HIST 20117 - The Fear of Death: Mortality and, State Power in the Early Modern World

Course Credit: 1
This course will look at death as a site of state power in the early modern world (1500-1800). Using case studies from Europe, Asia, and the Americas we will consider topics such as: public executions and the display of bodies; state rituals for subjects killed in war or disasters; techniques for overcoming the fear of dying in battle; and the relationship between the state and other institutions with a claim on death. In terms of historical craft, the class will focus on the use of case studies in historical writing. We will consider how case studies can illustrate larger historical developments, how cases can be contextualized by drawing on secondary sources, and how different types of primary sources- images, archival documents, published writing, literature- can add texture and depth to a fragmentary case. Prerequisite(s): 1 full credit course in History; or permission of instructor [C, HSS, W]