Sex, Lies and Gossip Women in Medieval England
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST2044 | History | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- HIST2044
- School
- History
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
Later medieval England was a patriarchal society. Women were considered of great importance because of their roles as mothers. However, medieval women were also considered to be more passionate and sexual than men; they were considered wile and guileful and it was thought that they spent much of their time gossiping. Using a wide range of translated medieval sources this course will pose questions about how English women overcame and operated within these stereotypical preconceptions. It will examine women in terms of progression through their life cycle from daughters under the protection of their fathers, to the work available to single women, to married women and the law – mothers under the ‘protection’ of their husbands – and then to widows and the increased opportunities available to these women. In doing so, it will examine a number of aspects of medieval women’s lives from female piety to women and work, medieval attitudes to women and sex and the gendered medieval understanding of power and authority. The course will allow students to recover much of the essence of medieval life. Were later medieval English women merely disadvantaged or were they actively downtrodden within a patriarchal society? Further, it considers the extent to which the foundations of modern gender inequalities were established in the middle ages.
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002. Also available to exchange students hosted by the Department of History.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: Piece of individually assessed coursework
- 50% Coursework 2: Piece of individually assessed coursework
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
The course aims to provide students with an understanding of the social history of women in later medieval England; to provide an understanding of the historiographical debates surrounding the subject, and, through this, to develop the intellectual and transferable skills outlined below.Learning Outcomes
a. Knowledge and understanding. By the end of the module students should be able to:
•explain and interpret the evidence for social history of women in England between c.1250 and 1540 and demonstrate an understanding of historical context in which these took place.
b. Intellectual skills. By the end of the module students should be able to:
•think critically and imaginatively about the subject matter.
•identify and address key problems relevant to it.
•interpret primary sources critically.
•interpret secondary sources upon it and be aware of differing historical interpretations of the subject matter.
•construct coherent and independent historical arguments of their own.
c. Professional/practical skills. The module will develop students’ ability to:
•select, sift and synthesize information from a range of secondary sources.
•identify and compare key arguments in those materials.
•plan, research and write up sustained pieces of historical research.
•use IT to access historical sources and information
d. Transferable skills. The module will also develop students’ ability:
•undertake research projects
•manage a large and disparate body of information
•develop oral and written communication skills
•work and learn actively with others
•manage and take responsibility for their own learning