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HIS32330

Academic Year 2026/2027

A History of Decadence: Sex, Spectacle and Corruption in Eighteenth-Century Venice (HIS32330)

Subject:
History
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr David Kerr
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The modern myth of Venice is a composite of two powerful images: Venice as the city of pleasure and Venice as the city of death. This course will cover both.
Venice as the world centre of overpowering luxury, all-pervasive spectacle, frivolous self-indulgence and sexual licence will be examined through the accounts of eighteenth century Venetians (Casanova, Goldoni and Gozzi) and travellers from Britain, France and Germany (including, amongst others, Addison, Rousseau and Goethe). Together, they portray Venetian life in the century before the fall of the Republic in 1797 as a curiously modern combination of political and sexual intrigue in a gossip obsessed city of cafés, theatres, casinos and brothels.
Venice as the city of decadence, exquisite beauty and moral decay, sexual ambiguity and physical corruption, will be examined through her representation in British, French, German and Italian literature from Byron (in the 1810s) to Proust (in the 1920s). Writers covered will include Fenimore Cooper and Monk Lewis (on Gothic horror), Ruskin (on Gothic revivals), Dickens and George Sand (on the romance of the ghostly), Theophile Gautier (on orientalism and antisemitism) and Thomas Mann and Baron Corvo (on homosexuality and death). All texts will be read in English translation.
Students will be asked to write two essays, a midterm essay (3000 words) on an aspect of eighteenth century Venetian society or culture, and a term paper (4000 words) on an aspect of the memory and myth of Venice, chosen by them in consultation with the module coordinator.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Outcomes

On completion of the module students will have acquired a thorough knowledge of the social and political history of one of Europe's most significant cities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and of the place of Venice in the modern European imagination. They will have experimented with the use of paintings, prints, travel writing and novels as historical sources, gaining a good grounding in the methods of cultural history.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Advanced Beginner

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

95
Autonomous Student Learning

95
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Total

223

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Weekly lectures provide historical and historiographical context to the eighteenth century topics discussed in weeks one to seven. From week eight, lectures become introductions to aspects of the myth of Venice post-1797 and to major writers on Venice.
Seminars in weeks one to seven involve class discussion of assigned primary texts. From week eight, seminars are devoted to discussion of the students' personal research projects.

Students may use AI tools as part of their research process in this module but may not use it in the writing or editing process when completing assignments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Additional Information:



 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): 4,000-word research paper Week 14 Graded No
50
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Mid-term essay Week 8 Graded No
30
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Class participation Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on midterm essays will be provided in writing on returned hard copies, after the mid term break. Feedback on end-of-term papers will one to one by appointment.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 09:00 - 10:50
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 15:00 - 15:50
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