Overview

Indicative contents. C17th background to the revolution; the reign of James II; the events of 1688-9; the revolution’s constitutional and religious settlement; the nature of William and Mary’s monarchy. Debates around the radicalism and modernity of the change of monarch, limitations on the prerogative, and the toleration act. The significance of 1688 in the overall development of England.

Assessment Strategy

-threshold -Students in this band (C- to C+) will demonstrate a satisfactory range of achievement or depth of knowledge of most parts of the module, and will make successful, if occasionally inconsistent, attempts to develop those skills appropriate to the study of History at undergraduate level. In the case of the written assessments, the answers will attempt to focus on the question, although might drift into narrative, and will show some evidence of solid reading and research. The argument might lose direction and might not be adequately clear at the bottom of this category. Written work will be presented reasonably well with only limited errors in grammar, punctuation, and referencing, and not to the extent that they obscure meaning. They will show a basic historiographic awareness, but this may not range over the full span of relevant works, and their own analysis of it may be basic. Their reference to primary documents will be substantial, but these may do little beyond using them to illustrate arguments based on the secondary works. -good -Good students (B- to B+) will demonstrate a solid level of achievement and depth of knowledge in all the criteria in the C- to C+ range, and will in addition exhibit constructive engagement with different types of historical writing and historiographical interpretation. Ideas will be communicated effectively and written work will include a good range of sources/reading and demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues and of the existing interpretations expressed in a well-structured, relevant, and focused argument. Students at the top end of this band will engage with and critique the ideas that they come across, and synthesise the various interpretations they find to reach their own considered conclusions. Written work will be correctly presented with references and bibliography where appropriate. Historiographic awareness will be very solid, and documents will be used to nuance or advance arguments, rather than just illustrate them. -excellent -Excellent students (A- and above) will show strong achievement across all the criteria combined with particularly impressive depths of knowledge and/or subtlety of analysis. In written work, they will support their arguments with a wealth of relevant detail/examples. They will also demonstrate an acute awareness of the relevant historiography and give an account of why the conclusions reached are important within a particular historical debate. They may show a particularly subtle approach to possible objections, nuancing their argument in the light of counter-examples, or producing an interesting synthesis of various contrasting positions. Work at this level will use historical documents to go beyond existing debates, and perhaps hint at new lines of argument.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically analyse competing scholarly interpretations of 1688-9, and an ability to intervene in these debates.

• Demonstrate an ability to analyse contemporary documents closely, set them in contexts, and to use them in overarching arguments about 1688-9.

• Demonstrate an ability to construct sustained and analytic historical arguments.

• Demonstrate in depth knowledge of the events of 1688-9, and their possible causes and consequences