Oberlin College
Department of History
History 224: Europe: 1900-1945
Fall 2006
Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30-3:45 PM
Instructor: Leonard V. Smith
315 Rice Hall, x8950
Office Hours: Mondays 1:15-2:15; Wednesdays 12:00-2:00 PM, other times by appointment
This course is an intermediate-level survey examining the cataclysmic changes in European politics, society, and culture in the first half of the twentieth century. It is designed for students with a basic background in European history, meaning a general sense of the main actors and issues. Particular topics to be examined include the fragility, cruelties, and contradictions within European civilization during the "Belle ƒpoque," the tribulations of World War I and narrative forms imposed on them, the flawed peace in 1918 and the failed "return to normalcy" thereafter, capitalism's greatest crisis in the Great Depression, the rise of fascism, the liberal and socialist responses, the "Final Solution," and World War II. A broad theme of the course involves thinking about Europe between 1900 and 1945 not as an extension of the United States (or vice versa), but rather as a fascinating and very distinct civilization in its own right.
The format of the course will be a mixture of lecture and discussion. Sources include conventional secondary sources, primary documents, poetry, literature, and film. Active participation and agile thinking will be required throughout the course.
Readings:
The following books should be purchased at the Oberlin College Bookstore.
A.J.P. Taylor, The First World War: An Illustrated History (1963)
Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century (1999)
Joseph Roth, The Radetsky March (originally published 1932)
M.K. Ghandi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule (originally published 1909)
George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier (any edition, originally published 1937)
Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism (2004)
Primo Levi, The Drowned and the Saved (1986)
There is no chronologically organized textbook for this course, because students are assumed already to have learned the basic political narrative. However, copies of H. Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe, and George Lichtheim, Europe in the Twentieth Century have been made available on reserve for consultation as students think necessary.
Requirements:
Several varieties of written work will be required. The First Essay, the 5-page discussion write-up, and the Final Essay will each account for about one-third of the final grade. Final grades for the course may be shaped at the margin by the cumulative performance on the discussion papers, as described below.
I. First Essay and Final Paper:
Questions will be distributed one week before these essays are due. Students will be expected to choose among several questions. There is of course no time limit, but a strictly enforced 5-page limit. These are Òthink pieceÓ essays, rather than research papers. They will draw entirely from material presented in class, and will not require footnotes or a bibliography. The final paper will cover the second half of the course.
II. Discussion Papers:
A number of discussion days are noted on the syllabus. On designated days, students will be required to turn in a one-page discussion paper, in which they identify and briefly explain issues in the readings. These papers are for students' benefit. Their purpose is to facilitate discussion and to provide a foundation for a 5-page essay further developing an issue identified by the student (see below). Since their focus is classroom discussion, late papers will not be accepted, for any reason.
These papers are required, and must be word processed. Chronic failure to turn in discussion papers will be noted, and will have an unfavorable impact on a student's final grade. Each discussion paper will receive a "grade" of Ã+, Ã, Ã-, or 0 (meaning either a derisory effort or failure to turn the paper in at all). The cumulative performance on these papers may be used to shape a student's final grade. For example, if a student's final grade hovers between an A- and a B+ and that student got a Ã+ on all the discussion papers, the student will receive a final grade of A-. Discussion papers may help push down a final grade in a similar manner. Comments will not be written on the papers themselves, but students are welcome to come talk to me about them if they have concerns or questions.
III. Five-page Paper on One Discussion
Students will be expected to write a "think piece" paper (as opposed to a research paper) on one of the in-class discussions. They may write about either the readings or about a film (see below). A logical way to write this paper is either to write an expanded version of a discussion paper from the readings. This paper has a strictly enforced 5-page maximum limit, and is subject to the ground rules stated at the end of the syllabus. This essay is due the last day of class
Students who turn in this paper by December 1 will have their papers returned within a week, and will have the opportunity to do a rewrite. The recorded grade will be that of the rewritten version, which is due the same day as the other papers, the last day of class.
Films:
The class will be viewing and discussing five films: J'Accuse (1937); The Blue Angel (1930); Triumph of the Will (1936); Mrs. Miniver (1940), and Life is Beautiful (1998). Excerpts of the films will be shown in class, and students are encouraged to view the films in their entirety on their own. The films will be available in the Reserve Room throughout the semester. It is possible to write about a film for the 5-page discussion paper.
Schedule of Lectures and Assignments:
Part I: The Belle ƒpoque to 1914: The High Noon of the Bourgeoisie or the Persistence of the Old Regime?
September 6 Introduction: 20th Century Europe in the 21st Century
Readings: Taylor, First World War, Ch. 1; Begin Ghandi, Hind Swaraj and Roth, Radetsky March, in preparation for discussions on September 13 and September 18 (see below)
September 11 The Regimes of Western and Central Europe
Readings: Continue Ghandi, Hind Swaraj and Roth, Radetsky March
September 13 Empires; discussion of Hind Swaraj
Readings: Continue Roth, Radetsky March
Handout of Kipling, "The White Man's Burden," (1899), for discussion on September 15 (no discussion paper required)
ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON HIND SWARAJ
September 18 Society: Race, Class, and Gender in Europe before 1914, discussion of Radetsky March
Readings: ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON RADETSKY MARCH
Note: Read and be prepared briefly to discuss the ÒManifesto of FuturismÓ(see below) for next time. No discussion paper is due.
September 20 Culture in the Belle ƒpoque: Stirb und Werde?
Readings: Filippo Tomasso Marrineti, ÒManifesto of FuturismÓ (1911), available at:
http://www.wwnorton.com/nto/20century/topic_2_05/ftmarinetti.htm
Part II: Europe's First Suicide Attempt: The Great War of 1914-1918
September 25 The Tragic Metanarrative: Origins and the Kriegschuldfrage
Readings: Taylor, First World War, Ch. 2-3
See war poems assignment below. Read for discussion next time (no discussion paper due)
September 27 "Too Important to be Left to Generals": The Military Front, East and West; discussion of war poetry
Readings:
Poems by Ruppert Brooke, "1914" and Wilfred Owen, "Strange Meeting" and "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young." (Handouts)
FIRST ESSAY QUESTIONS HANDED OUT
October 2 No Class: Yom Kippur
October 4 "Pourvu qu'ils tiennent": The Home Fronts
Readings: Dada Manifesto, 14 July 1916, available at:
http://www.391.org/manifestos/hugoball_dadamanifesto.htm
FIRST ESSAY DUE ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6
October 9 The Crises of 1917
Readings: Taylor, First World War, Ch. 4;
Speech by Georges Clemenceau to the National Assembly, 20 November 1917 (handout)
Note: Discussion paper will be due on the readings for next time (see below)
October 11 1918 and the Flawed Peace
Readings: Taylor, First World War, Ch. 5 to end
Lenin Peace Decree, 8 November 1917 (handout)
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points Speech, 8 January 1918 (handout)
ONE PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON WILSON AND LENIN READINGS
Skim:
Peace Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919, Articles 231-247 and Annexes: Reparations (skim), available on the World Wide Web at:
www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/versa/versa7.html
Fall Break!!!
October 23 Vergangenheit, die nicht vergehen will: The Politics of Commemoration; discussion of J'accuse
Readings: Begin Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism, Ch. 1-5 on November 17
Part III: "Normalcy" and Depression, 1919-1939
October 25 The Regimes: Europe between the Wars
Readings: Mazower, Dark Continent, Ch. 1, "The Deserted Temple: Democracy's Rise and Fall"
Begin Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, Part I, pp. 5-118, for discussion on November 6
Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism, Ch. 3-5, for discussion of Ch.1-5 on November 8
October 30 Empire Between the Wars and the Emperors' New Clothes
Readings: Mazower, Dark Continent, Ch.2, "Empires, Nations, Minorities";
Ghandi "Independence vs. Swaraj," (1928); Debate in the British Parliament on Amritsar massacre, 8 July 1920 (handouts)
November 1 Europe's Great Depression; discussion of The Road to Wigan Pier
Readings: Mazower, Dark Continent, Ch. 4, "The Crisis of Capitalism"; begin Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, Forward and Part II, for discussion on November 15
ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON
THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER, PART I
November 6 Gender and Interwar Europe; discussion of Blue Angel
Readings: Mazower, Dark Continent, Ch. 3, "Healthy Bodies, Sick Bodies";
Mary Louise Roberts, ÒSamson and Delilah Revisited: The Politics of Women's Fashion in 1920s France,ÓThe American Historical Review, Vol. 98, No. 3. (Jun., 1993), pp. 657-684, available at JSTOR:
November 8 The Rise of Fascism; discussion of The Anatomy of Fascism
ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON
THE ANATOMY OF FASCISM, Ch. 1-5
November 13 Discussion: Triumph of the Will
November 15 Enlightenment Europe Remobilizes; Discussion of The Road to Wigan Pier
Readings: begin Levi, The Drowned and the Saved, for discussion on December 8
ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON
THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER, PART II
Part IV: World War II: EuropeÕs Second Suicide Attempt
November 20 The Spanish Civil War
Readings: Speech by Francisco Franco 17 July 1936 (handout)
Peruse collection of Spanish Civil War posters:
http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/visfront/vizindex.html
Begin Levi, The Drowned and the Saved for discussion on December 4
November 22 Day off for good behavior
November 27 The Wars Hitler Won; discussion of Mrs. Miniver
Readings: Mazower, Dark Continent, Ch.5, ÒHitlerÕs New Order, 1938-1945Ó; continue Levi, Drowned and the Saved
November 29 Nazi Occupied Europe
Readings: continue Levi, The Drowned and the Saved
Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism, Ch 6.
December 4 The
Final Solution; Discussion of The Drowned and the Saved;
and Life is Beautiful
ONE-PAGE DISCUSSION PAPER DUE ON
THE DROWNED AND THE SAVED
December 6 The Eclipse of Europe: From Hot War to Cold War
Readings: Mazower, Ch.6, "Blueprints for the Golden Age" and "A
Brutal Peace, 1943-49Ó
December 11 "Old, unhappy, far-off things": When is Europe's Past its Past?
Readings: Paxton, Anatomy of Fascism, Ch. 7-8
December 13 Discussion of Final Essay Questions
5-PAGE DISCUSSION WRITE-UP DUE
FINAL PAPER DUE AT THE TIME SCHEDULED FOR THE FINAL EXAM,
DETERMINED BY THE COLLEGE SCHECULLE
Additional Ground Rules:
Due dates and page-limit requirements are to be taken most seriously. I am not in the business of persecuting students if a genuine problem exists, but in principle I strongly dislike giving extensions. Normally, I take off 1/3 of a letter grade for every 24 hours an exam is overdue.
Three excuses for requesting extensions will never be acceptable: 1) a self-defined character flaw of procrastination; 2) extracurricular activities, including political activism; 3) work in other classes. Two possible exceptions exist for unacceptable excuse #3. I am prepared to exercise some indulgence concerning students doing Seniors Honors projects or, in the case of Conservatory students, Senior recitals. This is because of the "once-in-a-lifetime" character of these projects.
Papers must be double-spaced and have 1-inch margins. Papers, including discussion papers, must be word-processed with near letter quality resolution. I will return unread any illegible paper. Papers may not be submitted electronically.
All written work at Oberlin College is covered by the Honor Code. No graded work will be read until the Honor Code is signed.
Students must complete all three papers in order to pass the course. That is to say, a student who receives an A on the exam and final paper but does not submit a write-up discussion paper will fail the entire course.