Module: Europe, 1648-1848

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Europe, 1648-1848
Module Code	HIS1018 (ITS: HY209X)
Faculty	History & Geography	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

From Absolutism to Revolution: Europe 1648-1848. This is a broad survey module which aims to provide students with sufficient competence to understand the course of European history from the period marking the end of the sectarian conflicts of the 16th and early 17th centuries, to the mid 19th century, marked by major political, economic and social transformations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Display knowledge based competence in regard to topics relating to two centuries of European history.
2. Demonstrate comprehension of the main political, intellectual, economic and religious developments which mark this period.
3. Evaluate the historical significance of Europe as itself a concept.
4. Contextualise selected contemporary documents which relate to key module concepts.
5. Engage with self-directed learning and develop abilities in regard to the language and approaches of the discipline of History.
6. Develop critical appreciation of textual/electronic sources of information.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	20	Lecture
Seminars	2	Seminar
Assignment Completion	20	Assignment preparation
Independent Study	83	Independent and directed learning
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	20530	Part of Term	Semester 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale		Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category		Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator		Module Teacher

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Presentation	n/a	100%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Absolutism and Baroque culture in France in the reign of Louis XIV

Science, innovation and intellectual life, 1650-1720s

The rise of the Atlantic economies

Mercantilism: theory and practice

The Peace of Utrecht and the balance of powe

The evolution of Prussia

The Enlightenment: Writers and texts

The British Empire: Expansion and consolidation

Eighteenth-century France: Royal authority and the approach of revolution

The French Revolution in context, domestic and international considerations.

The evolution of nationalism, philosophical and cultural influences

Social change, urbanisation, the Wage Economy, Secularisation

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Thomas Munck: 2005, Seventeenth-century Europe, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 9781403936196
H.H. Koenigsberger: 2000, Early Modern Europe, 2nd Ed, Longman, London,
David Wallace: 2001, Lost Hollywood, LA Weekly Book for St. Martin's Press, New York, 9780312261952
N. Aston ed.: 1997, Religious Change in Europe 1650-1914, 1st Ed, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
Thomas Munck: 2000, The Enlightenment: A Comparative Social History, 1st Ed, Arnold, London,
J. Black: 2002, Warfare in the Eighteenth Century, 1st Ed.,, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge,
R.L. Gawthrop: 1993, Pietism and the Making of Eighteenth Century Prussia, 1st Ed.,, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge,
Jonathan Shectman: 2003, Groundbreaking scientific experiments, inventions, and discoveries of the 18th century, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 9780313320156
edited by H. M. Scott: 1990, Enlightened absolutism, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 9780472101733
W Doyle: 2003, History of the french Revolution, Oxford,
L Wilson T: 1998, he French revolution; A Document Collection,
T kemp: 1998, Industrialisation in Nineteenth Century Europe (2nd ed),
J Sperber: 2005, The European revolutions 1848-51,
H salmi: 2008, 19th century Europe; A Cultural History (new ed.),

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None