The course explores the political, cultural and economic relations between the United States and Germany since the end of the 19th century to the present with special emphasis on political and cultural aspects. Based upon an introduction into the major phases of German-American relations since the formation of the American Republic the discussion will focus on the political and cultural influence and mutual impact that the USA has had on Germany and vice versa. In addition, the course will have a closer look at the foreign relations in the past century in an effort to explain the shifting perceptions and emerging contacts between the two countries from adversaries in World War I and II to allies after 1945. Topics of particular relevance to the course include: the German impact on 19th century America; the controversy over “Americanization” originating in the 1920s and continuing to the present; the cultural and socio-cultural impact of the United States after World War II on popular culture; the German reactions to American interventions; the issue of re-balancing the relationship between Germany and the United States at the end of the cold war; German responses to the “new world order” with the US as the only remaining world power; 9/11 and the war on terrorism; the German response to American “unilaterism”; American reactions to Germany’s ambitions in foreign policy.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course students will be able to:
- name major phases of the development of German-American relations from the mid-19th century and discuss decisive moments in the relationship of both nations
- characterize important similarities and dissimilarities with regard to political and cultural concepts and its practical implementation in both countries in the 19th and 20th centuries
- explain the mutual cultural influences in terms of democratic institutions, educational systems, visual media and popular culture
- understand and critically evaluate major positions of the current debates on German- American relations.
Method of presentation:
Seminar format with lecture elements, accompanying Moodle-website, web- supported project work, presentations, videos, field trip. The course is designed to employ the following methodological approach:
- Result-oriented preparation of the class discussion by providing guiding questions and thesis for the reading assignments, using the Moodle-course website
- Student presentations in class to enhance the competence in articulating a convincing line of argument in an adequate academic format
- Student moderation of parts of the class discussion in order to develop the ability to lead an academic dialog
- Use of visual media as a means to practice critical reading of visual representations of history
- Field trips as a means to provide an insight into the praxis of cultural politics
- Research assignments on specific issues in order to practice the academically adequate use of resources.
Required work and form of assessment:
Grading: Final grades will be based on a midterm (15%), a final exam (30%), a term paper (30%) or oral presentation in class (30%) and active participation in class (25%). Regular class attendance is required.
The criteria of assessment include originality of the argument, content, structure and conclusiveness of the argument as well as adequacy of language. Class presentations will be assessed by way of a joint evaluation by all students as part of the class discussion. The results of the course work will be frequently evaluated in the format of a reflection after each 4th session of the course.
content:
Week 1
Introduction, aims and requirements, courseware
Germany and the United States in the 19th century
- German immigrants in the US
- 1848 and the democratic immigration to the US (Schurz, Willich, Weydemeyer)
- German educational influences on the US
- The emergence of mutual stereotypes
- World War I
Reading: Trommler: 31-45, 46-62, 91-102
Week 2
Germany and the USA during the Weimar Republic
- America and Germany after World War I
- W. Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles
- The Dawes Plan and the Golden Twenties
- Berlin during the Weimar Republic as an “Americanized” city
Reading: Larres: 31-55; Weidenfeld: 25-36
Week 3
Nazi-Germany and the USA
- The emergence and rise of the Nazi Party in Germany
- The American perception of fascism in Germany
- The politics of Nazi Germany towards the USA
- The USA in the view of Hitler
- The American debate on Germany’s role in post-war Europe
Reading: Larres: 62-89
Week 4
The USA and the Emergence of the Federal Republic of Germany
- De-Nazification and “re-education”
- The American commitment to Berlin
- The division of Germany and the role of the US
- Currency reform and the German “Wirtschaftswunder”
- Adenauer and the “perfect relationship” 1953 to 1957
- West Germany and the NATO
Reading: Larres: 95-113; Westphal: 133-166
Week 5
The German Democratic Republic and American Foreign Policy
- The perception of East Germany in America
- East Germany as a target of American Foreign Policy
- The American radio station RIAS and the East German uprise in 1953
- The approach of East Germany and the USA in the early 1980s
Reading: Larres: 230-253
Week 6
The USA and the “Hearts and Minds” of the West German “Bildungsbürger”
- “Congresses of cultural freedom” and the magazine “Der Monat”
- The CIA and the promotion of avantgard art and literature
- Amerika Houses and their program of the USA as a “Kulturnation”
- The introduction of “Amerikastudien” at West German universities
Reading: Schildt: 167-195
Field Trip: Cultural Affairs, Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin
Week 7
Preparation MIDTERM
MIDTERM
Week 8
American Popular Culture in West Germany
- The impact of Hollywood movies in West Germany
- America as a “Traumland”: cars, household goods and private houses
- Presley, Haley, Berry, Little Richard: the AFN and West German youth
- John F. Kennedy and the West Germans
Reading: Trommler: 205-227, 355-362
Week 9
A New German-American Relationship: From “Ostpolitik” towards Peace Movement
- Ant-Vietnam protests in West Germany
- W. Brandt’s “Ostpolitik” and the approach to the East
- The Helsinki Conference
- “Nachrüstung” and the “New Cold War”
- The West German peace movement as a form of anti-Americanism
Reading: Westphal: 183-243, 248-254
Week 10
The United States and German Re-Unification
- Youth movement and rock music in East Germany
- Reagan and Gorbatchev and the end of the Cold War
- The fall of the Berlin Wall and the response of the USA
- H. Kohl’s plan of November 28, 1989
- Resistance by France, Great Britain and Poland to German Re-Unification
- President G. Bush and the German Re-Unification
Reading: Dieckmann: 136-151; Larres: 256-274
Week 11
Germany and the USA after Re-Unification
- Maastricht and EU efforts towards an independent foreign policy
- Germany and the USA and the Balkan War
- Germany and Europe and the “Project for a New American Century”
- Germany and the war in Iraq
- Transatlantic irritations under Schröder and new beginnings under Merkel
Reading: Trommler: 271-292, 311-319, 320-341
TERM PAPER DUE!
Week 12
Preparation FINAL EXAM/Course Evaluation
FINAL EXAM
Required readings:
Christoph Dieckmann: My Generation. Cocker, Dylan, Honecker und die bleibende Zeit. Berlin 1991.
Klaus Larres/Torsten Oppelland (Hrsg.): Deutschland und die USA im 20. Jahrhundert. Geschichte der politischen Beziehungen. Darmstadt 1997.
Axel Schildt: Zwischen Abendland und Amerika. Studien zur westdeutschen Ideenland-schaft der 50er Jahre.
München 1999.
Frank Trommler und Elliott Shore (Hrsg.): Deutsch-Amerikanische Begegnungen. Konflikt und Kooperation im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart/Mün-chen 2001.
Werner Weidenfeld: Kulturbruch mit Amerika? Das Ende transatlantischer Selbstver-ständlichkeit. Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh 1996.
Siegrid Westphal/Joachim Arenth: Uncle Sam und die Deutschen. 50 Jahre deutsch-amerikanische
Partnerschaft in Politik, Wirtschaft und Alltagsleben. Bonn 1995.
The course explores the political, cultural and economic relations between the United States and Germany since the end of the 19th century to the present with special emphasis on political and cultural aspects. Based upon an introduction into the major phases of German-American relations since the formation of the American Republic the discussion will focus on the political and cultural influence and mutual impact that the USA has had on Germany and vice versa. In addition, the course will have a closer look at the foreign relations in the past century in an effort to explain the shifting perceptions and emerging contacts between the two countries from adversaries in World War I and II to allies after 1945. Topics of particular relevance to the course include: the German impact on 19th century America; the controversy over “Americanization” originating in the 1920s and continuing to the present; the cultural and socio-cultural impact of the United States after World War II on popular culture; the German reactions to American interventions; the issue of re-balancing the relationship between Germany and the United States at the end of the cold war; German responses to the “new world order” with the US as the only remaining world power; 9/11 and the war on terrorism; the German response to American “unilaterism”; American reactions to Germany’s ambitions in foreign policy.
By the end of the course students will be able to:
- name major phases of the development of German-American relations from the mid-19th century and discuss decisive moments in the relationship of both nations
- characterize important similarities and dissimilarities with regard to political and cultural concepts and its practical implementation in both countries in the 19th and 20th centuries
- explain the mutual cultural influences in terms of democratic institutions, educational systems, visual media and popular culture
- understand and critically evaluate major positions of the current debates on German- American relations.
Seminar format with lecture elements, accompanying Moodle-website, web- supported project work, presentations, videos, field trip. The course is designed to employ the following methodological approach:
- Result-oriented preparation of the class discussion by providing guiding questions and thesis for the reading assignments, using the Moodle-course website
- Student presentations in class to enhance the competence in articulating a convincing line of argument in an adequate academic format
- Student moderation of parts of the class discussion in order to develop the ability to lead an academic dialog
- Use of visual media as a means to practice critical reading of visual representations of history
- Field trips as a means to provide an insight into the praxis of cultural politics
- Research assignments on specific issues in order to practice the academically adequate use of resources.
Grading: Final grades will be based on a midterm (15%), a final exam (30%), a term paper (30%) or oral presentation in class (30%) and active participation in class (25%). Regular class attendance is required.
The criteria of assessment include originality of the argument, content, structure and conclusiveness of the argument as well as adequacy of language. Class presentations will be assessed by way of a joint evaluation by all students as part of the class discussion. The results of the course work will be frequently evaluated in the format of a reflection after each 4th session of the course.
Week 1
Introduction, aims and requirements, courseware
Germany and the United States in the 19th century
- German immigrants in the US
- 1848 and the democratic immigration to the US (Schurz, Willich, Weydemeyer)
- German educational influences on the US
- The emergence of mutual stereotypes
- World War I
Reading: Trommler: 31-45, 46-62, 91-102
Week 2
Germany and the USA during the Weimar Republic
- America and Germany after World War I
- W. Wilson and the Treaty of Versailles
- The Dawes Plan and the Golden Twenties
- Berlin during the Weimar Republic as an “Americanized” city
Reading: Larres: 31-55; Weidenfeld: 25-36
Week 3
Nazi-Germany and the USA
- The emergence and rise of the Nazi Party in Germany
- The American perception of fascism in Germany
- The politics of Nazi Germany towards the USA
- The USA in the view of Hitler
- The American debate on Germany’s role in post-war Europe
Reading: Larres: 62-89
Week 4
The USA and the Emergence of the Federal Republic of Germany
- De-Nazification and “re-education”
- The American commitment to Berlin
- The division of Germany and the role of the US
- Currency reform and the German “Wirtschaftswunder”
- Adenauer and the “perfect relationship” 1953 to 1957
- West Germany and the NATO
Reading: Larres: 95-113; Westphal: 133-166
Week 5
The German Democratic Republic and American Foreign Policy
- The perception of East Germany in America
- East Germany as a target of American Foreign Policy
- The American radio station RIAS and the East German uprise in 1953
- The approach of East Germany and the USA in the early 1980s
Reading: Larres: 230-253
Week 6
The USA and the “Hearts and Minds” of the West German “Bildungsbürger”
- “Congresses of cultural freedom” and the magazine “Der Monat”
- The CIA and the promotion of avantgard art and literature
- Amerika Houses and their program of the USA as a “Kulturnation”
- The introduction of “Amerikastudien” at West German universities
Reading: Schildt: 167-195
Field Trip: Cultural Affairs, Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin
Week 7
Preparation MIDTERM
MIDTERM
Week 8
American Popular Culture in West Germany
- The impact of Hollywood movies in West Germany
- America as a “Traumland”: cars, household goods and private houses
- Presley, Haley, Berry, Little Richard: the AFN and West German youth
- John F. Kennedy and the West Germans
Reading: Trommler: 205-227, 355-362
Week 9
A New German-American Relationship: From “Ostpolitik” towards Peace Movement
- Ant-Vietnam protests in West Germany
- W. Brandt’s “Ostpolitik” and the approach to the East
- The Helsinki Conference
- “Nachrüstung” and the “New Cold War”
- The West German peace movement as a form of anti-Americanism
Reading: Westphal: 183-243, 248-254
Week 10
The United States and German Re-Unification
- Youth movement and rock music in East Germany
- Reagan and Gorbatchev and the end of the Cold War
- The fall of the Berlin Wall and the response of the USA
- H. Kohl’s plan of November 28, 1989
- Resistance by France, Great Britain and Poland to German Re-Unification
- President G. Bush and the German Re-Unification
Reading: Dieckmann: 136-151; Larres: 256-274
Week 11
Germany and the USA after Re-Unification
- Maastricht and EU efforts towards an independent foreign policy
- Germany and the USA and the Balkan War
- Germany and Europe and the “Project for a New American Century”
- Germany and the war in Iraq
- Transatlantic irritations under Schröder and new beginnings under Merkel
Reading: Trommler: 271-292, 311-319, 320-341
TERM PAPER DUE!
Week 12
Preparation FINAL EXAM/Course Evaluation
FINAL EXAM
Christoph Dieckmann: My Generation. Cocker, Dylan, Honecker und die bleibende Zeit. Berlin 1991.
Klaus Larres/Torsten Oppelland (Hrsg.): Deutschland und die USA im 20. Jahrhundert. Geschichte der politischen Beziehungen. Darmstadt 1997.
Axel Schildt: Zwischen Abendland und Amerika. Studien zur westdeutschen Ideenland-schaft der 50er Jahre.
München 1999.
Frank Trommler und Elliott Shore (Hrsg.): Deutsch-Amerikanische Begegnungen. Konflikt und Kooperation im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart/Mün-chen 2001.
Werner Weidenfeld: Kulturbruch mit Amerika? Das Ende transatlantischer Selbstver-ständlichkeit. Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh 1996.
Siegrid Westphal/Joachim Arenth: Uncle Sam und die Deutschen. 50 Jahre deutsch-amerikanische
Partnerschaft in Politik, Wirtschaft und Alltagsleben. Bonn 1995.