HY 382/383 (Honors): The Civil Wars in Oxford
Fulfillments: Honors (optional); Upper Level European Field Requirement for History Majors
During the English Civil Wars of the seventeenth century, Oxford was the heart of Royalist power. When Charles I fled the parliament-sympathizing city of London, he set up his capital in Oxford. Here, the colleges hosted the King, Queen, and their royal relations, each taking up their own residence (the King at Merton, Prince Rupert at St. John’s, and so on). Parliament was held in both Convocation House and Christ Church’s dining hall, while All Souls became an armory. It was the true Cavalier Capital. Civil War Oxford was more than just a battle site, however. It was also a center of intellectual life, where the ideas that fueled the wars – constitutional structure, the question of democracy, the concepts of free speech, the ideal power of the state, religious doctrine, the relationship between religion and the state – were debated and put into action. This course will study the Civil Wars in detail, using the sites around Oxford as a living history. Students will walk in the footsteps of the Civil Wars in and around Oxford, asking big questions about one of the great turning points in British history.
Assistant Prof. Lucy Kaufman (University of Alabama)
Lucy Kaufman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Director of External Scholarships and Fellowships for the Honors College. Her book, A People’s Reformation: Building the English Church in the Elizabethan Parish, published with McGill Univ. Press in April, 2023. She has won multiple teaching awards and taught on the Oxford program in 2019. She also taught at Keble College, Oxford before coming to Alabama.