Guide in PDF format

History and Gender in the Early Modern Age

Code: 100370
Credits: 6

2026/2027

Degree programme	Type	Course
History	OP	4

Contact lecturer

Name :: Montserrat Jiménez Sureda
Email :: montserrat.jimenez@uab.cat

Teaching staff

: Montserrat Jiménez Sureda

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete this course, students are expected to possess a general background in history equivalent to upper-secondary education (Baccalaureate level), together with strong reading comprehension and written communication skills. Students should be able to read academic and essayistic texts, identify their main arguments, and participate in informed and evidence-based discussions on historical processes.

As the language of instruction and many of the course materials are in Catalan, students are also expected to have a sufficient command of Catalan to understand lectures, readings, classroom discussions, and other academic materials used throughout the course.

Beyond prior knowledge, particular importance is attached to intellectual curiosity, an interest in understanding human societies in all their complexity, and a willingness to ask questions about the major historical issues that have shaped the contemporary world.

The course also requires a commitment to academic rigor and integrity. Students are expected to take full responsibility for the authorship of their work, to acknowledge and respect sources appropriately, and to reject all forms of plagiarism or the improper appropriation of materials produced by others.

With regard to the use of artificial intelligence tools, these may be employed only as auxiliary resources for consultation, bibliographic guidance, language revision, or the preliminary exploration of topics. Under no circumstances may such tools replace the student's own intellectual work or be used to generate, wholly or partially, assignments, exercises, commentaries, or any other activities subject to assessment. Students must always ensure that the ideas, interpretations, and texts they submit are the result of their own reflection and intellectual effort.

This course is not conceived as an exercise in memorizing dates, facts, or events, but rather as an invitation to think historically. Major historical themes—including power, war, revolutions, inequality, belief systems, migration, state formation, and economic and cultural transformations—require analytical skills, sensitivity to the diversity of human experiences, and a willingness to engage critically with competing interpretations.

For this reason, special value will be placed on intellectual initiative, careful reading of both primary sources and assigned texts, the ability to connect historical processes across different periods and regions, and respectful, well-argued participation in class discussions. The objective is not merely to acquire knowledge, but to develop a critical and reflective understanding of the past that enables a deeper comprehension of present-day challenges.

The study of history entails both civic and intellectual responsibility. It requires respect for evidence, awareness of the complexity of historical processes, and a readiness to subject one's own assumptions and opinions to critical examination. Such an attitude is incompatible both with plagiarism and with the delegation of intellectual work to automated tools. The university is, above all, a space for the development of independent judgment, and such judgment can only be cultivated through personal effort, reading, reflection, and critical dialogue.

Objectives

The main objective of the course History and Gender in the Early Modern Period is to introduce students to the analysis of the historical processes that shaped European societies between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries from a gender perspective. The course is based on the recognition that traditional historiography has often rendered large sectors of the population invisible, particularly women and children, privileging interpretations of the past focused almost exclusively on male experiences, actions, and representations. This limitation has produced partial views of historical reality and has hindered a comprehensive understanding of human societies.

The incorporation of a gender perspective into historical analysis is not merely intended to recover historical actors traditionally excluded from conventional narratives. It also responds to the scholarly requirement to provide more complete, rigorous, and nuanced interpretations of historical processes. In this regard, the course aims to familiarize students with the contributions of women's history, gender history, and the new historiographical approaches that have transformed the study of the Early Modern period.

Through the study of power relations, identities, social inequalities, forms of political participation, everyday experiences, cultural representations, and the social constructions of sex and gender, students will develop a critical understanding of Early Modern societies and of their legacy in contemporary realities.

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

Understand the historical nature of gender relations and identify the political, social, economic, cultural, and religious factors that shaped them during the Early Modern period.
Analyze the major historical phenomena of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries by incorporating a gender perspective as a tool for interpreting and understanding social processes.
Recognize the role played by women and other traditionally marginalized groups in the construction of Early Modern societies.
Become familiar with the principal issues, debates, and research agendas in women's history and gender history as applied to the Early Modern period.
Critically analyze historical sources of different kinds in order to identify representations, experiences, and gender relations present in past societies.
Develop the ability to establish connections between past and present by identifying the historical roots of many contemporary inequalities, representations, and social dynamics.
Understand the mechanisms through which gender identities are constructed and their relationship with other categories of historical analysis such as social class, age, religion, geographical origin, and ethnicity.
Acquire a comparative perspective on historical phenomena, avoiding simplistic or deterministic interpretations and recognizing the inherent complexity of social processes.
Develop familiarity with the critical reading of historical and historiographical texts, identifying their theses, arguments, and interpretive frameworks.
Develop the ability to formulate historically relevant questions and to construct evidence-based explanations through the analysis of sources, readings, and historical evidence.
Improve oral and written communication skills through the rigorous presentation of arguments and the appropriate use of concepts and terminology specific to the historical discipline.
Understand that all historical interpretation is an intellectual construction subject to revision and debate in light of new sources, evidence, and analytical perspectives.
Recognize the diversity of historical and cultural experiences that have shaped human societies, fostering respect for plurality and recognition of the legal and social equality of all individuals.
Develop a critical awareness of the public uses of history, collective memories, and representations of the past present in contemporary political, cultural, and media discourses.
Acquire habits of intellectual work based on methodological rigor, source verification, academic responsibility, and scholarly integrity.
Apply the principles of academic ethics correctly, respecting standards of citation, authorship, and the responsible use of information.
Understand both the potential and the limitations of digital tools and artificial intelligence in historical research, using them critically and as complementary resources.
Consolidate a historical mode of thinking characterized by attention to context, respect for evidence, sensitivity to the complexity of human processes, and a permanent willingness to revise one's own interpretations.

Ultimately, the course seeks to contribute to the education of individuals capable of critically interpreting the contemporary world through historical knowledge, aware of the importance of gender relations in shaping human societies, and committed to the values of intellectual rigor, academic responsibility, and respect for diversity.

Learning outcomes

Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
Properly using the specific vocabulary of History.
Organising and planning the search of historical information.
Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
Solving problems autonomously.
Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
Recognising and implementing the following teamwork skills: commitment to teamwork, habit of cooperation, ability to participate in the problem solving processes.
Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
Analysing the key issues that allow us to address the study of historical phenomena from a gender perspective.
Assessing and critically solving the characteristic historiographical problems of gender history.

Course Syllabus

Topic 1. What Did It Mean to Be a Woman in the Ancien Régime?

Social constructions of sex and gender.
Legal status, family, and the life cycle.
The diversity of women's experiences.

Topic 2. Work, Economy, and Productive Activities

Women's participation in the Early Modern economy.
Domestic, artisanal, agricultural, and commercial work.
The invisibility and recognition of women's labor.

Topic 3. The Foundations of a Gendered Worldview

Anthropology, religion, and social thought.
Classical and Christian traditions.
Nature, the body, and sexual difference.

Topic 4. Misogyny, Philogyny, and the Woman Question

Discourses on female inferiority and superiority.
The Querelle des Femmes and its debates.
Representations of femininity in Early Modern culture.

Topic 5. Utopias, Dystopias, and Gender Models

Female utopias and male utopias.
Ideal models of women and men.
Literature, education, and social control.

Topic 6. The Renaissance of Women

Humanism and women's education.
Women's writing, culture, and intellectual advancement.
New spaces of participation.

Topic 7. Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and Women's Religious Experiences

Confessional change and gender identities.
Convents, spirituality, and mysticism.
Moral regulation and social discipline.

Topic 8. Women, Gender, and Atlantic Expansion

Women's presence in the American territories.
Miscegenation, colonization, and power relations.
The experiences of Indigenous, European, and African women.

Topic 9. Women in Baroque Culture

Artistic and literary representations.
Power, sociability, and court culture.
Spirituality, emotions, and everyday life.

Topic 10. The Enlightenment and the Limits of Female Emancipation

Reformism and education.
“Everything for the people, but without the people”: women and political exclusion.
Continuities and changes on the eve of the contemporary era.

Learning activities and methodology

Title	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Theoretical classes	39	1.56	3, 10, 11
Tutorials	15	0.6
Writing of papers, oral presentations, teamwork	25	1	1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
Individual study for the preparation of the subject	50	2	4, 5, 6, 11
Seminars and classroom practices	15	0.6	3, 4, 7, 12

Teaching Methodology and Learning Activities

Learning in this course is based on the active and continuous participation of students in the full range of scheduled teaching activities. As this is a face-to-face university course, regular attendance is considered an essential component of the learning process. Classroom sessions are not limited to the transmission of content; rather, they constitute spaces for analysis, debate, shared reflection, the exchange of ideas, and the collective construction of knowledge, complementing and enriching individual study.

The course combines lectures and practical activities, both individual and collaborative. Lectures will address the fundamental contents of the syllabus, while practical activities will encourage the application of acquired knowledge, the development of critical thinking skills, and familiarity with the methodologies specific to the discipline of history.

Learning activities will include:

Attendance and active participation in lectures delivered by the instructor.
Participation in seminars, debates, and other classroom-based activities.
Reading, analysis, and discussion of texts, historical sources, and other course materials.
Preparation of critical commentaries, historical analysis exercises, and other academic assignments.
Preparation and delivery of individual or group oral presentations.
Participation in practical and collaborative activities related to the course contents.
Independent study and preparation for the various assessment activities.

As part of the individualized practical activities, students will be required to undertake a close and critical reading of a book or a set of texts assigned by the instructor. Based on this reading, they will develop a critical reflection that may be assessed through specific questions included in the written examinations of the course. In addition, each student will be required to prepare an academic paper related to the course contents, which must be presented and defended orally in class on the date established by the instructor.

In order to encourage continuous engagement with the course and effective student participation, attendance checks may be conducted periodically throughout the semester. Furthermore, practical activities, collaborative exercises, debates, and other teaching dynamics that contribute to continuous assessment may be scheduled and carried out during face-to-face sessions.

Continuous assessment requires compliance with the deadlines established for the submission of all learning activities. All assignments, exercises, commentaries, presentations, and any other assessable activities must be submitted within the prescribed deadlines and, in any case, before the end of the teaching period. As a general rule, late submissions will not be accepted except in exceptional circumstances that are duly justified and supported by appropriate documentation.

Attendance at in-person written examinations is mandatory. Failure to attend may only be considered justifiable in serious and unforeseen circumstances that can be properly documented through official evidence, such as illness, accidents, hospitalization, or other cases of force majeure. Scheduling conflicts, personal travel arrangements, or other ordinary circumstances will not normally constitute sufficient grounds for justification.

Finally, in order to contribute to the continuous improvement of teaching quality, approximately fifteen minutes of a class session will be reserved, in accordance with the timetable established by the faculty and degree programme, to allow students to complete the institutional surveys evaluating both the instructor's teaching activity and the course itself. Participation in these surveys is voluntary, although it is regarded as a valuable contribution to the ongoing enhancement of university teaching and learning.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title	Weight	Hours	ECTS	Learning outcomes
Oral expositions and active participation in classroom	20%	2	0.08	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Two test	60% (30 % + 30 %)	2	0.08	2, 3, 7, 11, 12
Papers	20 %	2	0.08	1, 2, 3, 7

Assessment System

Continuous Assessment

Continuous assessment is based on the regular monitoring of students' learning process and combines different assessment instruments in order to evaluate both the acquisition of knowledge and the development of analytical, critical, and communication skills.

The final grade will be calculated according to the following components:

Written examinations: 60% of the final grade, distributed across two mid-term examinations worth 30% each.
Bibliographic research paper: 20% of the final grade. This assignment must be completed individually and presented orally in class on the dates established by the instructor.
Reading, critical reflection, and oral presentation: 20% of the final grade. Students will be required to read a book or a set of texts assigned by the instructor, demonstrate their understanding and critical reflection through specific questions included in the written examinations, and participate in any discussion or presentation activities established for this component.

Assessment activities will be distributed throughout the semester, and their dates will be communicated sufficiently in advance. Students have the right to review all grades received and will be informed of the relevant review procedures and deadlines through the appropriate institutional channels.

Single Assessment

Students who choose the single-assessment modality will be evaluated through the following components:

Comprehensive final examination: 60% of the final grade.
Recorded oral presentation on a topic agreed upon with the instructor: 20% of the final grade.
Written academic paper previously agreed upon with the instructor: 20% of the final grade.

All activities corresponding to this assessment modality must be submitted or completed on the date established by the instructor, which will normally coincide with the official date designated for single assessment.

General Provisions

The course will be considered successfully completed when the student obtains a final grade of 5 out of 10 or higher.

The grade "Not Assessable" (No Avaluable) will be awarded to students who have not completed assessment activities representing more than 30% of the total course grade. Students receiving a Not Assessable grade will not be eligible to participate in the resit examination process.

Students have the right to review the results of all examinations and assessment activities.

Individual circumstances requiring specific consideration will be taken into account, provided that they are duly justified and supported by appropriate documentation in accordance with current university regulations.

Academic Integrity and the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Any irregularity committed in an assessment activity that may significantly affect the resulting grade will be considered a serious breach of academic integrity. In such cases, the affected activity will receive a grade of 0 (zero). Repeated irregularities in different assessment activities will result in a final course grade of 0 (zero), without prejudice to any disciplinary measures that the University may adopt.

The use of artificial intelligence tools is permitted in this course as an auxiliary resource for bibliographic searches, information retrieval, language revision, or text translation. Such tools may also be used during the preparation of academic assignments, provided that students explicitly and transparently indicate which parts of their work have been produced with the assistance of these tools and that their own contribution remains substantial and predominant in the final submitted work.

Any lack of transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools will be considered a violation of the principles of academic integrity and will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for the corresponding activity.

Resit Assessment

To be eligible for the resit assessment, students following the continuous assessment modality must have previously completed assessment activities representing at least two-thirds of the total course grade. In the case of single assessment, all required activities must have been completed and submitted.

Certain assessment activities may be excluded from the resit process if, by their nature, they are not recoverable, such as oral presentations, group assignments, or activities directly linked to classroom participation and teaching dynamics.

The resit assessment will consist of a comprehensive examination covering the material taught throughout the course and will take place on the date officially established by the Faculty.

The maximum grade obtainable through the resit procedure is 5 out of 10 (Pass). The purpose of the resit assessment is to enable students who have not met the minimum requirements during the ordinary assessment process to pass the course. Under no circumstances may it be used to improve the grade of students who have already successfully passed the course.

The way to evaluate the follow-up of the directed activities (master classes) will be two exams. These tests will represent 60% (30+ 30) of the student's overall grade. The bibliographic work will constitute 20% of the grade. The activity related to reading, reflection and exhibition in class of individualized material will represent 20% of the overall score.

Those students who accept the single assessment will be assessed with the result of the following parameters: a single final exam (60% of the grade), the delivery by e-mail of the recording of an oral presentation at the end of the syllabus (20%), the final delivery of a written work agreed with the teacher (20%).

Students must have been previously evaluated on a set of activities whose weight equals at least 2/3 of the total grade (CONTINUOUS EVALUATION) or submit all planned tests (SINGLE EVALUATION).

The teacher responsible for the subject may require having obtained a minimum grade in the average of the subject (this grade may not exceed 3.5 in any case). If so, it should also be clear in the teaching guides.

Those activities that the teacher considers non-recoverable may be excluded from the recovery process, for example: oral presentations, group work, tasks related to the activity.Students must have been previously evaluated on a set of activities whose weight equals at least 2/3 of the total grade (CONTINUOUS EVALUATION) or submit all planned tests (SINGLE EVALUATION).

To participate in the recovery process, the teacher responsible for the subject may require having obtained a minimum grade in the average of the subject. This grade may not exceed 3.5 in any case. If so, it should be explicitly stated in the teaching guides. -The teacher responsible for the subject may require having obtained a minimum grade in the average of the subject (this grade may not exceed 3.5 in any case) If so, it should also be clear in the teaching guides.

Those activities that the teacher considers non-recoverable may be excluded from the recovery process, for example: oral presentations, group work, tasks related to the activity.

This subject includes the single assessment; however, students must formally request it during the period designated by the Faculty.

This subject allows the use of AI technologies as an integral part of the submitted work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.

Any irregularity committed by a student during the performance of a test (copy, plagiarism) will have a grade of zero in the specific evaluation section. Various irregularities committed imply a global score of zero.

To participate in the resit process, students must have been previously assessed in a set of activities that account for at least two-thirds of the total grade (CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT), or must have submitted all the scheduled assessments (SINGLE ASSESSMENT).

Activities that the instructor considers non-recoverable—such as oral presentations, group work, or tasks related to daily teaching activities—may be excluded from the resit process.

The recovery will consist of a global examination of the subject matter and will be held on the official dates established by the Faculty. In no case may recovery be considered as a means to improve the qualification of students who have already passed the subject in the normal process of continuous evaluation. The maximum note that can be obtained in the recovery will be 5.0 (Approved).

The students will have the right to review the results of the tests carried out.

The particular cases that adequately justified have to be objecto of a particular treatment will be taken into account.

With regard to grading criteria and the conditions for accessing resit assessment procedures, it is hereby stated that the grade obtained does not meet the minimum threshold established as the average mark of continuous assessment required in order to be eligible for the corresponding resit examination. It is further explicitly recalled that, in accordance with the current academic regulations of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), specifically Article 261.3, the maximum grade that may be awarded in the resit process shall not exceed 3.5.

With respect to exchange / Erasmus students who request to take an examination in advance, it is mandatory that they submit to the course instructor an official written document issued by their home university explicitly justifying the request to advance the relevant examination.

Finally, regarding the resit system applicable within the framework of single assessment, and in cases where no substantial differences exist in relation to the continuous assessment system, it is hereby indicated that the same resit procedure as that established for continuous assessment shall apply.

Bibliography

Bibliographical selection

D. a.: Historia y género. Las mujeres en la Europa Moderna y Contemporánea, Alfons el Magnànim, València, 1990.

D. a.: Historia de las mujeres. Una historia propia, Crítica, Barcelona, 1991.

D. a.: Historia de las mujeres en Occidente, Taurus, Madrid, 2006.

D. a.: El lugar de las mujeres en la historia, Universitat de València, València, 2023.

Fauré, C.: Enciclopedia histórica y política de las mujeres, Akal, Madrid, 2010.

Jiménez Sureda, M.: Manual d'Història de la Dona, U.A.B., Bellaterra, 2021.

Jiménez Sureda, M.: \"La situació femenina en l'Antic Règim\", Revista de Catalunya, 174 (2002), pp. 25-52.

Jiménez Sureda, M.: \"La mujer en la esfera laboral a lo largo de la historia\", Manuscrits, 27 (2009), pp. 21-49.

Jiménez Sureda, M.: \"La mujer ideal es, realmente, la otra. Alteridades femeninas yrelato histórico\", e-Humanista, 57 (2024).

Jiménez Sureda, M.: Les bruixes. Del feminicidi històric a l'icona social, UAB, Bellaterra, 2021.

Jiménez Sureda, M.: L'accés de les dones a les professions sanitàries al llarg de la història, UAB, Bellaterra, 2021,

Morant, I (dir.): Historia de las mujeres en España y en América Latina, Cátedra, Madrid, 2006.

Segura Graíño, C.: Diccionario de mujeres en la historia, Espasa, Madrid, 1998.

Software

This course does not require the use of any specific learning or professional software beyond the basic digital tools provided through the University's institutional infrastructure, such as the virtual learning environment, word-processing software, and online bibliographic resources. The development of course content and assessment activities is based primarily on the reading, critical analysis, and discussion of texts, as well as on students' written and oral academic work.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching	Group	Language	Semester	Shift
(TE) Theory	1	Catalan	first semester	morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices	1	Catalan	first semester	morning-mixed