Unit 1: Elizabethan Society
- Preconceptions
- The shape of society
- Appearance and degree
- Defamation and dispute
- Disorder
- Variation between regions
Unit 2: Family, Community and Identity
- Marriage
- Children
- Household and community
- Portraiture
- Death
- Tomb monuments
Unit 3: Religion
- Building the Elizabethan church
- Religious life before the Reformation
- Changes to religious life
- Conformity
- Protestant propaganda
- Resistance
- Catholic persecution
Unit 4: The Economy
- The rural economy
- Enclosure
- Sheep
- Rabbits
- Arable farming
- Occupations and cottage industries
- Wealth and worth
- Economic problems
Unit 5: Parish and County
- How it all worked
- Regional variations
- Duty and service
- Patronage
- Defence
- Law and order
- Vagrancy and vagabondage
- Poor relief
- Charity provision
Unit 6: London and the Towns
- Towns
- Port towns
- London
- Guilds and livery companies
- Finance
- Urban households
- London life
- Immigration
Unit 7: Education, Knowledge, Skills
- Education
- Curriculum
- Universities and the Inns of Court
- Apprenticeships
- Female education
- Literacy and books
Unit 8: Buildings, Homes and Gardens
- The Great Rebuilding
- Farmhouses
- Urban architecture
- Public buildings
- New builders
- Gentry and noble houses
- Architects and builders
- Domestic life and interiors
- Gardens
Unit 9: Popular Culture
- Changes
- Feast days and festivals
- Accession Day
- Ballads
- Morris dancing
- Travelling entertainers
- Mystery and mummers plays
- Plays and playgoing
- Sports
Unit 10: Exploration and Discovery
- Explorers
- Opening up the world
- America
- Finance
- Drake and the circumnavigation
- The impact of the New World on the Old World
- Life at sea
- The Elizabethan age of exploration
We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.