-capital

• Challenging students’ assumptions about the past and reflecting on the nature of the discipline (and, where appropriate, interdisciplinarity) at an advanced level
• Appreciating how historical knowledge is produced, what forms it takes, and the purposes it serves
• Reflecting on students’ own historical consciousness and practice.

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.)
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals;
• tutorials either individually or in groups to discuss topics arising from prepared work, allowing students the opportunity to reflect upon their personal learning with the tutor.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources;
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling Students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge' research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay of not more than 2,500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography), submitted in Term 1. This will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Coursework essays are formative as well as summative. They are to be submitted in two copies, of which one will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Preparation to participate in seminars and tutorials. At least one oral presentation in each term, and at least two practice source/gobbets in each term.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University