Vår 2018

HIS-2060 Female Kings', Queens and Regents - 10 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arkeologi, historie, religionsvitenskap og teologi

Type of course

The course may be taken as a singular course, or as part of a bachelor's degree.

Course contents

In Western and Eastern Europe, female regency was commonplace in medieval and pre-modern times. Recent research shows that between 1350 and 1450, there were 12 female candidates emerging among 100 royal successions in 18 autonomous kingdoms, a ratio of one-to-eight. In this period, queen Margaret ruled Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Between 1600 and 1800, the female regency rate in Europe's hereditary kingdoms was about one-to-seven. In the 16th century, almost every European kingdom was ruled by a woman: Catherine de Medici and Maria de Medici in France, Mary de Guise and Mary Stuart in Scotland, Jeanne d'Albret in Navarre, Mary I. Tudor and Elisabeth I. Tudor in England. In the 18th century, Catherine the Great of Russia and Maria Theresa of Austria were powerful regents.

Organized chronologically as well as thematically, the course focuses on 1) females whose regencies were based on hereditary dynastic claims (e.g. Navarre, Spain, England, Scotland, Sweden, Austria), 2) females whose regencies were based on some kind of coup d'etat, 3) female regents for minor relatives, for instance in Scotland, Spain and France, or for absent male relatives (e.g. the network of female regency in the name of Emperor Charles V), 4) elected female rulers (in the Holy Roman Empire) and 5) females who, as mistresses, 'ruled' informally (France).

Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 December.

Applicants from outside the Nordic countries: 1 October.

Admission requirements

Application code: 9199

Objective of the course

Knowledge and understanding:

knowledge about the importance and significance of female regency embedded in Medieval and pre-modern European history
insight into aspects of gender theories as well as recent research

Skills:

a broad access to aspects of European history
a gender-based access to the history of female regency
access to political debates concerning authority and regency practice in close-reading of source material

Language of instruction

English.

Teaching methods

During the course, face-to-face lectures as well as seminar discussions and group work will be favoured. The broad topic of the course can be managed in a comparative way, where for instance case studies from different countries and times will be presented. During the twelve sessions of the course, the didactic aim will be discussions related to historical and historiographical questions from a gender-based viewpoint. Debatable theoretical viewpoints from active scholars will be linked to concrete sample material.

Assessment

Work requirement: Each student is required to produce a ten-minute video presenting a topic related to the course in a scientific way. Students wishing to work in pairs may do so, but are required to produce a twenty-minute video. This is a compulsory requirement that will be evaluated as accepted or not accepted. It must be accepted before students are allowed to take the final exam.

Exam: An essay (of approximately 3500 words) on a given topic. Allotted time: 7 days. Grades are awarded on an A to F scale.

The course is open for re-examination early in the following semester.