Exploring history: medieval to modern 1400-1900
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| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| Examination | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This course is a varied and wide-ranging introduction to historical study and will teach you the techniques of professional historians. It covers: fifteenth-century France, Burgundy and England during the Hundred Years’ War; the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century; the civil wars of the British Isles in the seventeenth century; slavery and serfdom in the Atlantic world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the development of nation states in western Europe following the French Revolution; and European imperialism in Africa. To ensure coherence and focus, the course is linked by common themes, enabling you to study a long chronological period.
Course content
In this course, you’ll study some of the people, places and events that were significant in the development of the modern western European and Atlantic world. Joan of Arc, Martin Luther, Oliver Cromwell, William Wilberforce, Bismarck and King Leopold II of Belgium are all key figures in this period. The course material is brought together by three themes that run throughout, and that reflect particular historical areas of study and methodologies: state formation; beliefs and ideologies; and producers and consumers. Through these themes we trace the development of modern states and their institutions; the role of religious and secular beliefs in motivating human action; and the ways that the concerns of producers of goods and customers in the market drive historical change.
So, for example, we look at the ways in which some European powers used colonial enterprises to establish themselves as significant states in great-power politics; how religious differences created a revolution in the seventeenth century; and how the demand for cotton in European markets drove the development of the American slave economy.
Each of the six subjects listed above (or course blocks) corresponds to one of the periods studied and will teach you how historians have treated the subject as well as how to use the materials they used. There is a great emphasis on using original material such as documents – from Acts of Parliament to private letters – and visual sources – from buildings and sculpture to photographs and maps.
Each period is covered in one block of study over four weeks and is followed by a study week, when you will write an assessed piece of work.
Entry
You are not expected to have any prior knowledge of history or any computing skills. Each block forms an introduction to the study of that period. There is an online tutorial on the use of spreadsheets for historical data.
You are not required to have taken any other Open University courses before this one, but this is a Level 2 course which builds on skills such as logical thinking, clear expression, essay writing and the ability to select and use appropriate material in writing, all of which are taught in the Level 1 course The arts past and present (AA100) (or the discontinued course A103). Your regional or national centre can advise you on where you can see reference copies of Level 1 materials. Some are also available from Open University Worldwide Ltd. We particularly recommend looking at these materials if you have not successfully completed AA100 (or A103), or studied at an equivalent level elsewhere.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You will find helpful advice on study skills in The Arts Good Study Guide (E. Chambers & A. Northedge, The Open University).
Qualifications
A200 is a compulsory course in our
A200 is an optional course in our
- BA (Honours) Humanities (B03)
- BA (Honours) Humanities (B03) (with History)
- BA/BSc (Honours) European Studies (B10)
- BA/BSc (Honours) International Studies (B11)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is suitable for a BA. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The study of history requires a considerable amount of reading, and one of the skills we aim to teach you is to be able to select what is important from a large amount of material.
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
One of the learning outcomes of the course is that you should learn to evaluate historical sources in a variety of media. So you’ll learn how to use visual texts (buildings, cartoons, plans, maps, photographs, paintings etc) as well as written ones. Work on visual texts will be assessed, but alternative assignments and exam questions can be requested, if necessary, via your tutor. We expect to provide some descriptions of illustrations. Subtitles may also be provided for the DVD video. Using alternative methods to tackle the visual and aural tasks in the course should not affect your ability to complete the course successfully.
You will also need to be able to work at a computer for a period of hours on spreadsheets using the StarOffice software. Some assistive technology users may need help to access StarOffice.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books; other printed material; DVDs; audio CD; and course website.
You will need
DVD and audio CD players and you will need to be able to print out or download materials from the internet.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you can use an Apple Mac or Linux computer if you can run Windows using Boot Camp or similar.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Gibbons, R (ed) Exploring History 1400-1900: An anthology of primary sources, Manchester University Press £14.99 - ISBN 9780719075889
- Wallace, P G (ed) The Long European Reformation: Religion, Political Conflict and the Search for Conformity 1350-1750, Palgrave Macmillan £19.99 - ISBN 9780333644515
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. There will be tutorials which you are encouraged but not required to attend, their location will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available at the same time once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Arts and Humanities.
Study explained
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Student Reviews
What a wide ranging course. Even if you find the workload a struggle you are bound to find many areas ...
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I studied A200 with good motivation which slowly ebbed away. The scope of history topics were very interesting from the ...
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