HIST 2204A: Early Modern Europe, 1350–1650
Fall 2024
Instructor: Professor Paul Nelles
This course surveys the major social, religious, cultural, and social developments of early modern Europe between 1350 and 1650. It covers the Black Death, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, overseas expansion, and early globalisation. We will see that though the early modern period witnessed fundamental changes in society, religion, ideas and everyday life, there were also strong continuities with the medieval past. Overall, the course seeks to understand how Europe – somewhat of a backwater on the global stage during the Middle Ages – emerged from the crises of the fourteenth century to become a powerful force in world history.