Is the project of European integration starting to unravel? Is Germany again striving for a position of leadership in Europe? Does Europe include Russia or Turkey? How likely is Europe nowadays to return to the destabilizing ethnic hatreds of the 1930s and the Second World War? Are authoritarian capitalist regimes (vide Russia and China) poised for a comeback after the defeat of such regimes in the Second World War? Is Spain different from Europe? Will the current policy of “austericide” in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece lead to civil wars, revolutions and dictatorships? What does “European socialism” really mean and why is it so frightening to some Americans? Why are Europeans less willing to use military force than Americans? Will the growing divide in transatlantic relations lead to Europe going its own way in the world? These are questions debated here and now which this course will illuminate from a historical perspective.
Many common traits and similar developments have historically differentiated the European nations from surrounding ones and have given them a distinct character. There is more than sufficient reason to put the histories of the European nations into a single narrative, whilst retaining an eye on Europe´s immense internal diversity and great national variations. Against the background of the most significant political, socio-economic and cultural trends in European history from the French Revolution to the present day, the course will give prominence to describing and explaining the forces, tensions and dilemmas that have shaped contemporary Europe. Europe is the home of freedom, democracy and national self-determination, but at the same time also the birthplace of imperialism, racism, fascism and communism. In addition, the course will examine how the idea of ´Europe´ has shifted over the last two centuries, as well as questions of collective memory and their role in the formation of a distinctive European identity. (3 credits)
Attendance policy:
Attendance is mandatory for all IES classes, including field studies. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
Learning outcomes:
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the course, students are able to:
identify the main scenarios (countries and/or cultures) and processes of European history;
outline the shifting frontiers and transformations of Europe;
examine and interpret the specific grounds for the search for peace and unity as an escape from the divisive and lethal contradictions of historical forces in Europe;
recognise the historical, cultural, institutional and structural bases for European integration.
Method of presentation:
LECTURES: delivery of core course content and the opportunity to clarify issues.
READER: a selection of key texts designed to develop general understanding of the subject matter and foment in class discussion. All required readings can be found in the course reader. The readings listed for a particular session must be completed BEFORE coming to class that day.
FILM AND DOCUMENTARY VIEWINGS: viewing of documentary clips and of an original language film (with English subtitles), to be discussed in class (and film to be analysed in a short essay).
CLASS DEBATES based on student reading and research.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation (20%); 2 essays (2´15%); mid-term exam (20%); final exam (30%)
Exams: will consist of short and essay-like questions.
Class Participation: will be based on discussion of the assigned readings and participation in class debates and group activities and contribution to Moodle-based activities.
ESSAYS: the first essay will be a report on the subject of the First World War; in the second essay you will analyse the film viewed during the course. Each report should be approximately 1500 words.
content:
Session 1: Introduction to Europe and European history: changing boundaries
Session 2: Some basic concepts and keywords in European history.
Online materials.
Session 3: The Age of Revolution – the French Revolution and its impact. Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: xxv-xxix, 1-15. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Session 4: Napoleon and his bid to master Europe: unification from above? Grab, A. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe: 19-33; 197-211. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
Session 5: Modernization and industrialization in 19th-century Europe. Davies, N. Europe, a History: 764-782. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 6: 1848, ´The Springtime of the Peoples´ Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 55-66. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Session 7: Nation-building and nationalism in Europe (1): the unification of Germany.
Online texts, visual materials and quiz on Moodle.
Session 8: Nation-building and nationalism in Europe (2): a comparative perspective Bayly, C.A. The Birth of the Modern World 1780-1914. Global Connections and Comparisons: 199-219, 224-227. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Session 9: European imperialism Hopkins, A.G. The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789-1914: 210-211, 218-221, 224-32. Oxford: OUP, 2000.
Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 140-144. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Session 10: The rise of Socialism Roberts, J.M. Europe, 1880-1945: 239-252. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman, 1989.
Session 11: The Great War (1914-1919). Consequences of the Peace of Versailles. Impact of the Russian Revolution Davies, N. Europe, a History: 914-932. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 12: MIDTERM EXAM
Session 13: Europe in the Twenties: the rise of fascism in Italy Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 617-637. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Session 14: Nazism and the crisis of democracy in 1930s Europe. Some notes on Stalin’s Soviet Union McDonough, Frank. Hitler and Nazi Germany: 2-21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Sessions 15: The Second World War (1): appeasement, Blitzkrieg, accommodation, collaboration and turning points Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 644-667. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Sessions 16: The Second World War (2): Jewish persecution and the Holocaust.
Online texts, visual materials and assignment on Moodle.
Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: 387-389. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Session 17: The Second World War (3): Kanal, film by Andrzej Wajda - class debate on film. Online film reviews.
Session 18: The onset of the Cold War Davies, N. Europe, a History: 1058-1067. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 19: Western Europe transformed, 1950-1975 Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 290-313. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Session 20: Western Europe´s cultural revolution: from the 1968 student revolts to the present Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 316-325. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Lilla, Mark. “Shades of the ´60s,” in Newsweek (4 June 2001), pp. 22-23.
Session 21: Eastern Europe behind the ´Iron Curtain´: the GDR Audiovisual material & assignment on Moodle.
Session 22: The revolutions of 1989: the fall of Communism Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe, vol.II: 1375-1398. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Session 23: Contemporary Europe: the reunification of Germany, war in Yugoslavia and the expansion of the EU Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 393-401. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Session 24: Past, present and future of Europe.
Required readings:
Bayly, C.A. The Birth of the Modern World 1780-1914. Global Connections and Comparisons: 199-219, 224-227. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Davies, N. Europe, a History: 764-782; 914-932; 1058-1067. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 617-637, 644-667. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Grab, A. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe: 19-33; 197-211. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
Hopkins, A.G. The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789-1914: 210-211, 218-221, 224-32. Oxford: OUP, 2000.
Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 55-66, 140-144. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Lilla, Mark. “Shades of the ´60s,” in Newsweek (4 June 2001), pp. 22-23.
Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 290-313, 316-325, 393-401. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
McDonough, Frank. Hitler and Nazi Germany: 2-21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe, vol.II: 1375-1398. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: xxv-xxix, 1-15, 387-389. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Is the project of European integration starting to unravel? Is Germany again striving for a position of leadership in Europe? Does Europe include Russia or Turkey? How likely is Europe nowadays to return to the destabilizing ethnic hatreds of the 1930s and the Second World War? Are authoritarian capitalist regimes (vide Russia and China) poised for a comeback after the defeat of such regimes in the Second World War? Is Spain different from Europe? Will the current policy of “austericide” in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece lead to civil wars, revolutions and dictatorships? What does “European socialism” really mean and why is it so frightening to some Americans? Why are Europeans less willing to use military force than Americans? Will the growing divide in transatlantic relations lead to Europe going its own way in the world? These are questions debated here and now which this course will illuminate from a historical perspective.
Many common traits and similar developments have historically differentiated the European nations from surrounding ones and have given them a distinct character. There is more than sufficient reason to put the histories of the European nations into a single narrative, whilst retaining an eye on Europe´s immense internal diversity and great national variations. Against the background of the most significant political, socio-economic and cultural trends in European history from the French Revolution to the present day, the course will give prominence to describing and explaining the forces, tensions and dilemmas that have shaped contemporary Europe. Europe is the home of freedom, democracy and national self-determination, but at the same time also the birthplace of imperialism, racism, fascism and communism. In addition, the course will examine how the idea of ´Europe´ has shifted over the last two centuries, as well as questions of collective memory and their role in the formation of a distinctive European identity. (3 credits)
Attendance is mandatory for all IES classes, including field studies. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the course, students are able to:
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
Class participation (20%); 2 essays (2´15%); mid-term exam (20%); final exam (30%)
Exams: will consist of short and essay-like questions.
Class Participation: will be based on discussion of the assigned readings and participation in class debates and group activities and contribution to Moodle-based activities.
ESSAYS: the first essay will be a report on the subject of the First World War; in the second essay you will analyse the film viewed during the course. Each report should be approximately 1500 words.
Session 1: Introduction to Europe and European history: changing boundaries
Session 2: Some basic concepts and keywords in European history.
Online materials.
Session 3: The Age of Revolution – the French Revolution and its impact. Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: xxv-xxix, 1-15. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Session 4: Napoleon and his bid to master Europe: unification from above? Grab, A. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe: 19-33; 197-211. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
Session 5: Modernization and industrialization in 19th-century Europe. Davies, N. Europe, a History: 764-782. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 6: 1848, ´The Springtime of the Peoples´ Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 55-66. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Session 7: Nation-building and nationalism in Europe (1): the unification of Germany.
Online texts, visual materials and quiz on Moodle.
Session 8: Nation-building and nationalism in Europe (2): a comparative perspective Bayly, C.A. The Birth of the Modern World 1780-1914. Global Connections and Comparisons: 199-219, 224-227. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Session 9: European imperialism Hopkins, A.G. The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789-1914: 210-211, 218-221, 224-32. Oxford: OUP, 2000.
Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 140-144. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Session 10: The rise of Socialism Roberts, J.M. Europe, 1880-1945: 239-252. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman, 1989.
Session 11: The Great War (1914-1919). Consequences of the Peace of Versailles. Impact of the Russian Revolution Davies, N. Europe, a History: 914-932. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 12: MIDTERM EXAM
Session 13: Europe in the Twenties: the rise of fascism in Italy Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 617-637. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Session 14: Nazism and the crisis of democracy in 1930s Europe. Some notes on Stalin’s Soviet Union McDonough, Frank. Hitler and Nazi Germany: 2-21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Sessions 15: The Second World War (1): appeasement, Blitzkrieg, accommodation, collaboration and turning points Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 644-667. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Sessions 16: The Second World War (2): Jewish persecution and the Holocaust.
Online texts, visual materials and assignment on Moodle.
Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: 387-389. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Session 17: The Second World War (3): Kanal, film by Andrzej Wajda - class debate on film. Online film reviews.
Session 18: The onset of the Cold War Davies, N. Europe, a History: 1058-1067. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Session 19: Western Europe transformed, 1950-1975 Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 290-313. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Session 20: Western Europe´s cultural revolution: from the 1968 student revolts to the present Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 316-325. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Lilla, Mark. “Shades of the ´60s,” in Newsweek (4 June 2001), pp. 22-23.
Session 21: Eastern Europe behind the ´Iron Curtain´: the GDR Audiovisual material & assignment on Moodle.
Session 22: The revolutions of 1989: the fall of Communism Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe, vol.II: 1375-1398. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Session 23: Contemporary Europe: the reunification of Germany, war in Yugoslavia and the expansion of the EU Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 393-401. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
Session 24: Past, present and future of Europe.
Bayly, C.A. The Birth of the Modern World 1780-1914. Global Connections and Comparisons: 199-219, 224-227. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004.
Davies, N. Europe, a History: 764-782; 914-932; 1058-1067. Oxford: OUP, 1996.
Esler, A. The Western World. A Narrative History: 617-637, 644-667. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Grab, A. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe: 19-33; 197-211. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
Hopkins, A.G. The Nineteenth Century: Europe 1789-1914: 210-211, 218-221, 224-32. Oxford: OUP, 2000.
Lee, S.J. Aspects of European History 1789-1980: 55-66, 140-144. London & New York: Routledge, 1988.
Lilla, Mark. “Shades of the ´60s,” in Newsweek (4 June 2001), pp. 22-23.
Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe´s Twentieth Century: 290-313, 316-325, 393-401. London: Allen Lane, 1998.
McDonough, Frank. Hitler and Nazi Germany: 2-21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Merriman, John. A History of Modern Europe, vol.II: 1375-1398. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Miller, Stuart. Mastering Modern European History: xxv-xxix, 1-15, 387-389. 2nd ed. Basingstoke/London: Macmillan, 1997.
Roberts, J.M. Europe, 1880-1945: 239-252. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman, 1989.
Anderson, M.S. (2003). The Ascendancy of Europe, 1815-1914. London: Longman.
Barraclough, G. (1978). The Times Atlas of World History. London: Times Book Ltd.
Bayly, C.A. (2004). The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914. Oxford: Blackwell.
Blanning, T.C.W. (2000). Nineteenth Century Europe 1789-1914. Oxford: OUP.
Cate, C. (1978) The Ides of August: The Berlin Wall Crisis. 1961. New York: Evans.
Chambers, M., B. Hanawalt, T. Rabb, I. Woloch, and R. Grew (2003). The Western Experience. New York: McGraw Hill.
Dziewanowski, M.K. (1991). War At Any Price: World War II In Europe, 1939-1945. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Geary, D. (1989). Labour and Socialist Movements in Europe before 1914, Oxford: Berg.
Griffin, R. (ed.) (1995). Fascism. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.
Hobsbawm, E. J. (1990). Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. Cambridge: Cambridge Universtiy Press.
Hobsbawm, Eric (1994). Age of Extremes: the Short 20th Century. London: Michael Joseph.
Kitchen, M. (1988). Europe between the Wars: a Political History. London: Longman.
Mayer, A.J. (1981). The Persistence of the Old Regime: Europe to the Great War. New York: Pantheon Books.
McCormick, J. (1999). Understanding the European Union. New York: Palgrave.
Mazower, Mark (1998). Dark Continent. Europe's Twentieth Century. London: Allen Lane.
O'Brien, P. (1994). The Industrial Revolution in Europe. Oxford: Blackwell.
Pagden, A. (ed.) (2002). The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Payne, S.G. (1980). Fascism: Comparison and Definition. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Pétré-Grenouilleau, O. (ed.) (2004). From Slave Trade to Empire: European Colonisation of Black Africa, 1780s-1880s. Abingdon & New York: Routledge.
Sebald, W. G. (2001). Austerlitz. Trans. A. Bell. London: Penguin Books.
Sewell, W. H. Jr. (1985). Ideologies and Social Revolutions: Reflections on the French Case. Journal of Modern History 57: 57- 85.
Snyder, L. L. (1978). Roots of German Nationalism. Bloomington & London: Indiana Uuniversity Press.
Sperber, J. (2005) The European Revolutions, 1848-1851, 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Spielvogel, J. J. (2004). Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History. New York: Prentice Hall.
Stromberg, R. N. (1994). European Intellectual History Since 1789. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
“The Great War in a Different Light”: http://www.greatwardifferent.com/
Wegs, J.R. and R. Ladrech (1996). Europe since 1945: A Concise History. 4th ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Weiss, J. (1977). Conservatism in Europe, 1770-1945: Traditionalism, Reaction and Counter-Revolution. London: Thames & Hudson.
Zimmer, O. (2003). Nationalism in Europe, 1890-1940. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.