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Early Modern Things: Materials as Historical Sources

Module description

This course addresses a question often overlooked by historians: what were things made of? Finished goods have always been the centre of attention for the experts in material culture and long-distance trade, but they cannot be taken for granted. Breaking up different objects – weapons and textiles, coins and building, books and telescopes – into their most basic parts, you will discover the history of natural and human-made resources, a long story made extraordinarily relevant by their potential to be transformed into almost everything in many different parts of the early modern world.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to invite you to rediscover the materiality of an age and the meaningful cultural interactions it created. In fact, the seminars are designed to explore the use of resources from a global perspective and highlight the importance of alternative regimes of attention and non-western systems of production, as the discussion takes into account the significance of gold to the Aztecs and the procurement of timber in Japan, the employment of glass in China and the management of sugar plantations in the Caribbean Islands, for example. Each class concentrates on a single substance, such as cotton, saltpeter, and tin.

Artifacts crafted from these things will also be examined, thus approaching alternative evidence from the past and recognize the value of sources beyond the mere text. The course also includes a visit to two National Trust sites, that is, the Finch Foundry in Devon and the Levant Mine and Beam Engine in Cornwall: here, with the help of qualified guides, you will relive the extraction of metal ore and understand its manufacturing process, also acknowledging the economic benefits and the environmental problems related to the exploitation of these resource in the South West of England.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Understand and assess the importance of raw materials and strategic commodities to the social, cultural, and economic history of the modern and contemporary world
• 2. Work critically with a range of written, visual, and material sources relating to the topic of natural resource management

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 3. Identify the problems of using historical sources and compare the validity of different types of sources
• 4. Present ideas in both written and oral format

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 5. Conduct independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
• 6. Digest, select, and organise material to produce a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
• 7. Work with others in a team and to interact effectively with the tutor and the wider group

Syllabus plan

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

• Natural Resources and Primary Commodities
• Raw Material Diplomacy
• Global History
• Long-Distance Trade
• Labour and Work
• History of Technology
• Gender History
• Literary and Print Cultures
• Travel Memoirs
• Urban Life
• Health and Medicine
• Religious Beliefs and Practices
• Military Revolutions and Logistics
• The Renaissance and the Birth of Consumer Society

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

Basic reading:

• Bachmann, Hans-Gert, and Vollnagel, Jorg. The Lure of Gold. An Artistic and Cultural History
• Cressy, David. Saltpeter. The Mother of Gunpowder
• Freedman, Paul. Out of the East. Spices and the Medieval Imagination
• Goldthwaite, Richard. The Empire of Things. Consumer demand in Renaissance Italy
• Mintz, Sidney. Sweetness and Power. The Place of Sugar in Modern History
• Findlen, Paula (ed.). Early Modern Things. Objects and their Histories, 1500-1800
• Gerritsen, Anne, and Riello, Giorgio (eds.). Writing Material Culture History
• Harvey, Karen (ed.). History and Material Culture. A student’s guide to approaching alternative sources
• Smith, Pamela (ed.). Entangled Itineraries. Materials, Practices, and Knowledge across Eurasia
• Welch, Evelyn. Shopping in the Renaissance. Consumer Cultures in Italy, 1400-1600

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• BBC Radio 4 - A History of the World in 100 Objects - Episode guide
• Materials and Techniques | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Key words search

Raw Materials, Material Culture, Global History, Long-Distance Trade, Consumerism