Overview
This course provides a broad survey of the development of British society from prehistory to the advent of the Augustan Age. The focus of this course will be on a number of key themes, concepts and events that are pivotal to a full understanding of the British experience during this period. These will include the transformation of the British landscape; the growth of Roman and medieval villages and towns; the effect on early British society of the succeeding waves of settlement; the evolution and development of domestic, religious and military architectural styles; the economic and social devastation caused by the Black Death; the social and religious turmoil that followed the break with Rome; the artistic, cultural and literary outpouring that was the Elizabethan Renaissance; the ongoing efforts of the English Crown to maintain its power and prestige; and the civil wars and republican experiment that resulted from the clash of the royal prerogative and the rule of law in Parliament. Along with these topics, the course units will also explore the experience of a single English village during the period covered in an attempt to examine the daily lives of the ordinary men and women of rural British society, who raised their families, toiled in the fields, and made what they could of their lives in the years before the Industrial Revolution.
Evaluation
To receive credit for HIST 304, you must achieve a minimum grade of 50 percent on the final examination and a composite course grade of at least D (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Discussion Forum Questions | 10% |
| Crossword Puzzle Solutions | 10% |
| Assignment 1 | 20% |
| Assignment 2 | 30% |
| Final Examination | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Pryor, Francis. The Making of the British Landscape: How We Have Transformed the Land, from Prehistory to Today. London: Penguin Books, 2010.
Watkin, David. English Architecture: A Concise History, revised edition. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2001.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Roberts, Clayton, David Roberts, and Douglas R. Bisson. A History of England, Volume I: Prehistory to 1714, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2009.
Parker, Rowland. The Common Stream: Two Thousand Years of the English Village. St. Albans, UK: Granada Publishing Limited, 1976; reprinted by Athabasca University, 1993.
Other Resources
All other materials are available online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the HIST 304 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent)on the entire challenge examination.
| Activity | Weight |
| Part I: Exam | 50% |
| Part II: Exam | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form