HS3SWT: The World Turned Upside Down: Radicalism in the English Revolution

Module code: HS3SWT

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 40

ECTS credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Rachel Foxley, email: r.h.foxley@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 25 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module asks why the English Revolution (1640-1660) saw the birth of so many radical ideas and radical groups, both religious and political, and how far they affected the events of the revolutionary period. We will trace the origins and sources of radical ideas, and the locations and social and religious contexts which enabled and encouraged men and women to become involved in radical groupings, looking at Levellers, Diggers, republicans, and an array of religious radicals from Ranters to Quakers.

This module aims:

• To interrogate the nature and historiographical interpretation of early modern radicalism.
• To contextualise and historicize the radicalism of the English Revolution.
• To encourage students to gain confidence in analysing the commonalities and differences between the ideas developed by different (groups of) radicals in the period.

The purpose of the module is to allow students to further develop and demonstrate the skills they have gained working with primary sources throughout their degree programme.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Undertake detailed textual analysis and comment on the primary materials;
2. Recognise and interpret a wide range of different primary materials; and
3. Demonstrate a detailed command of varying historical interpretations of the primary materials and subject as a whole.

Module content

The module will introduce the English Revolution and debates about pre-existing political and religious cultures and about the processes of radicalisation which characterised the revolution. The module will include in-depth case-studies of the radicals and radicalism of particular phases of the revolution, looking at topics which may include: the origins of political radicalism in the earlier 1640s; radicalism and print culture; the Levellers and the New Model Army; the republicanism of the Free State 1649-1653; the Diggers; the Ranters; the crisis of 1653 and the Nominated Assembly; Cromwell and the cause of religious toleration; republicanism and the Cromwellian Protectorate; the Quakers; radicalism on the eve of Restoration in 1659-60; the legacies of revolutionary radicalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; and modern uses and historiographies of this radicalism. We will pay particular attention to gender and the roles of women within these radical activities.

A wide range of primary sources will be provided for discussion, with a particular emphasis on the printed literature circulated by radicals. We will explore several key questions:

• What were the sources of early modern radical ideas? Can these thinkers be described as part of a radical tradition?
• How did religious and political ideas interact in this period? Was religion at the root of political and social radicalism in this period?
• How did the context of the English Revolution foster the processes of radicalisation?
• What impact did radical thought and agitation have on the course of the English Revolution?

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• The teaching for this module involves weekly two-hour discussion seminars.
• Students will gain ‘hands-on’ experience of the historian’s task through the detailed evaluations of key texts, objects, and images, and the light they shed on the issues and problems being investigated.
• Students will be required to prepare for seminars through reading from both the primary sources and the secondary literature.

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative work, for instance essay plans, seminar presentations, book reviews, posters, practice source commentaries, will be required for this Special Subject over the two semesters. Practice commentaries on the sources will be required for formative assessment. 

Reassessment

Additional costs