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| History Department |
HISTORY 309 – CONTEMPORARY EUROPE – FALL 2005
R. Whalen 209 Watkins
Ofc Hrs: Th 9:25-10:30 ofc: 337‑2208
& by app’t.
[Please Note: an electronic version of this syllabus is posted on the Queens University of Charlotte webpage, under the heading “2005 History Courses.” This electronic version will be the “official” syllabus, and will include all updates, corrections, and changes. So be sure to review the electronic syllabus frequently!].
I. History 309 studies the history of contemporary Europe, from World War I to the present. History 309 meets Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:50 – 4:05.
II. HONOR. Every member of the Queens Community is governed by the Queens Honor Code. Its principles are:
The Queens Honor Code
· As a member of the Queens Community, I will endeavor to create a spirit of integrity and honor for its own sake at Queens University of Charlotte.
· Academic Pledge: I pledge truthfulness and absolute honest in the performance of all academic work.
· Community Pledge: I pledge to be truthful at all times, to treat others with respect, to respect the property of others, and to adhere to university policies
· Accepting both the privileges and responsibilities of living by this code of honor, I resolve to uphold this code and not to tolerate any violations of its spirit or principles.
The Honor Code absolutely prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty, such as cheating and plagiarism. If you have questions about the Honor Code and this class, please speak with the instructor.
III. Objectives.
History 309 has TWO OBJECTIVES:
(1) this course will enable students to master key materials concerning the history of contemporary Europe,and
(2) will engage students in those methods of critical thinking called “historical thought.”
“The history of contemporary Europe.” Probably no other region on earth has been so creative, so violent, so imaginative, so sinister, so powerful, and so totally destroyed, as Europe from, say, the Great War to the present. This was an epoch of brilliant artistic innovation, and Auschwitz; dramatic political experiments, and terrifying trench warfare; astonishing bravery, and utter savagery. Knowing something about this era will help understand the world today, since the forces which drove 20th century Europe are still at work. At the same time, understanding this tumultuous epoch in human history will help us understand ourselves as human beings.
An “excellent” performance in this class means that a student has attained mastery over a wide array of empirical information regarding contemporary Europe.
“Historical thought.” This course, secondly, will engage students in a specific form of CRITICAL THINKING called “historical thought.”
Humans have the great gift of REASON. Reason connects humans with reality. Thinking clearly and carefully enables us to make good judgements; thinking poorly leads to disaster.
“Critical thinking” means thinking clearly and carefully. Critical thinking is dedicated above all else to truth. Non-partisanship, open-mindedness, and objectivity are essential to good thinking. True, we all have our own agendas, perspectives, and psychologies, we all start from our own personal experience – nevertheless, what matters in history, as in all thought, is not whether I’m right or you’re right, but rather whether what’s claimed is right. In doing history, conservatives and liberals, believers and non-believers, everyone with this cause and that, must set aside their own perspectives and work together to determine the historical truth.
“Historical thinking” is a specific form of critical thinking. Thinking historically means thinking about time, about the complex and turbulent interaction of past – present – and future.
An “excellent” performance in this class means that a student has mastered the techniques of thinking critically about the empirical information relevant to contemporary Europe.
IV. A Labor Theory of Knowledge.
Knowledge is better than ignorance. Knowledge brings with it both power and pleasure. But - the acquisition of knowledge demands very hard work. We live, alas, in an age in which instant gratification and immediate entertainment are the norm. Anything that requires effort we often think of as “boring” or “too hard.” This course, however, will demand the kind of hard work athletes devote to sports or musicians devote to their instruments. Specifically, STUDENTS SHOULD INVEST FROM 2 1/2 TO 3 HOURS OF OUT-OF-CLASS WORK FOR EACH HOUR SPENT IN-CLASS. If you are unable to invest this amount of work, you should not take the class.
This course will function primarily as a SEMINAR, not as a lecture course. That is, the course will stress reasoned, rigorous, and thoughtful conversation among seminar participants, and not simply lecture by the instructor. Seminars – based on Socrates’ conviction that truth emerges through dialogue – can be extraordinarily effective learning devices – IF EVERYONE IN THE SEMINAR IS WELL-PREPARED FOR THE DAY’S WORK. If you cannot be regularly prepared for each class, you should not take this course.
V. Registration, Disability, Attendance.
A. Be sure that you’re registered for this course BEFORE you take it! You cannot be registered after-the-fact.
B. If you are a student with a verified disability, and require accommodation, you must provide the instructor with a statement to that effect from the Student Disabilities Services Office. Without such a statement, the instructor cannot provide special accommodation.
C. The ATTENDANCE POLICY for this course is as follows: A student may miss three classes during the term without penalty. If a student exceeds this limit, the student’s final average will be reduced by 5 points (on a 100 scale) for each additional absence. Students who have reason to believe that because of some emergency they may have to miss a number of classes should consult the instructor as soon as possible.
VI. Texts. The texts for this course are:
a. James Wilkinson & H. Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe (10th edition).
b. Marvin Perry, et al., (ed.), Sources of Twentieth-Century Europe.
Books will be available in the bookstore. It is YOUR responsibility to purchase or borrow the books and study them as assigned!
We will view FILMS, parts of films, and videos in class. These materials will NOT be on library reserve because in most cases they will be borrowed for a short time only and will have to be returned. The films are as important a part of the class as the readings and other materials and you will be tested on them.
Other readings will be available as Library Reserves (LR) in Everett Library, as handouts, and on the History Department web page.
VII. Internet Materials. The syllabus, handouts, and supplementary readings will be found on the History Web Page at www.queens.edu.
VIII. Quizzes. Just about every week, we’ll have a brief (10-20 question) objective quiz. The quiz will be on that week’s work AND will review earlier material. These quizzes are designed to measure your mastery of the class’s information. Students who come late to class will not be eligible to take the quiz for that class. There will be no make-up quizzes for any reason. Any missed quiz will count as a “zero.” At the end of the term, the TWO lowest scores will be dropped, and the average of the remaining scores will be your weekly quiz grade. This will count as 20% of your course grade.
IX. HOMEWORK. Just about every week, students will have brief homework assignments. These assignments are to encourage students to keep up with class work, but more important, these assignments are occasions for students to practice that type of critical thinking called “historical thought.”
Here are the rules:
1. Each homework assignment MUST BE TYPED. Handwritten submissions WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
2. Topics can be found on the relevant handouts. Each handout will include a “critical thinking” section; your journal entry should be in response to ONE of these questions. You may, if so inspired, develop your own critical thinking questions – so long as they’re relevant to the topic, and genuinely “critical”!
3. Each assignment must be about 2 typed pages in length.
4. Each assignment must QUOTE FROM THE DAY’S READING. Each submission must include at least ONE properly cited QUOTATION.
5. THE HOMEWORK IS DESIGNED TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE RELEVANT DAY’S WORK. DOING THE WORK AT SOME LATER DATE OBVIOUSLY DEFEATS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR THE ASSIGNMENT. THEREFORE NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
6. Homework must be kept together in a folder. SUBMIT THE HOMEWORK IN THE FOLDER. (Be sure your name’s on the folder).
7. Each assignment will receive a “0/1” grade. It will receive a “0” grade if it isn’t turned in; if it isn’t typed; if it does not include at least one direct citation from the text; if it fails to answer the question. It will receive a “1” grade if it is turned in on time, and is typed, and includes at least one quotation from the text, and if it answered the question.
8. There will be 10 assignments. Students can score a maximum of 8 points. Thus, if you miss a couple of assignments you still have several chances to do well; or, if you accumulated all the points you need, you no longer need to submit assignments!
9. Points accumulated will but put on a 100-point scale. This 8 points = 100%., etc. This score, in turn, will count 15% of the final course grade.
10. You’re encouraged to talk with others about your assignments. However, you must be able to say truthfully that the work that has your name on it really is YOUR work and not someone else’s.
X. Examinations. There will be two examinations in this course, the Mid-Term and the Final. Each will be primarily an “objective” test, that is, roughly 75% of each will consist of fill-in-the-blanks, multiple-choice, true/false, and other informational questions. Roughly 25% of each will be devoted to short essay questions.
AN EXAMINATION MISSED FOR ANY REASON WILL COUNT AS A “ZERO.” MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS MAY BE POSSIBLE ONLY IN THE MOST EXTREME AND UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
The Mid-term counts 20% of your final course grade. The Final counts 25% of your final course grade. While the Final Examination will focus on material since the Mid-Term, it will include materials from the beginning of the course. The Final Examination will be scheduled by the University.
PLEASE! Do not make travel or other personal plans that interfere with your exams! Fairness demands that all students in the class should take the same examination at the same time – exceptions will be granted only in the most unusual and extreme situations!
XI. Essay.
Each student will write a single RESEARCH ESSAY. The grade for this essay will count 20% of your final course grade.
The attached rubric explains the essay assignment. BE SURE TO WRITE YOUR ESSAYS IN ACCORD WITH THE ATTACHED RUBRIC!!
Note: All essays in this course MUST BE ORIGINAL TO THIS COURSE (no recycled essays!).
PLAGRIARISM IS A SERIOUS VIOLATION OF THE QUEENS HONOR CODE. Therefore, all essays must be YOUR OWN WORK. According to the Honor Code, PLAGIARISM “is the intentional or unintentional act of using the work and/or ideas of others without appropriate acknowledgement. Included in the act of plagiarism are: failing to cite and document sources; using false citations of sources; claiming papers that have been written by others as your own; and using unintentional incorrect citations and documentation. This list is not all inclusive, so talk with your professors if you are unsure.”
XII. Grades. The grading system for this course is as follows:
A
94 – 100
4.0
“superior”
A-
90 – 93
3.7
B+
87 – 89
3.5
“good”
B
83 – 86
3.0
B-
80 – 82
2.7
C+
77 – 79
2.5
“satisfactory”
C
73 – 76
2.0
C-
70 – 72
1.7
D+
65 – 69
1.5
“poor”
D
60 – 64
1.0
F
59 and below
0
“failing”
Your Final Grade will be computed as follows:
Quiz Average 20%
Homework 15%
Mid-Term Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Essay 20%
Instructors are required to KEEP GRADES PRIVATE. Therefore, they cannot be sent to you by e-mail; they cannot be given to you over the telephone; they cannot be given to another student; they cannot be posted on the instructors’ door. Nor, in most cases, can graded materials be left for you outside the instructor’s door.
[Note: On very rare occasions, according to the Queens University Catalog, when “unusual circumstances” make it “impossible” to complete class work, students may request a temporary grade of “incomplete.” Please note however: (a) “Incompletes” are not normally given. An “Incomplete” is given only in “unusual” circumstances, such as family emergencies, sudden illnesses, etc. Not quite completing assigned work promptly is NOT an “unusual” circumstance; (b) the “unusual circumstance,” must make it “impossible” to get the work done. Students are expected to complete the course on time; only when it’s obvious that because of the “unusual circumstances” it’s simply impossible to complete the work, will an Incomplete be issued; (c) any requests for a temporary grade of “Incomplete” must be made in writing prior to the date of the Final Examination. This request must explain the nature of the “unusual circumstances” and also explain just why that makes completing the work on time is “impossible.” Should you receive a grade of “Incomplete” it is YOUR responsibility to turn in the outstanding work before the DEADLINE set by the Registrar’s office. If work is not submitted by the deadline, the temporary grade of “Incompletes” will be turned into an “F.”]
XIII. Calendar.
NOTE: Additional readings may be added to the syllabus. Assignments may be changed slightly. All these sorts of changes will be made on the electronic version of the syllabus. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING THE ELECTRONIC SYLLABUS BEFORE EACH CLASS! BE SURE TO CONSULT THE WEB-SYLLABUS BEFORE CLASS! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL LISTED READINGS, AND THEY ARE ALL POTENTIAL SUBJECTS FOR QUIZZES & EXAMS!
Also: be sure to download the handout for each class!
W = Wilkinson & Hughes, Contemporary Europe (10th edition)
P = Perry, Sources of Twentieth-Century Europe.
DATE
TOPIC
READING
OTHER
“Europe is … ?”
Fin de Siècle: Europe in 1914
W: 1
P: From Ch. 1: Hobhouse; Spencer; Mill; Pankhurst Bernstein; H. S. Chamberlain; Rhodes
The Great War: 1914 - 1918
W: 2
Test 1
The Great War: 1914 - 1918
P: From Ch. 1: J. Chamberlain; K. Pearson; Drumont; Kishinev; Nietzsche; Freud
P: from Ch. 2: Treitschke; Doregelès; Zweig; Remarque; Sassoon; Owen; Loughnan
Journal 1
The Russian Revolution: 1917
W: 3
P: from Ch. 3: Witte; Pollock; Lenin (“What is to be Done?”); Sukhanov; Lenin (“Call to Power”); “Proclamation of the Kronstadt Rebels”
Journal 2
Peace-Making, 1919
W: 4
P: from Ch. 2: Wilson; Clemenceau; German Delegation
Test 2
European Society between the Wars: 1919 - 1929
W: 5
P: from Ch. 2: Valéry; Remarque; Salomon; Freud
Journal 3
Politics & Culture in the ‘20s
W: 6 & 7
Test 3
The Great Depression in Europe: 1929 - 1939
W: 8
P: from Ch. 4: Pilgrim Trust; Hauser
Test 4
Fascism: 1922 – 1933
W: 9
P: from Ch. 4: Mussolini; Heiden; Jünger; Hitler; Mann
Journal 4
Fascism: 1922 – 1933
P: from Ch. 4: Huber; Hamilton; Stark; Graf; Lochner; Nathorff; Appel
Question & Bibliography due in Class
Stalinism: 1928 - 1939
W: 10
P: from Ch. 3: Stalin (“Hard Line”); Stalin (“Liquidation”); Kopelev; Dolot; Avdienko; Yevtushenko; Polyakov; Khrushchev; Razgon; Koestler
Europe in Crisis: the “dirty 30s”
W: 11
P: from Ch. 4: Ortega y Gasset; Huizinga; Silone: Koestler (“I Was Ripe”); Berdyaev; Dawson
Journal 5
Test 5
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
The Road to Catastrophe: 1935 – 1939
W: 12
P: from Ch. 4: Thomas; Frankson; Koestler (“Dialogue”)
P: from Ch. 5: Rumbold; Messersmith; Miller; Mussolini (“Solemn Hour”); Selassie: Zweig (“World”); Chamberlain; Churchill
Journal 6
World War II: 1939 – 1945
W: 13
P: from Ch. 5: Hitler (“Poland”; Guderian; Habe; Churchill (“Blood”); Hoffman; Wieder; Eisenhower
Ten Reasons Why World War II is so Important
Test 6
Holocaust & Resistance: 1939 – 1945
P: from Ch. 5: Indoctrination; Graebe; Hoess; Pfeffer; Camus; Scholl; Bor-Komorowski
P: from Ch. 8: Weizsäcker; Wiesel; Vatican Commission
Re-Building Europe: East: 1945 – 1949
W: 14
P: From Ch. 7: Gedye; Leonard; Medvedev; Dubcek Commission; Mindszenty
Test 7
Rebuilding Europe: West: 1945 - 1949
W: 15
P: from Ch. 6: Spender; Frank; Foa; UN Charter; Marshall
Journal 7
Cold War Culture: 1945 – 1965
W: 16
P: from Ch. 6: Cassirer; Hallowell; Orwell; Sartre
Test 8
The High Cold War: 1947 - 1953
W: 17
P: from Ch. 6: Churchill (“Iron Curtain”); Khrushchev (“Report”); Kennan
ARGUMENT OUTLINE DUE
Collapse of Empire: 1940s – 1960s
W: 18
P: from Ch. 6: Nehru; Declaration; Abbas
Test 9
A New Equilibrium? The ‘50s
W: 19
P: from Ch. 6: Adenauer; Meinecke; Vogt
P: from Ch. 7: Djilas; Heller
Journal 8
Prosperity at Last? The ‘60s
W: 20
Test 10
Bitter Years: the 60s & 70s
W: 21
P: from Ch. 7: Communist Party of Czechoslovakia; Warsaw Meeting
P: from Ch. 8: De Beauvoir; Cohn-Bendit; Ellul; Fischer
Journal 9
The End of the Cold War: 1980 – 1991
W: 22
P: from Ch. 7: Inter-factory Strike Committee; Gorbachev; Havel; Stasi Report; Ash; Omestad
Test 11
Toward A New Europe: 1991 - tomorrow
W: 23
P: from Ch. 8: Thatcher; Blair; Le Pen; Haider; Onder; Krautz; Rieff; Friedman
RESEARCH PAPER DUE IN CLASS
28. W 7 Dec
Review
Journal 10
Test 12
FINAL EXAMINATION: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2005, 1:30 - 4:30. Exam room will be scheduled by the university.
PLEASE! DO NOT SCHEDULE TRAVEL OR OTHER PERSONAL PLANS THAT WILL INTERFERE WITH YOUR EXAMINATION!!
RESEARCH ESSAY
Due dates: essay assignments are due AS SCHEDULED. LATE ESSAYS WILL BE PENALIZED ONE GRADE FOR EVERY DAY LATE!!
Historians try to “Think in Time.” That is, historians try to understand the complex interactions of past, present, and future. As with science, there are both empirical and critical aspects to “thinking in time.”
Historians start with a question about some dimension of human life. They then gather all the data they can find about that topic (the empirical step in the process) and then they try to make sense out of that data (the critical step in the process). Based on this two-step process, historians than can make testable claims about the issue being examined.
For example: an historian might ask: “How did the USA get involved in a war in Iraq?” Having posed the question, the historian than works to gather all the available material. The historian, then sorts that material into a framework that makes sense – the historian begins with chronology; then moves to change and continuity, and perhaps compare and contrasts; then the historian might consider cause and effect, forces and motivations. Finally, the historian can make a claim, supported by both solid data and coherent thinking.
Historians report their data in various ways. One common way is chronological narrative, in which the historian relates the data discovered, usually arranged chronologically.
Or historians write in the form in argument. They begin by posing their question and identifying the conclusion they’ve reached (the claim in their paper). They then marshal their data in a critical way to demonstrate the extent to which it supports their claim.
This is hard work! But this work is good for your mind! You both learn important things about the human experience, and test your ability to tease out the truth from a mass of disconnected evidence.
This is the work you’ll do in this paper.
YOUR JOB: write a compelling, fascinating, logically powerful, convincing paper of around 10-12 pages.
Here are the FOUR STEPS you’ll take:
STEP ONE: QUESTION AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY.