070041 PS BA-Proseminar - Material Culture and Consumption in Europe in the Early Modern Period (2020S)

Content, aim and method of the course

In the first part of the pro-seminar we will study some introductory texts on the topic of material culture and consumption in Europe in the early modern period (ca. 1500-1800), with particular emphasis on their development in the 18th century. In this part of the course, we will define the field and examine the main characteristics and changes of the phenomenon in the period. Further, we will discuss some of the fundamental concepts and theories, which have defined the field and have greatly influenced the current scientific discussion. Finally, we will refer to the sources historians use to examine the different aspects of the history of material culture and consumption in the early modern period, such as the history of diet, history of clothing or history of residency and private life. In the second part of the course, the students will present and discuss the concepts of their seminar papers in two separate longer sessions in the form of workshops.

Apart from the main goal of the course, which is to familiarize the students with consumption history in Europe in the early modern period, the students should learn in this pro-seminar: a) to read, understand, evaluate and criticize scientific texts in English, b) to study both primary source material and secondary literature on a specific historical subject, c) to observe their source material though specific theoretical and methodological approach, d) to present their concepts and engage in a scientific discussion about them, d) to organize their work and formulate a scientific argument in form of a seminar paper.

In the first part of the pro-seminar, the students will study the basic theoretical concepts of the field and discuss these theories in the following session. In the second part of the pro-seminar, they will select their basic theoretical and methodological approaches and formulate the concepts of their seminar papers. They will write a short description of their topic, which they will discuss with me in short individual sessions and they will present them in two separate longer sessions in the form of workshops. Finally, they will write their papers and submit them until the end of the semester.