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Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England

Module description

It has been said that the Reformation had a profound effect on England, because religion was intricately interwoven with every aspect of sixteenth-century society. But what precisely does this mean? What kind of Protestant nation was England by 1603? Are we sure that the Reformation was a success? In this module you will seek to answer these questions by evaluating the social and cultural impact of religious change on early modern women and men. An interdisciplinary approach is encouraged through engagement with literary and visual primary sources. You will be introduced to a wide range of primary material to encourage you to think about how theological ideas shaped the political, communal and artistic landscapes of contemporaries. No prior knowledge of the subject is necessary.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The period of the Reformation was a pivotal phase in the history of Europe, and not least in England, where the religious climate shifted radically under all five successive monarchs of the Tudor dynasty. In an age when religion was intricately interwoven with every aspect of society, the effects of religious change were felt by everyone, and as people struggled to come to terms with a new religious landscape England itself was reshaped in the process. This module explores the religious, social and cultural changes which took place in England under the Tudors, c.1485-1603. It looks at developments in theology and pious practice, the impact of religious change on the fabric of society, and the relationship between religious identity formation and a range of cultural media.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Understand the main themes in the subject, and to collate information upon and evaluate in greater detail those aspects of the module discussed in seminars, and especially those topics selected by the students for their essays
• 2. Trace the development of religion, culture and society in England under the Tudor dynasty, 1485-1603

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 3. Analyse the key developments within a specific historical period and theme
• 4. Collate data from a range of sources
• 5. Trace long-term as well as short-term historical developments
• 6. Understand and deploy historical terminology in a comprehensible manner
• 7. Handle different approaches to history in areas of controversy
• 8. Work with primary sources under direction from the module tutor

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 9. Carry out independent study and group work, including participating in oral discussions
• 10. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment

Syllabus plan

- Part I - Religious Change
o Henry VII: Church & Society and Religious Life
o Challenges to Tradition: Lollardy and Humanism
o Henry VIII: Political and Religious Change
o Edward VI: Reformed Theology and Religion
o Mary I: (Re-)establishing Catholicism, Continuity and Change
o Elizabeth I: Conformists, Puritans and Papists

- Part II - Society and Culture
o Society I: Gender and Social Change
o Society II: Persecution, Riot and Rebellion
o Culture I: Word, Text and Image
o Culture II: Music and Drama
o Tudor England: National Identity and Nation State

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

The re-assessment consists of a 3,000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

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

• Bernard Capp, When Gossips Meet: Women, Family and Neighbourhood in Early Modern England, (Oxford, 2003).
• Patrick Collinson, 'From Iconoclasm to Iconophobia: the Cultural Impact of the Second English Reformation', The Sternton Lecture 1985 (Reading, 1986).
• Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars (New Haven, 1992).
• Anthony Fletcher and Diarmaid MacCulloch, Tudor Rebellions (5th edn, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd., 2004).
• Peter Lake with Michael Questier, The Antichrist's Lewd Hat: Protestants, Papists and Players in Post-Reformation England (New Haven, 2002).
• Peter Marshall, Reformation England 1480-1640 (London, 2003).
• Beth Quitslund, The Reformation in Rhyme: Sternhold, Hopkins and the English Metrical Psalter, 1547-1603 (Aldershot, 2008).
• Richard Rex, The Lollards (Basingstoke, 2002).
• Alexandra Walsham, Charitable hatred: Tolerance and Intolerance in England, 1500-1700 (Manchester, 2006).
• Tessa Watt, Cheap Print and Popular Piety 1550-1640 (Cambridge: CUP, 1996).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1817

Based on student interest, the course may include screenings of one or more films portraying England under the Tudors. You will be invited to critically engage with modern media portrayals of the most enduring dynasty in the English popular imagination.