This course traces the rise of one of Europe's most remarkable princely families. The Habsburgs, whose family seat was a remote fortress in an obscure corner of the Swiss lands, eventually occupied the imperial throne, a position they held for nearly four centuries, and presided over a global empire that at one point stretched from the Philippines to Portugal. Over the course of the semester we will follow their difficult path to power and the various crises the family faced as they were challenged by a series of ambitious rivals eager to supplant them. Chronologically, we begin in the late 13th century with the first Habsburg king, Rudolf I, and continue the story to the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars and the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
Though the Habsburg family provides the narrative line of the course, we will use them to explore key themes in the history of Central Europe: the Black Death and demographic disaster, Hussite wars and peasant revolts, the impact of the printing press, Martin Luther and Reformation, European expansion and the global Habsburg empire, the witch hunt, conflict with the Ottoman empire, and the emergence of Vienna as a great European city and center of Enlightenment culture. Over the semester we will examine the lives of princes and rebels, heretics and witches, scientists, artists, explorers and others who helped shape this dynamic age. Our entry point are the primary sources of the period. We will be reading a wide variety of literature that was produced during the period including history, biography, the short story, sermons, poetry, political theory, satire, and drama.
Most weeks during the semester will consist of both lecture and discussion. In the weekly discussion or tutorial session we will review the themes of the week through a close examination of course readings. Though the professor will supervise the weekly tutorial sessions, students will also take turns as discussion facilitators. Attendance for these sessions is mandatory.