Write one or two well-developed paragraphs about three of the following topics. Each answer should be about 200-250 words (one page, typed and double- spaced). These questions help to assess your ability to evaluate secondary arguments while discussing some key debates about the early modern world.
As you answer these questions keep in mind the expression about understanding the early modern era in its own right. Also, try to think beyond the particular chapters that these questions are drawn from. But do not use outside sources. This is all about showing how you understand the course materials.
His majesty wishes to better understand the economy. "This economy," writes Steve Hindle, "can legitimately be described as ‘pre-industrial' only when judged by the standard of the vast transformations caused by nineteenth-century factory production" (Kümin, p 79). What does this statement indicate about the early modern european economy? How might this argument impact the way that we understand the division between pre-modern or pre-industrial and modern industrial society?
His Majesty wants to know more about people on the margins of society. Following the question on page 77 of Kümin's text please discuss, "Which groups were marginalized in early modern Europe, and why?"
King Henry wishes to learn more about the Renaissance. In The Early Modern World, Humphrey Butters argues that, "the Renaissance cannot be classed as a cultural period, sharply distinct from the Middle Ages. But it was certainly a serious cultural movement" (Kümin, p. 163). Explain what Dr Butters means by this statement, and the key reasons he provides for his claims.. Does this statement challenge the usual way of viewing Renaissance humanism?