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2010/1 Module Catalogue
 Module Code: HIS2003 Module Title: RESTORATION ENGLAND
Module Provider: English Short Name: HF07X
Level: HE2 Module Co-ordinator: LUNA I Ms (English)
Number of credits: 20 Number of ECTS credits: 10
 
Module Availability
Assessment Pattern
Unit(s) of Assessment
Weighting Towards Module Mark (%)
Essay
100%
Qualifying Condition(s)
 
Essay (100% of total assessment)
 
1 essay of 2500 - 3000 words

The assessment will demonstrate that the student has achieved the required level of knowledge and critical understanding of the key issues that shaped Post Revolution England. Formative assessment will be carried out in group work and will act as a diagnostic tool for assessing student's progress. The interdisciplinary essay which constitutes the formal assessment will provide an opportunity for students to develop their written communication and critical skills. It should reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the module and show the student’s ability to integrate the appropriate methodologies. Students must incorporate discussion based on relevant material from at least two of the three core disciplines.
Module Overview
This level two interdisciplinary core module provides an historical and cultural framework in which students can develop their understanding of  English society in the aftermath of the Civil War and Interregnum. The module is designed to expand on the knowledge and skills gained from the core module Image Making in Tudor and Stuart England and contribute to a greater understanding of Early Modern topics covered in the single subject options offered at level two. Students will consolidate knowledge and skills generic to humanities disciplines.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
60 credits at Level 1, or equivalent.
Module Aims
  • To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of crucial issues that shaped Post Revolution England.
  • To build on the critical understanding of social and cultural themes discussed in the other level two core module.
  • To further develop students skills in interdisciplinary study in preparation for level three.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the student should be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
  • Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the forces of change and continuity that shaped Restoration England. (1660-1690)
  • Identify the relationship between the disciplines within the context of the period.
  • Demonstrate a good knowledge of scholarship in the field.
Cognitive / Intellectual Skills
  • Develop skills in the critical analysis of primary and secondary material in the core disciplines.
  • Analyse and understand the interrelationship between the history, art history and literature of the Late Stuart period.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply methodologies in the disciplines where appropriate.
  • Begin to develop approaches to personal research in preparation for level three.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use specialised language and appropriate academic convention with accuracy.
Key / Transferable / Practical Skills
  • Show development in presentation skills and written and oral communication.
  • Further develop approaches in independent learning.
  • Develop critical analytical skills.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work effectively in groups.
  • Provide evidence of good time management and the capacity to work to deadlines.
In order to achieve the threshold standard for the award of credits for this module, the student must meet the following criteria related to the learning outcomes described above:
  • Demonstrate the ability to synthesise and evaluate key issues that shaped Restoration England.
  • Demonstrate awareness of the interrelationship between at least two of the core disciplines.
  • Demonstrate accurate knowledge of the period 1660-1690.
  • Provide evidence of appropriate selection and acknowledgement of source material in formal assessment.
  • Demonstrate the ability to answer the question set in the formal assessment.
Module Content
The first session will introduce students to the interdisciplinary and thematic framework of the module. It will also include a discussion on source materials and methods of assessment. In the second half students will be introduced to the key issues that shaped Late Stuart culture and society.
 
 History
This will include a critical evaluation of the political, social and cultural framework of the period focusing on issues of change and continuity. The central themes will include the growth of urbanisation with specific reference to the rapid expansion of London as the political, commercial and cultural centre. In the aftermath of the Puritan rule of the 1650s students will analyse the effects of religious change on Late Stuart society. The influence of scientific enquiry and the establishment of the Royal Society on cultural development will also be addressed.
 
Art History
The componant on the visual arts with focus on the role of portraiture in court culture and the incresing demand among the new urdan elite. This will include an analysis of the works of Samuel Cooper, Lely and Kneller and a discussion on the revived status of the court artist after 1660. The influence of the European Baroque artists Antonio Verrio and the wood carverf Grinling Gibbons will be discussed in relation to changes in interior decorative art. Students will also evaluate the influence of the growing demand for engravings and book illustrations.
 
Literature
The literary component of this module will consider a range of texts which exemplify the major genres of this period. They will be studied for the insights they provide into the preoccupations, politics and religious controversies of the time and for indications of continuity, change and development. These will include John Milton, selected poems and prose; John Dryden, critic and satirist, and social satire on Restoration values explored through two plays: Aphra Behn’s ‘The Rover’ and Congreve’s ‘Way of the World’.
 
 
Students will also have the opportunity to visit the Baroque Palace of Hampton Court and study the Wren building; the portrait paintings of Lely and Kneller (The Windsor and Hampton Court Beauties); the restored Baroque wall and ceiling painting of Antonio Verrio and the revolutionary woodcarvings of Grinling Gibbon. (This visit is optional)
Methods of Teaching/Learning
12 x 2 hour sessions (or equivalent)

The Teaching and Learning Strategy is designed to ensure that students are able to display the knowledge and skills outlined in the learning outcomes for this module. Strategies adopted will encourage students to interact in classroom and group discussion and to reflect on their own learning. Close analysis of a variety of primary and secondary sources and texts in the three core disciplines will further develop critical understanding of key issues. This interdisciplinary core module will be taught by a team of subject specialists who will remain in close contact for the duration of the module to ensure that the overall teaching strategy remains coherent throughout.
 
The Teaching and Learning Method will include a mixture of lecture, group work and self-directed learning. Handouts and a module study pack outlining key issues may also be used to encourage a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. Visual aids such as slides and video/DVD footage will also accompany some sessions where relevant. Interdisciplinary sessions on specific themes will develop student’s skills in interdisciplinary study in preparation for their formal assessment.
Selected Texts/Journals
Essential Texts
Bevis, R. (1988) English Drama: Restoration and Eighteenth Century 1660-1789. London, Longman
Coward, B. (1997) The Stuart Age. 2nd Ed, London, Longman
Waterhouse, E. K. (1994) Painting in Britain 1530-1790, 5th revised edition, Yale University Press
Source Texts for Literature
Behn, Aphra. The Rover in Owens, W. & Goodman, L. (eds) (1990) Shakespeare, Aphra Behn and the Canon, London: Routledge OU
Demaria, R. (ed) (2001) British Literature 1640 – 1789 An Anthology (second edition)
Goldberg, J. & Orgel, S. (ed) (1998) John Milton: Selected Poetry, Oxford OUP
Gibbons, B (ed) (1994) Congreve, The Way of the World. (New Mermaid edition) London A.C. Black
Recommended Reading
Ford, B. (1989) Seventeenth Century Britain: Cambridge Cultural History, CUP
Glassey, L.K.J. (ed) (1997) The Reigns of Charles II and James VII and II: Problems in Focus, London, MacMillan Press
Sharpe, J.A. (1997) Early Modern England; A Social History, London, Edward Arnold
Vickers, B. (ed) (1969) Seventeenth Century Prose, London, Longman
Other Indicative Reading
History
Graham, E. & Hind, H. & Hobby, E. (1992) Autobiographical Writings on Seventeenth Century Women, London, Routledge
Jones, J. R. (ed) (1979) The Restoration Monarchy 1660-1688. Problems in Focus.
Kenyon, J. (1978) Stuart England, Pelican
Miller, J. (1983) The Glorious Revolution. London, Seminar Study Series
Porter, R. (1994) London, A Social History, London, Penguin Books

Art History
Hayes, J. (1991) The Portrait in British Art. National Portrait Gallery
Oughton, F. (1979) Grinling Gibbons and the English Woodcarving Tradition, Stobart, London
Whinney, M. (1971) Wren. London, Thames Hudson
Whinney, M. (1957) English Art 1625-1714. Oxford History of English Art, Clarendon Press

Literature
Cummings, R. (ed) (2000) Seventeenth Century Poetry: An Annotated Anthology, Oxford: Blackwell
Potter, L. (1986) A Preface to Milton. London, Longman
Ricks, C. (ed) (1987) English Poetry and Prose 1540-1674, London
Styan, J. L. (1986) Restoration Comedy in Performance, London
Willey, B. (1986) The Seventeenth Century Background. London, Longman
Zwicker, S. (ed) (1998) The Cambridge Companion to English Literature 1650 – 1740, Cambridge: CUP
Last Updated
29 June 2008