Saint-Louis University - Bruxelles
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HIST1115 - History of Belgium and the Low Countries



Credits : 5

Lecturer :
Mode of delivery :
Face-to-face , second term, 45 hours of theory.

Timetable :
Second term
Monday from 10:45 to 12:15
Tuesday from 13:30 to 15:00

Language of instruction :
French


Learning outcomes :
The student will develop a general kwowledge of the history of the Low Countries and Belgium and an in-depth kwowledge on the main evolutions, structures, processes, events, ideologies and characters within the history of these area. The student will also develop a critical thinking on the issues implied by any attempt of writing a national history (such as the definition of a reference frame, the danger of teleology, the variations of scale, the Hineininterpretierung).

Prerequisites :
None

Co-requisites :
None

Course contents :
After presenting the general analysis-frame, the course follows a chronological path. The first Part is dedicated to the long period (Pre- and Protohistory, Roman Times, Early Middle Ages up to the Carolingian period) during which the Low Countries did not form a distinctive area but that nonetheless saw the setting up of long-term structures and developpments in this region (population settlements, linguistic features, political and ecclesiastical boundaries, political and social institutions and so on). Part 2 focuses on the formation of the various territorial principalities (9th-14th c.) and their destiny once integrated into the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands : the evolution of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands, as well as of the principalities of Liège and of Stavelot-Malmedy, is studied from a mainly political and institutionnal point of vue. The following Parts deal with this area during the French annexation (1795-1814/1815) and the Dutch-Belgian amalgam (1814-1830), to end with the history of the Kingdom of Belgium, from centralized to federal State. This includes a look on the parallel evolutions of Netherland and Luxembourg. The variation of identities across times and the rise of proto-national then national feelings within this area receive a special attention.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Ex-cathedra lecture. Documents are presented and analysed or discussed during the class.

Assessment methods and criteria :
Oral examination (with written preparation) assessing the knowledge of the course. The student must be able to give an in-depth and detailled analysis of a given situation or fact. He/She must also be able to give a transversal analysis of the evolution accross various historical periods.


Recommended or required reading :
The bibliography is included in the framework-syllabus. There is no mandatory reading.

Other information :
Outline-syllabus that includes a thematic bibliography.
Powerpoint presentation including textual and visual documents as well as maps (available on the Moodle platform of the course).
Various other documents available on the Moodle platform of the course.