Minor in Understanding History and Society

Course overview

In this course, we focus on twentieth-century Europe. Central is the notion of what has been called the 'vanishing sky': the demise of commonly accepted metaphysical values and the operation of terror and violence. The course begins with the economic crisis of the late 1920s and the rise of National Socialism. The resulting Second World War left its mark on major developments in the second half of the century: the Cold War, the cultural revolution of the 1960s, postmodernism and the debate on multiculturalism.

Besides attending and preparing for the course, the student goes through an individual trajectory. At the beginning of the course, the student chooses one of the following subfields: (1.) history of 20th-century European literature, (2.) history of 20th-century Dutch literature, (3) 20th-century art history. For each subfield there is a list of literature to be read or works of art to be studied. Each subfield is accompanied by a list of literature or works of art to be read or studied. This list consists of a section of secondary literature (textbooks on this specific field) and a section of primary literature (book list or 'viewing list'). 

This course will be taught in Dutch. Please note that you have to be fluent in Dutch when enrolling for this course (825040-B-6).

Learning goals 

Knowledge

• The student can name, characterize, distinguish, and explain the main periods and movements traditionally distinguished within European art and literary history after 1916 (as formulated in the textbooks studied for the oral examination).
• The student is able to clarify and illustrate these periods and movements on the basis of the canonical works of art or literary texts from this period studied.
• The student is able to name, characterize, distinguish, and explain the main political-social developments in the cultural history of Europe after 1916, as well as the similarities and differences between various national cultures in this period (as formulated in the textbooks studied for the oral examination).
• The student is able to illustrate this knowledge using the studied canonical works of art or literary texts from this period.

Skills

• The student is able to group, arrange, and compare the studied canonical works of art or literary texts using the literary and cultural history concepts provided in the textbooks and lectures.
• The student can give a reasoned view on the scientific approach to cultural history.
• The student can give a well-founded opinion on the problems of categorising, periodising and naming cultural historical movements and periods.
• The student can give a reasoned opinion on important theoretical problems of (cultural) history writing.
• The student is able to verbally express the acquired knowledge in a scientifically responsible way. This appears from the fact that the answers he gives to the oral examination are clear, that he uses logical sentences and formulations, that he formulates accurately and specifically. It is also evident from the fact that the student is able to substantiate his answers with facts and arguments.
• The student can draw meaningful conclusions about the studied material in a scientific way.

Personal development

The following broad skills are explicitly addressed in this course:

• analytical and critical thinking skills
• creative and innovative thinking (lectures, oral examination)
• planning and organising / decision-making skills (individual work for reading list)
• problem-solving skills
• writing skills

Assessment

The course concludes with a written examination (40%) in which the information from all lectures (cultural history, visual arts and literature) is tested. In addition, the course is concluded with an oral examination (60%) in which, next to the material from the lectures, the student's individual trajectory is also assessed:  This involves the textbooks studied and the literary texts or works of art read / literary texts or works of art viewed in the individual course.

Contact person

jj.deruiter@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Spring semester. The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 20 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

Course overview

This course incites students to critically reflect on the history and basic development of important legal traditions in both Europe and other parts of the world. It will result in a basic understanding of legal theory and practice across European and non-European legal traditions, which becomes useful in learning and applying legal concepts in other areas of law taught in the Global Law program. Global Legal History will also provide the foundation for more advanced courses, such as History of International Law. Students will obtain the important insight that in most periods of history, law was a blend and not a homogeneous system.

The course is taught in English (620291-B-6).

Learning goals 

• Describe the historical development of various European and non-European legal histories; distinguishing important facts, events, topics and developments,
• Understand the emergence and development of these traditions as a result of struggles between different actors and different pools of law,
• Analyze the social and cultural factors behind the evolution and transformation of different European and non-European legal traditions,
• Understand the difficulties and controversies in applying legal ideas from one legal tradition to another legal tradition,
• Write a well-structured essay based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, displaying a critical academic attitude.

Assessment

This course will be assessed through assignments (30%) and a final written exam (70%).

Contact person

m.denhollander@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Fall semester. The course is mandatory for students who enroll in the minor. 

Course overview

This course discusses the historical development of the state, sovereignty (including popular sovereignty), human rights and the rule of law in a number of European and non-European states. These themes are approached through the lenses of institutional history, constitutional history and the history of political thought. After a brief introduction of the core concepts that will form the foundation of our analysis, this course will dive into the medieval and Renaissance origins of the modern state. Subsequently, it will treat the emergence and rise of political representation, the rule of law, and human rights. Attention will be paid to divergence and convergence in developments in different parts of the world.

The course is taught in English (630017-B-5, 630017-B-1).

Learning goals 

• Describe and analyze the historical development of the modern state, (popular) sovereignty, human rights, and the rule of law.
• Compare the evolution of major functions and institutions of government from a historical perspective.
• Describe and compare the major political and legal principles that have sustained European and non-European governments and institutions since the Middle Ages.
• Reflect on the interactions between politics, law and theory

Assessment

This course will be assessed through a final written exam (100%).

Contact person

d.deruysscher@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Spring semester and is a block-course (block 4). The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 20 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

Course overview

After a general introduction moment, a chronological survey of twenty centuries is gradually developed, in which various aspects of western Christendom are highlighted. The survey is informed both by a ‘historical-contextual’ and an ‘applied history’ approach: the thought-models and structures of the Christian church(es) are studied and understood within their historical context and in confrontation with major developments on identity and meaning today.
On the historical-contextual level, the course aims to integrate institutional history with the history of ideas. At this juncture, connections are made with political, legal and interreligious developments in each historical phase.On the applied level, the course aims to confront historical thought-models as lingering currents that also affect present-day media and politics, in order to offer students critical insight into the remote sources of contemporary ideas and values.
In general, the course is built around the following axis:

The course is taught in English (U10104-B-6). 

Learning goals 

After having completed the course, the student will be able to:

• Identify the major phases and currents in the history of Christian thought, to assess their differences and/or commonalities.
• Trace historical ruptures and developments, with attention to central figures (Origen, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, …) and classify key themes in the European way of positioning religion (church and state, religious intolerance, humanist and enlightenment currents, interreligious exchange with Judaism and Islam, …).
• Explain influences and connections that transgress historical phases, and to show an awareness of the indebtedness of contemporary thought models on religion to historical ones (e.g. the enduring impact of currents such as Arianism, Pelagianism, Islamic Averroism, Renaissance Humanism).

Assessment

This course will be assessed through a final written exam (100%).

Contact person

k.schelkens@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Fall semester. The course is mandatory for students who enroll in the minor. 

Course overview

This course will introduce students to applied history and the historical discipline. Applied history is concerned with historical interpretation with a view to present-day problems. Several topical problems of today have historical backgrounds that allow for a clearer understanding on what is going on. Applied history aims to avoid a “presentist” perspective: understanding the reality of today requires an understanding of how things have developed in the past. Moreover, applied history is self-reflective because it invites to critically reflect on the use of history for applicative purposes. To what extent can we learn from history? Is the past determining what the future will look like?  Students will be introduced to the methodology of applied history. 

The course is taught in English (620097-B-6).

Learning goals 

• Understand the emergence, development and relevance of the historical discipline,
• Develop a critical attitude towards information and historical arguments,
• Analyze different factors behind historical developments and change, 
• Understand and apply the methodology of historical research,
• Write a well-structured essay on a topic of applied history, based on the analysis of sources

Assessment

This course will be assessed through an assignment (30%) and a final written exam (70%). The assignment is a written essay on a topic of applied history (2,000 words).

Contact person

z.muslu@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Fall semester. The course is mandatory for students who enroll in the minor. 

Course overview

In the course The Middle Ages: Appropriations and Misappropriations we invite you to travel between key time periods and places of the Middle Ages. We will take you on a tour through Europe and beyond, from West to East, from South to North, to explore the main developments and turning points in history, politics, religion, philosophy, and culture in Europe during the Middle Ages. At the same time, we will meander between past and present. We travel through Europe not only because of an interest in the past, but also because we want to discover how past and present are related. The past has an impact on the present and, moreover, the way we look at the past is determined by the agenda and perspectives from the present. The past is now and the now is in the way we perceive and interpret the past.

The course is taught in English (840037-B-6).

Learning goals 

After having completed the course 'Middle Ages: Appropriations and Misappropriations’ the student is able:

• To describe and outline the main developments and turning-points in history, politics, religion, philosophy and culture in Europe during the Middle Ages;
• To compare different periods and developments in history, politics, religion, philosophy and culture and determine their similarities and differences;
• To assess the significance and importance of the medieval legacy for contemporary European culture.

Assessment

The assessment consists of: weekly assignments (student groups), a written mid-term exam, and a final paper.

Contact person

d.janssens@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Fall semester. The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 10 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

Course overview

This course will be taught by a philosopher and a historian who will challenge you to address questions such as the following: what is the relation between memory and history? What choice do historians - past and present - make in writing and presenting history? What choices do they make, consciously or unconsciously? What religious, political, cultural, or other bias influences their work and their choice of topics and narrative structure? These questions will be addressed by focusing on the history of colonialism. 

The course is taught in English (840028-B-6).

Learning goals 

After completing this course, the student is able to:

• Evaluate primary sources, secondary literature, and visual renderings of the past by means of several philosophical viewpoints on history and memory, as discussed in the course.
• Use primary sources, secondary literature and visual renderings of the past to write an essay in which historical and philosophical viewpoints are addressed.
• Discuss from a philosophical perspective, the nature of the past, the ways in which history is constructed and relates to forms of (collective) memory.
• Compose a philosophical argument in relation to a historical event, process, or the way in which history and memory are created and preserved.

Assessment

• Weekly assignments
• Final Paper

Contact person

t.g.l.decreus@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Spring semester. The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 10 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

Course overview

This course covers the development of Dutch public institutions from the late Middle Ages to the present. It deals successively with the period of the Netherlands under the Burgundian-Habsburg state, the Republic of the United Netherlands, the Batavian-French period, the development of the constitutional state and democracy and the constitutional monarchy in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the rise of international cooperation and the institutions of the European Union.

This course will be taught in Dutch. Please note that you have to be fluent in Dutch when enrolling for this course (660439-B-6).

Learning goals 

When having completed this course, students are able to

• provide a description of the development of state institutions in the Netherlands over the last 750 years;
• give insight into the continuity and discontinuity in the development of these state institutions;
• use the knowledge and insights thus gained in the study of a concrete issue;
• provide its own analysis of the development of a specific public institution.
• provide a description of the development of state institutions in the Netherlands over the last 750 years;

Assessment

This course will be assessed through an assignment (podcast) (25%) and a final written exam (75%).

Contact person

g.leenknegt@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Spring semester. The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 20 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

Course overview

Debates revolving around the topic of identities repeatedly hit the news. To give but one example, the ‘Black Pete’ discussion that is played out at an annual basis brings up questions about Dutch national identity and its colonial past. As another example, there was the debate whether Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb” can be translated by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, or should instead by translated by a woman of color, not even mentioning the topic of binary and non-binary gender identities. In the political realm, debates evolve about polarization along educational lines, highlighting that different segments in society hold different preferences, and are currently drifting away from each other. Put differently, it appears as if identity is playing a more prominent role than ever in contemporary conflicts.

In this course, you will approach identity and its contemporary relevance from a sociological perspective. To facilitate this, the course is organized in three parts. The first part discusses some general social and social psychological concepts and theories on identities. In the second part, we zoom in on three relevant categories: class, ethnicity, and gender, and discuss their origins and relevance. In the last chunk of this course, we zoom in deeper on national and regional identities.

The course is taught in English (400151-B-6).

Learning goals 

In an ever changing world, it appears that traditional anchor points are losing relevance. Whereas societies in the past were often stratified according to religious or class lines, several societal processes, including secularization, individualization, and migration, puts the question “Who are we?” ever more to fore. Although it might seem obvious that a response to this question is personal, innate, and even genetic, several responses can be found through a sociological lens. The aim of this course is to provide a sociological understanding of the concept of identity by exploring how identities are socially constructed, and how they are intrinsically intertwined with debates about power and suppression. At the end of this course, you can 

• (1) identify different sociological concepts and theories on identities, 
• (2) explain how class, ethnicity, and gender are socially constructed, 
• (3) understand the differences between essentialist and constructivist understandings of nationhood, 
• (4) illustrate how identity categories are intertwined with power, 
• (5) use concepts in class to critically interpret current debates in society dealing with identity, 
• (6) write a literature review and explain the writing process on the topic of identities.

Assessment

This course will be assessed through an assignment and a written exam.

Contact person

t.reeskens@tilburguniversity.edu

Lecture dates

This course is taught in the Fall semester and is a block-course (block 2). The course is elective for students who enroll in the minor. Maximum 20 students of the minor can enroll for this course. 

The minor is open to all third-year Tilburg University students who need to take a minor as part of their curriculum. For specific questions about whether you can take these courses as a minor in your curriculum please ask your study advisor/education coordinator or exam committee to see if it is possible.

The three mandatory core courses of the minor will be taught and assessed in English. If you need a 30 ECT minor, please make sure to select 3 additional courses taught in the language of your preference (Dutch or English).

Yes, this is possible. If you need 18 ECTS for your minor, you enroll for the mandatory courses. If you need 24 ECTS, you must enroll for one additional elective course. 

No. This minor is specifically designed as an introduction to history and applied history inquiry.

All courses will be taught and assessed in English, so a high level of academic English is required to take the course.

Registration is possible through OSIRIS, from the moment when registration for the academic year 2024-25 is opened.

If you register, please send a notification email to d.deruysscher@tilburguniversity.edu. (There is no preregistration; therefore, this e-mail does not ensure your place).