Module manager: Dr Alex Bamji
Email: a.bamji@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
How did people in early modern Europe understand the body and try to stay healthy? How far did a growing interest in anatomy and new chemical medicines change medical care? How did early modern society’s preoccupation with fertility shape experiences of reproduction? What was the impact of disease on individuals, families and states? This module examines understandings of the body and disease at a time in which plague ravaged cities at frequent intervals and contagious disease produced death, disability, and stigma. The module considers how discourses and experiences were shaped by the wider social and cultural context, especially by religion. Beliefs in religion and witchcraft offered explanations for unusual bodies (including ‘monsters’), illness, and suicidality. Approaches from cultural history and a wide range of sources will be used to draw out the links between ideas and experiences of disease and the body, and the interrelationship of medicine, religion and society. Content note: to discuss these themes effectively, the lectures, reading and discussion in this module engage with some sensitive issues, including illness, death, abortion, pregnancy loss, sexism, misogyny, racism, and religious prejudice. The module tutor can provide more information on this if required. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to develop your analytical and interpretative skills by engaging deeply with early modern sources. It will enhance your capacity to construct well-supported and coherent historical arguments using written, visual, and electronic materials.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically analyse the cultural history of early modern Europe using primary sources.
2. Effectively evaluate the approaches and arguments of historians of disease and the body in early modern Europe.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
3. Construct well-supported historical arguments backed up with evidence
4. Interpret, analyse and contextualise primary and secondary sources in a range of genres
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will receive written feedback on one formative source analysis, which will help you prepare for the summative assessment.
You will be offered a one-on-one meeting with the tutor prior to the submission of the essay to discuss an essay plan and bibliography.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Primary source essay | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 20/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team