At the beginning of their studies, students attend introductory courses that provide an overview of the most important developments of our era. Those who are interested in more will have the opportunity to delve deeper into various topics of the early modern period in later semesters.

In research-oriented seminars, students work intensively with primary sources as early as the Bachelor's degree programme. Through the direct application of research methods and instruments, students learn about the research process itself, i.e. the way in which science arrives at findings. In doing so, they learn to critically reflect on 'facts' and gain a deeper understanding of social development processes.

Student research takes place in archives in Oldenburg and the region. Furthermore, the internationally oriented research of the Oldenburg early modernists also enables students to work with materials from overseas. Anchoring the Prize Papers project in our department also enables us to offer regular courses on source work in the context of digital humanities.

In keeping with our international orientation, we also encourage students to take advantage of the university's Erasmus programme and offer support in preparing for study abroad or internships at foreign research institutions.

The aim of the course is to demonstrate the pioneering character of this period (c. 1500-1800) as a kind of "model book of modernity" and at the same time to emphasise the historical peculiarities and the strangeness of the early modern period and to work out the essential characteristics of the period. In order to achieve this goal, structural-historical and experiential-historical contexts are clarified and students are introduced to the appropriate historical methods for analysing structural and cultural historical phenomena as well as relevant sources.

In addition to imparting specialised knowledge and deepening theory and methodology, the aim is to guide students towards independent, source-related academic work using methodological and theoretical concepts. Particular emphasis is placed on the independent development of historical questions. The choice of topics is orientated towards both contemporary orientation needs and current issues in early modern research and is therefore both research-related and socially reflective.

The courses generally have a European and cultural-historical component and thus deepen the ability to work in a historically comparative and interdisciplinary manner. The consideration of gender as an analytical category is a feature of all courses.