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Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title Women and Crime in Early Modern Europe
Module Code HIS1070
Faculty Humanities & Social Sciences School Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 10
Description

This module will provide students with a chance to work closely with primary sources and develop their understanding of the professional skills and materials historians use to create works of history. The focus will be on the history of women and crime in early modern Europe, looking at women as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses to crimes, examining gendered assumptions about crime and criminals, and considering the ways in which gender also impacted the investigation and punishment of crime. Students will be introduced to relevant historical archives and published primary sources and encouraged to explore them independently, honing their research skills as well as their critical analysis of primary sources. The module will also give students opportunities to assess historical works themselves in a critical fashion, displaying their understanding of the ways in which historians are shaped by their political, intellectual and social environment. Overall, the module aims to help students engage with the hands on work of historians.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the differences and nature of the relationship between primary and secondary sources
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which evidence from primary sources can be used to build historical narratives
3. Apply analytical skills required to assess primary source material critically
4. Develop historical consciousness and understanding of the nature of historical change
5. Interrogate the work of historians with a critical understanding of the specific chronological, political, intellectual and social context in which they produced that work


WorkloadFull time hours per semester
TypeHoursDescription
Seminars44No Description
Independent Study206No Description
Total Workload: 250
Section Breakdown
CRN21438Part of TermSemester 2
Coursework100%Examination Weight0%
Grade Scale40PASSPass Both ElementsN
Resit CategoryRC1Best MarkN
Module Co-ordinatorCeleste McNamaraModule Teacher
Assessment Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Extended Essay / Dissertation5000 word dissertation60%n/a
ParticipationPreparation, attendance, participation in sessions10%n/a
AssignmentResearch assignments to develop dissertation (proposal, scaffolded components)30%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

Indicative content
Topics will include women as victims of crime, women as perpetrators of crime, women as witnesses in court, how courts understood female criminals and crimes against women, how courts treated female criminals and victims, and how female criminals and victims were seen by their societies in early modern Europe.

Indicative Reading List

Books:
None

Articles:
None
Other Resources

None

<< Back to Module List View 2024/25 Module Record for HIS1070