Disaster and Wonder in Europe 1450-1750

This subject is not offered in 2012.

10 hours per week: total time commitment 120 hours

Admission to the honours or postgraduate diploma program in history or admission to a relevant masters program

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Earthquakes, fires, floods, plagues, monsters, and comets: these often disastrous signs of a disordered natural world were viewed as dramatic and disruptive in pre-modern societies, just as they would be today. People struggled to predict their occurrence, to deal with their after-effects, and to argue for their possible meanings. This subject will explore the different ways that disasters and dramatic natural occurrences were understood in late medieval and early modern European societies. In particular, we will explore the impact of religious and political change on the interpretation of disasters and wonders. Topics to be explored will be diverse and may include the 1666 Great Fire of London, the meteor that landed on the Alsatian town of Ensisheim in 1492, and the waves of plague that periodically swept across Europe in this period. We will examine a range of sources that reported and debated such events, including letters, prints, paintings, drawings, chronicles, broadsheets, pamphlets and books, and also assess the various historiographical traditions that have dealt with such material. In particular, we will be concerned with the ways that a burgeoning print culture across Europe from c. 1450 escalated public interest and debate in disasters and wonders.

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the role that disasters and wonders played in the social, political, cultural and religious environment in western Europe c. 1450 - 1750
• Engage critically with the various sources and historiographical traditions that concerning disasters and wonders in past societies
• Demonstrate skills in research and analysis, as well as written and verbal communication, through written assignments and a class presentation

A seminar presentation leading to a short written assignment of 1,500 words, 25% (to be submitted within one week of the presentation. Presentation dates to be agreed in week one). A research essay of 3,500 words, 75% (due at the end of semester).

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to pass this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 2% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A reader will be available

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who complete this subject should be able to:

• show critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, essay writing and classroom discussion
• demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources
• demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural contexts of knowledge
• demonstrate writing skills through conducting a discussion and constructing an argument in clear prose.