Learning Outcomes:
* To develop your understanding of the place and role of print in early-modern society, especially during moments of crisis.
* To help you formulate your own view as to the role of print within the broader communications landscape of the period.
* To introduce you to established and new research techniques which are transforming our understanding of pre-Industrial print cultures. You will be introduced to practical bibliography, to using new reserach databases and digital resources, and will gain a sense of the value (and limitations) of big data in research.
* You will develop confidence in handling and working with early-printed books (the real things, as well as digital surrogates).
* You will develop your skills in identifying and pursuing research threads.
* You will gain greater confidence in presenting your own views, and contesting the views of others.
* You will gain greater confidence in formal historical writing.
Indicative Module Content:
Introductions
Introducing practical bibliography (UCD Special Collections)
Big Data
Brand Luther
Germany – The Catholic Response
The French Wars of Religion
The Crisis of the League, 1587-1589
English Pamphlet Culture of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
News Culture in Early Modern Europe
Fieldtrip to Marsh's Library, situation permitting