Research Paper: The German Reformation and the Peasant's War
In the 16th century, Europe, most notably Germany, witnessed significant religious change that impacted society politically, socially, economically and militarily. Collectively, the religious changes that characterized this period are referred to as the Reformation and resulted in the formation of Christian sects known as Protestant due to their separation from the Catholic Church and the Pope in Rome. While the main voices of the German Reformation were concerned exclusively with religious change, many of their ideas resonated with the common German people, who were as dissatisfied with their political leaders as reformers like Martin Luther were with church leaders. They intended to use Reformation ideals to effect political and social change, rising in rebellions that swept across Germany. In this essay, you will use primary and secondary sources to explore an aspect of these parallel movements that transformed European society.
Note: This is an argumentative paper, which means your primary goal is to prove a point about something related to the Reformation or the Peasant's War. Presenting an overview or summary is not the same as making an argument.
Based on a selection of documents chosen from your Baylor, The German Reformation and the Peasant's War text and at least 3 additional secondary sources (books, book chapters or journal articles), formulate an argument related to some aspect of the Reformation or the Peasant's War. You could devise a topic that engages both of these phenomena, though it is not required. You may address just one of the two. Your essay must include direct citation of at least 3 primary sources from the Baylor text. Note that there is a difference between the portions of the text where the author provides summaries of each section and the primary documents themselves. Citing from the former is not the same as citing the latter.
Possible topics of investigation:
While you may choose to focus your essay on any of the topics covered by the readings in the book, I have identified some possible avenues for investigation. Remember that the essay is argumentative. So while you begin your investigation with a question, your final essay should include an answer to that question in the form of a thesis statement (i.e. what you will prove and how you will prove it)
-What was the social, economic and/or political impact of Religious Reformation on German society?
-What was the social, economic and/or political impact of the Peasants' War on German society?
-What elements of Luther's argument (or that of other religious leaders) influenced the individuals involved in the Peasants' War?
-What were the causes of the Peasants' War?
-What were the causes of Religious Reformation?
-Why did the Peasants' War fail?
-Was the relationship between Religious Reformation and the Peasants' War causal or coincidental?
-What role did urban centers play in Religious Reformation and/or the Peasants' War?
While your argument should be based on the primary sources, it must be supplemented or supported by secondary sources. These secondary sources should be books or journal articles. They need to be scholarly, meaning they are peer reviewed and include citation. If you do not see citation, it is not scholarly. This includes your textbook. They should not include anything encyclopedic or anything with "wiki" in its name. Internet sources will not be considered acceptable unless you have secured my prior approval (unless they are accessed through the ODU library website). If in doubt about a source, email me with the information and I can let you know if it is acceptable or not.
Your final essay should be 3-4 pages, double spaced.
You do not need a title page, works cited page, or bibliography. Include a heading on the first page with your name, my name and the date. All of the bibliographic information will be in your footnotes, so anything extra would be redundant.