Life in Elizabethan England

About this course

The course examines Elizabethan society beyond the royal court, considering how class, gender and race shaped status and daily life. It explores diet, sanitation, health, religion, witchcraft, healing, crime, punishment, famine, rioting, vagrancy and the Elizabethan Poor Laws. Teaching combines interactive lectures with classroom debates and discussions. Participants will work with extracts from contemporary and historiographical sources, supported by basic guidance on reading period material. An optional reading list is also provided.

What you'll learn

• Explain how gender, class and race influenced social status in Elizabethan England
• Assess the effects of diet, health and sanitation on Elizabethan lives
• Evaluate the social impact of corporeal and capital punishment
• Assess how food shortages affected social stability
• Identify Elizabethan ideas about the deserving and undeserving poor
• Assess the significance of the Elizabethan Poor Laws

Is this course right for you?

This introductory course is intended for learners with no prior knowledge of the topic. Participation involves engaging with lectures, classroom discussions and debates, alongside consideration of historical and historiographical sources.

• No prior knowledge of Elizabethan history is required
• Learners should be willing to engage in discussions and debates
• The course includes guided work with period sources

Before you go

• PowerPoint slides are provided
• A pen and notebook may be brought for making notes
• An optional reading list is provided