Beyond the Battlefield: Early Modern Arms and Armor as Interdisciplinary Objects

From richly decorated breastplates to simple converted farm tools, arms and armor were central to the material culture of early modern Europe. Military history, courtly pageantry, the flowering of guilds, growing global trade networks, religious reforms, technological developments, and much more can all be documented through arms and armor. In this course, students will become familiar with key items and makers of early modern European arms and armor as well as learn how the broader field sits at the heart of interdisciplinary scholarship. Through carefully selected case studies, visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, guest speakers, and primary source study, this course will tackle a variety of themes through the lens of arms and armor such as material science, ornamentation, sports, gender studies, literature, global art history, new media, and much more. Though focusing on early modern Europe (roughly defined as 1350–1789), this course will show how arms and armor can be useful tools for scholarly work whatever the topic. Coursework will center around a short descriptive paper to foster comfort in discussing arms and armor, a research presentation, and a final research paper. Together with the materials presented in sessions built around seminar-style discussions, these assignments will encourage students to discover the fascinating and multiple stories arms and armor can tell. 3 credits. Satisfies the chronological requirement.