• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Europe 1650-1800: From Enlightenment to Romanticism

Module description

By 1750 educated Europeans were commonly describing their century as an ‘age of reason’ or ‘enlightened epoch’ as interest in the sciences, philosophy and rational religious belief intensified. But the late 1700s also saw ‘Romanticism’ develop as a reaction against the cult of reason. Romanticism generated a new concern for the individual, an emphasis on emotion, and a glorification of nature and the past.

This module investigates key political, intellectual, and cultural changes between 1650-1800, assessing the impact of enlightened ideas upon social, cultural, religious and domestic spheres, including the family, gender, medicine, consumption, crime and slavery. Later it explores Romanticism, and its relationship with reason, as it was revealed in literature, music, art and architecture, and in the philosophy and experience of revolution.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to:

• Draw on a range of primary source materials and case studies to explore the question of what was ‘enlightenment, who or what drove the new focus upon rationality and, importantly, who was it meant for? It encourages you to question the lived experience of ‘enlightenment’ across time and space, and also at different levels of society.
• Critically analyse the impact of the Romantic movement; with its concern for the individual, as well as its contributions to nascent national movements, and consider how important it was as a reaction to enlightened ideals.
• Develop your skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material
• Provide you with an opportunity to explore broadly the rich and fascinating ‘climate of ideas’ in early modern Europe, and helps you to develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised areas of history

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the main themes in the subject, together with a very close knowledge of the areas selected for essay and presentation work
• 2. Trace the changing nature of, and approaches to, the enlightenment in 18th and early 19th-century Europe

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Analyse the key developments in a complex social, cultural, intellectual, religious and political environment
• 4. Handle profoundly different approaches to history in a deeply contested area
• 5. Show an understanding of and deploy, complex philosophical terminology in a comprehensible manner

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Carry out independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
• 7. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
• 8. Present arguments orally, and work in a group

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The Scientific Revolution
• Defining ‘Enlightenment’
• Religion in early modern Europe
• Crime and punishment
• Slavery
• Gender
• Consumption
• Politeness and deportment
• Public science
• Medicine and the body
• Romanticism and ‘place’
• Science and industry in art
• Travel and the ‘Grand Tour’

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• M. S. Anderson, Europe in the eighteenth century, 1713-1783 (Harlow: Longman, 2000)
• T. Blanning, The Eighteenth Century (Oxford: OUP, 2000)
• D. Outram, The Enlightenment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
• W. Doyle, The old European order, 1660-1800 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992)
• J. Van Horn Melton, The rise of the public in Enlightenment Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001)
• T. Munck, The Enlightenment: a comparative social history (London: Arnold, 2000)
• R. Porter, Enlightenment: Britain and the creation of the modern world (London: Penguin, 2000)
• H. M. Scott, The birth of a great power system, 1740-1815 (Harlow: Pearson/Longman, 2006)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11328 
• Electronic Enlightenment database
• Early English Books Online (EEBO)
• Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)

Key words search

Enlightenment; Romanticism; Reason