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About the content
This course was previously called: The Magna Carta and its Legacy. This course aims to lead students into a greater appreciation for and an understanding of Magna Carta and its significance around the globe, as we approach the 800th anniversary of its sealing. The course examines why Magna Carta was radical in its day, why it has been a source of numerous debates, and why this anniversary is being celebrated in the present.
Syllabus
Magna Carta, Parliament and the Law 1215-1300 (Lecturers: Nigel Saul and Jonathan Phillips)
Learning outcome: to set the scene for studying Magna Carta; to show how Magna Carta became embedded in practice in England
Week 2
The reinvention of Magna Carta, 1508-1642 (Lecturer: Justin Champion)
Learning outcomes: to understand how the significance of the Magna Carta was reinvented in the context of the conflict between monarchy and parliament; to explore the use of Magna Carta in political cartoons
Week 3
The Whig Ancient Constitution, 1642-1776 (Lecturer: Justin Champion)
Learning Outcomes: to understand, and examine, how the ‘idea’ rather than the ‘event’ of Magna Carta became used by conservative and radical political groups; to understand the export of the tradition of Magna Carta into the American colonies
Week 4
Magna Carta and the wider world: constitution making (Lecturer: Emm Johnstone with others)
Learning outcomes include: to understand the significance of Magna Carta and its ideals in the establishment of constitutions and bills of human rights over the past two centuries
Week 5
Public history: memorialisation and memorials (Lecturer: Graham Smith and others)
Learning outcomes include examining the purposes of commemoration in modern society.
Week 6
Magna Carta: A History of an Argument c.1800-2015 (Lecturer: Graham Smith)
Learning outcomes include: to appreciate the complex and contested uses of Magna Carta in contemporary debates about human rights and the rule of law.
Instructors
- Justin Champion - History
- Emm Johnstone - History, Royal Holloway, University of London
- Nigel Saul - History Department
- Jonathan Phillips - History
- Graham Smith - History Department, Royal Holloway
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