The Age of Revolutions
During the 160 years between 1640 to 1800, the modern West was born. Men and women debated the meaning of liberty, the limits of the state, and the role of the ideas of law, economics, and the republic in their lives. It was in these years that debates as diverse as whether to separate church and state, or what individual freedom implies, took place.
This course, with the aid of documents and primary sources, focuses on three specific periods. The first traces the emergence and decline of the English commonwealth during the civil wars, and follows the debates of the Restoration to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Though focused on England, students are encouraged to consider the causes and impact of debates and actions in Scotland, Ireland, and the American colonies.
A second section of the course focuses on the American Revolution, its ideas, and its fidelity both to the Enlightenment and to the English “country” tradition. We then move on to a third section, which focuses on the political and intellectual events of the 1780s and 90s in France, and the rise of Napoleon.
Course Requirements
Students are required to write one paper of 1,500 to 2,000 words and to deliver one oral presentation.
Tutor Biography
Dr. Martin Meenagh studied at Balliol College, Oxford, where he received a first-class degree in modern history, a Master of Studies degree, and a doctorate. He has also taught extensively for colleges of Oxford University, was briefly a non-stipendiary lecturer at Worcester College, Oxford, and now lives and teaches in London and Bath. He has given lectures for the University of Chicago, the Newberry Library, and the Kessel Institute in Mankato, Minnesota. Dr. Meenagh is a Barrister and a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (one of the Inns of Court) and has published articles on the New York Schools controversy. He has taught previously for Rewley House, Kellogg, and the Oxford Berkeley Program.
Tutor Contact Details: Meenaghml@hotmail.com
Field Trips
To be agreed.
Reading List
Students will be presented with reading lists and electronic documents upon request before the course, but a very preliminary survey of secondary literature might include:
Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. [ISBN 978-0674443020]
JGA Pocock, The Machiavellian Moment. [ISBN 978-0691114729]
Gary Nash, The Unknown American Revolution. [ISBN 978-0143037200]
Michael Braddick, God’s Fury, England’s Fire. [ISBN 978-0141008974]
John Adamson, The Noble Revolt. [ISBN 978-0297842620]
JGA Kenyon, The Popish Plot. [ISBN 978-1842121689]
Simon Schama, Citizens. [ISBN 978-0679726104]
Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolutions. [ISBN 978-0844669922] (this work looks at the aftermath of 1789, not the events beforehand).
Credit and Enrollment Information
X414 History
(EDP 284141)