Gender, Power & Society in Medieval & Renaissance Europe

Teacher(s)

Bousmar Eric;

Language

English

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Students will develop their capacity for in-depth historical analysis of political and social process and structures, using gender as one of their historical categories of analysis. They will apply this analysis to some of the major processes and structures that characterise Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Content

The lectures deal with some major political, social and cultural issues in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Issues include: gender and Renaissance as categories for historical analysis (J.W. Scott, J. Kelly Gadol); family, marriage and sexuality; the gender balance in urban society and politics; gender and the Church; patriarchy, networks, politics, war and government, female subjugation and subversion. The focus lies on France, England, the Holy Roman Empire and the Low Countries, but other parts of Europe, such as Italy, Spain or Scandinavia will also be dealt with.

Teaching methods

Face to face. The course will be based on the oral lectures by the teacher. PowerPoint slides are used and will be commented during class; the slides will be available on Moodle after the class. Additional readings of selected relevant materials are provided and may, if indicated so, be mandatory, in order to ensure further discussion in the classroom. A lecture handout containing the course outlines, a glossary and a bibliography will be available.

Evaluation methods

Oral examination (15 minutes, after 15 minutes of preparation), based on the issues discussed in class and in the additional readings.

Other information

The course is thaught every odd year; it is taught during the second term of the academic year 2025-2026.

Bibliography

A bibliography will be provided with the lecture handout.
Une bibliographie est incluse dans le syllabus-cadre.

Teaching materials

• Gender, Power & Society in Medieval and Renaissance Europe (lecture handout and additional readings)

Faculty or entity

> PHLB