This seminar challenges us to look back to a time before England’s colonial period and consider how people of the 16th century began to perceive of themselves as part of a truly global world. The class will begin by thinking what the concept of the “World” meant in early Tudor times, and also how the English were used to defining themselves in corporeal terms. We will then look at how people began to travel and where they went. We will consider how the increased use of maps helped people in England conceptualize spaces and places beyond their immediate environment, and we will look at Ireland, and the Irish, as the original “Other” to the English. From there we move to how early experiences of the Americas were described in word and image. We return to England to look at the body of Elizabeth I as the ground of political representation in the late 16th century before turning to skin and concepts of race. Finally, we study the growing impact of trade in the 17th century and the effect of new consumable items entering England’s markets and homes.
This course is a hybrid between art history, history, and English, and students from all of those majors will be encouraged to talk to one another and understand topics from across disciplines. Every week we will read a 16th-century text, literary or non-literary, and also consider visuality and visual culture which will include ceremonies, clothing, maps, architecture, bodily behavior, paintings, drawings, descriptions and material culture.

This course fulfills the following Major requirements: Geographical area (A), and Chronological period (II), based on the topic of the final research paper or project.