MA in Tudor History by Research

Students will be encouraged to consider the interrelation of political, architectural, art, and social history. After the Course Director’s general introduction, there will be a series of twelve seminars which explore the origins of the Tudor dynasty in the Wars of the Roses and the government of the early Tudor state (and its limitations). The reign of Henry VIII will be examined as an example of ‘Renaissance monarchy’. Female monarchy and its implications for Tudor government will be another major theme. The course will also consider the material culture of Tudor England at all social levels, examining propaganda and print, architectural patronage and its development throughout the Tudor period. It will review the evidence of artistic patronage and the development of Renaissance literature and drama in the Tudor period. Reading lists will be made available before each lecture to allow for background reading and discussion with the expert speakers.Each seminar will take place in the early evening at the Reform Club in Pall Mall, and will include a 40-minute question-and-answer session with the seminar speakers, all recognised experts in their fields.Each seminar will be followed by a dinner at which there will be further discussion with the speaker and a general conversation about the topic in hand. The cost of the dinners is included in the tuition fees. Click on the Teaching & Assessment tab for more information.Tutorials and meetings will take place at the University of Buckingham’s London offices at 51 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, WC1E 6HJ. The Course Director:
Glenn Richardson, BA (Hons), PhD, FRHistS, FSA, FHA (Hon), FHEAGlenn Richardson is Professorial Research Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham, and is also Professor of Early Modern History at St Mary’s University London. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries, and an Honorary Fellow of the Historical Association. He lectures regularly for the University of Oxford’s Department of Continuing Education.His research interests are grounded in Anglo-French relations in the sixteenth century, but encompass early-modern European diplomacy and cultural exchanges more widely. His other principal areas of research are European Renaissance monarchy, the Tudor and Valois courts, and royal masculinity. Professor Richardson’s most recent publication is "The Field of Cloth of Gold" (Yale UP, 2013). He is currently writing a biography of Cardinal Wolsey.Guest speakersClick on the Teaching & Assessment tab for full details of the guest seminars and dinners. Speakers for 2017-18 include:

Dr John Cooper, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of York

Dr David Starkey CBE FSA RHistS, British constitutional historian and radio and television presenter

Dr Charlotte Boland, Collections Curator 16th Century, National Portrait Gallery

Professor George Bernard, Professor of Early Modern History, University of Southampton

Professor Alex Ryrie, University of Durham; author of "Being Protestant in Reformation Britain"

Professor Susan Doran, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer, Jesus College, Oxford

Dr Simon Thurley, Author of "Houses of Power"; former Chief Executive of English Heritage

Dr Janet Dickinson, Historian, lecturer and author of "Court Politics and the Earl of Essex, 1589-1601"

Professor Maria Hayward, Professor of Early Modern History, University of Southampton

Associate studentsFor those wishing to attend the evening research seminar programme, but unable to devote the time to the coursework or to register for the MA degree, there is the option of becoming an Associate Student. This status will enable the student to attend the ten research seminars and to meet the guest lecturers, in the first six months of the programme, but does not require the submission of written work. Associate Students are not registered for, and do not receive, the MA degree.For further details contact: