The early modern period (c. 1400-1800 CE) was highly formative for modern (i.e industrial and post-industrial) “Western” societies, featuring the beginnings of modern European politics, culture, religion, science, colonialism, etc. This course will have two aims: to understand the continuities and innovations during the early modern period of “Western” history, and to understand its relationship to the rest of the world (Ming-Qing China, India, the Americas, Africa, etc.). This course will also feature a visit to the CUHK Rare Book Collection to examine early modern printed books.

Week 1 (Jan 9): The Key Questions of the Course: Geography and Metageography

Readings: Lewis and Wigen. The Myth of Continents. A Critique of Metageography, Ch 3 on Blackboard.   

Week 2 (Jan 16): Kingdoms, Republics, Theocracies and Global Empires

Readings: Brandolini, Republics and Kingdoms Compared (I.35-44; III.26-30) (On Blackboard); Hernan Cortes, Second Letter (extracts); The Broken Spears.

Week 3 (Jan 23): The Renaissance in Europe

Readings: Petrarch, Letter to Cicero and part 2; Poggio Bracciolini, Letter on Finding Quintilian; Letterlocking 1; Letterlocking 2. 

Week 4 (Jan 30): The Renaissance Beyond Europe

Readings: Francisco de Vitoria, On the American Indians, 231-232, 239-258, 264-266, 291-292 (available online through CUP website). 

Tutorial 1: Discussion of Wk 4 Vitoria reading.  Group 1 (Tsang Shiu Tim Bldg (UCA) room 111): Wed, 4.30-6pm.  Group  2 (T. C. Cheng Bldg (UCC) room C4) Thu 12:30-14:15. 

Week 5 (Feb 6): No class – Lunar New Year! 

Week 6 (Feb 13): Manuscript and Print Culture

Readings: Gutenberg Bible – the Invention; National Archives – Paleography Tutorial, 1-3. 

Class will meet in Rare Book Collection. 

Week 7 (Feb 20): The Protestant Reformation & the Catholic Counterreformation (Macau)

Readings: Martin Luther, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation; XXV Decree of Council of Trent; The Inquisition in Peru; Machiavelli, The Prince (chh XV and XVII). 

Tutorial 2 [group presentations]: Ruins of St Paul’s exercise (article; image 1 and image 2 images to compare, one, two, three; use this terminology to describe it).  In advance, you will be placed in one of four groups.  Each group will prepare in advance a 15-minute presentation (in which all must speak at least momentarily) on the topic of the Ruins of St Paul’s and its significance in terms of (group 1) history of Christianity [Hsia, A Jesuit in the Forbidden City (ebook)], (group 2) history of architecture [Guillen-Nuñez et al. Macao’s College and Church of St Joseph: Splendour of the Baroque in China – architecture library], (group 3) western imperial history [Boxer, Fidalgos in the Far East – UL], and (group 4) Chinese history [Hao, Zhidong. Macau: History and Society – multiple copies].  You will need to divide the labor of research using the reading and the suggested books, composition, making PowerPoint, etc.  A small amount of additional research beyond the tutorial reading will be required, but not too much.  Each person in the group will receive the grade of the whole group. 

Week 8 (Feb 27): Early Modern Science

Readings: Galileo, Letter to the Duchess of Tuscany; Newton, Optics; Harvey, The Motion of the Heart; Teaching Science to the Manchu Emperor.

Week 9 (Mar 6): Europe and India

Readings: Vasco da Gama, Round Africa; Francis Xavier, Letter from India; Clive, Speech on India; Museum of Christian Art in Goa. 

Week 10 (Mar 13): Europe and China

Readings: Matteo Ricci and the Catholic Mission to China, 1583–1610 (selections); Aleni, Sermon for the Feast Day for St Ignatius Loyola (pdf); Ricci and Maps.

Tutorial 3: Discussion of Wk 10 Ricci Reading. 

Week 11 (Mar 20): European Slavery in the Atlantic

Readings: Alonso de Sandoval, Treatise on Slavery (selections), Children of God’s Fire (selections)

Week 12 (Mar 27): European Slavery in Asia                                      

Readings: “Slavery, Race and Renaissance Humanism in Portuguese India.”

Tutorial 4: On Slavery in Asia reading.  This tutorial involves critically reading a secondary source.  Try to think of lacunae and possible criticisms of the article, as well as thinking about how it contributes to our understanding of slavery as a global phenomenon. 

Week 13 (Apr 3): No class – reading week

Week 14 (Apr 10): Global Enlightenments

Readings: Kant, What is Enlightenment? ; Blair and Robertson, The Philippine Islands (“Reform in the Philippines”). 

Week 15 (Apr 17): Political Revolutions

Readings: United States Declaration of Independence; Declaration of the Rights of Man, 1789; Constitution of Cadiz; Haitian Declaration of Independence.  

20% attendance and participation in lecture

Each student is required to attend the weekly lecture and the tutorials, as well as participate in class exercises, Ureply quizzes, etc. (5%).  Students must also ask at least two questions over the course of the semester (you must announce your name before you ask the question) (15%) with half the grade given for asking the questions (7.5%), then the other half given for the quality/relevance of the questions (7.5%).  From time to time, I will also cold-call students on students.

20% 4*1-page response papers (5% each)

For 4 of the 13 weeks of readings, please produce a 1-page argument-driven mini essay (c. 300 words), answering the question: “What is the most important take-away from the reading, and why?”  Send to TA by email before Friday 5pm after the related lecture. Veriguide Receipts must also be submitted but these can be sent at the end of the term. 

30% Participation in Tutorial

Active and enthusiastic participation in the tutorial on the basis of the reading (7.5% per tutorial). 

30% Final Project: Story Map or Renaissance Letter Exercise or Study of Rare Book

Either

Create one digital map of a particular event, theme, or series of related events/developments.  This should be in the form of a Story Map of at least 10 pages using https://storymap.knightlab.com/ and include a map of the events, text narrating the events, any images (from Wikicommons or elsewhere), and relevant quotations from sources you have read for class.  Use Terrain background.  You can find an example of a Story Map here.  You must discuss your ideas with the professor or TA before Week 11. 

Due on Friday of Week 15 at 5pm via email to Professor.   

Or

Write an imagined letter in English from one early modern figure to another, or from an early modern figure to an ancient one.  It should be written in your best approximation to one style of early modern handwriting and be sealed using early modern letterlocking technology.  You must discuss your ideas with the professor or TA before Week 11. 

Due on Friday of Week 15 at 5pm via letterbox to Professor.    

Or

Write a 1500-word research paper on one of the rare books we look at during the workshop.  You will need to go to the Rare Books Room to study the book (arrange this with librarians), and probably do a small amount background research on the author, text, printing history of the work, etc.  The instructor can provide additional reading. 

Due on Friday of Week 15 at 5pm via email to Professor. 

  All readings will be primary sources.  However, students looking for an introductory textbook may refer to the relevant chapters in Kishlansky, Geary and O’Brien, Civilization in the West (2006, 2008, etc.).  More detailed treatments are found in Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450–1789 (CUP, 2013), Matthew Restall and Kris Lane, Latin America in Colonial Times (CUP, 2011), Charles Ralph Boxer, The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415-1825 (Alfred A. Knopf, 1969).   

请注意大学有关学术著作诚信的政策和规则，及适用于犯规事例的纪律指引和程序。详情可浏览此处。

学生递交作业时，必须连同已签署的声明一并提交，表示他们知道有关政策、规则、指引及程序。

• 如属小组习作，则所有组员均须签署声明；所有组员 (不论有否签署声明及不论有否直接或间接撰写有问题的内容) 均须负上集体责任及受到惩处。
• 如作业以电脑制作、内容以文字为主，并经由大学「维诚」系统 (VeriGuide) 提交者，学生将作业的电子档案上载到系统后，便会获得收据，收据上已列明有关声明。
• 学生充分知悉到他们的作业可能会被人工智能内容检测软件审查，以确定其原创性。
• 学生充分知悉科目中采用人工智能工具的做法。在经允许下使用某些人工智能工具的情况下，学生已按照科目老师的指示明确注明出处和引文。

未有夹附签署妥当的声明的作业，老师将不予批阅。

学生只须提交作业的最终版本。

学生将作业或作业的一部份用于超过一个用途 (例如：同时符合两科的要求) 而没有作出声明会被视为未有声明重复使用作业。 学生重复使用其著作的措辞或某一、二句句子很常见，并可以接受，惟重复使用全部内容则构成问题。在任何情况下，须先获得相关老师同意方可提交作业。

由大学职员/老师制作的教学材料，包括课堂笔记、作业及考试题目等，其版权属香港中文大学拥有；学生可从大学采用的网上教学系统 (例如Blackboard) 下载由大学职员/老师制作的教学材料供其学习使用；惟未经相关职员/老师事先同意下，不得分发/分享/复制这些材料予第三者。