HS3SBR: Becoming a Revolutionary: the Old Regime and the French Revolution, 1787-1794

Module code: HS3SBR

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 40

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Professor Jo£l F£lix, email: j.m.felix@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 11 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

In 1789 the French people brought to an end to the political, economic, and social system known as the Old Regime, a regime which had proved unable to face up to the societal challenges of the time and which they had come to despise. Almost overnight, the obedient subjects of an absolute monarch constituted themselves as a nation of free and sovereign citizens. They endeavoured to create a new order based on the principles enshrined in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. From its outset, the Revolution raised, and continues to produce, many historiographical debates about its long-term origins and more immediate causes, as well as its main features and legacies. The module will explore these debates by considering two key questions. How did the French become revolutionaries in 1789? Why did the process of building a new society promote a new genre of revolutionaries associated with a new political culture, radicalism and the rule of Terror?

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Undertake detailed textual analysis and comment on the primary materials
2. Achieve a detailed command of varying historical interpretations of the primary materials and subject as a whole
3. Organise material and articulate arguments effectively in writing
4. recognise and interpret a wide range of different primary materials
5. Encourage the development of oral communication skills and the student’s effectiveness in group situations and develop their IT skills by use of relevant web resources

Module content

The module will examine the ways in which various social groups and actors became revolutionaries in 1789, and how the meaning of being a revolutionary evolved in the process of building a new society. Using a variety of primary sources (political and legal, cultural and literary, visual), it will explore the major societal debates that arose in the eighteenth century and in the course of the Revolution. Themes covered will include the Enlightenment, the Old Regime’s institutions, the grievances of the French in 1789, the conflicts over the Estates General, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the political divisions and alignments in the new regime, the creation of a new political culture (newspapers, political clubs, popular societies), war and the fall of the Monarchy, gender and women’s rights, and the abolition of slavery.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The teaching for this module involves weekly two-hour discussion seminars. Students will gain ‘hands-on’ experience of the historian’s task through the detailed evaluations of key texts, and the light they shed on the issues and problems being investigated. Students will be required to prepare for seminars through reading from both the primary sources and the secondary literature.

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative work, for instance essay plans, seminar presentations, book reviews, posters, practice source commentaries, will be required for this Special Subject over the two semesters. Practice commentaries on the sources will be required for formative assessment. 

Reassessment

Additional costs