Enrolments for 2020 have closed.
Religion, Trade, and Empire in the Pre-Modern World, 1215-1788
Undergraduate | MAQ-MHIX1001 | 2020
Course information for 2020 intake View information for 2024 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- No ATAR needed,
- No prior study
- Duration
- 18 weeks
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Religion, Trade, and Empire in the Pre-Modern World, 1215-1788
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will be able to:
- Identify core issues and problems in building historical knowledge.
- Develop capacity to read different sources, locating them in the appropriate context.
- Synthesise primary and secondary sources to develop a complex picture of a historical period.
- Build scholarly arguments in response to historical questions, drawing upon primary and secondary sources.
- Understand and identify different aspects of historical writing, such as gender, economic, political, social, cultural and intellectual history.
- Recognise the history of historical practices, seeing how the profession, and the questions that it asks, have changed over time.
- Week 1: Byzantium, Islam, and, Christianity
- Week 2: Creating Christendom
- Week 3: Structures of Hegemony in the Medieval World
- Week 4: The Century of Crisis
- Week 5: Renaissance and Renewal
- Week 6: European Exploration and Exploitation
- Week 7: Religion, Reformations and Politics
- Week 8: The Emergence of the State through Conflict
- Week 9: Republics, Science, and, Technology
- Week 10: Trading People
- Week 11: Enlightenment and Commerce
- Week 12: Coloniser and Colonised
- Week 13: Revision
In 1215 CE, a Mongol army led by Genghis Khan conquered the Chinese city of Zongdhu (present-day Beijing), creating the largest contiguous land empire in human history. That same year, leaders of the Latin Church met for the Fourth Lateran Council, establishing western European Christian doctrine for the next three centuries. These civilisations came into contact as the Mongol Empire enabled commerce and cultural exchange between east and west Eurasia. In this unit, students will explore the roles played by religion, trade and empire in making this pre-modern world. We examine the deep conflicts that took place within European Christianity at this time, as well as mapping the broader religious landscape, considering the significance of Islam as well as Indigenous spiritual practices. The unit investigates the emergence of global trade networks during this period, looking closely at the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, as locations of economic growth and sites of exploitation. This is the period within which European states transform themselves into empires through exploration and invasion. Students will consider empire from the perspectives of coloniser and colonised. Working closely with staff in weekly seminars, students will develop core skills in the study of modern history, including primary source analysis, critical reading, and clear academic writing.
- Quizzes, Given throughout semester, designed to test knowledge retention and aid in reading preparation (20%)
- Document Exercise, Given mid-semester, designed to scaffold skills in reading sources and contextualizing historical materials (30%)
- Essay, Given at the end of semester, designed to assess students skills in synthesizing material and making historical arguments (50%)
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Entry requirements
No entry requirements
Additional requirements
- Other requirements -
Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
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