HIS 3230-020 Modern Germany

Summer 2002 (6/28-7/30/2002), MTWRF, from 12:30pm to 2:20pm.

Dr. Johnson

General description: This lecture-discussion course will examine some of the principal interactions between society, politics, and culture that have shaped modern Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, emphasizing the period 1890-1990. The Germans played a central role in the recurring crises of European development during this period, from the imperialism and racism that produced two World Wars and genocide to the Cold War that delayed German reunification; we will focus on these crises' causes and consequences.

Organization: The course will be divided into four chronological parts, each covered in approximately one week:

1. Imperial Germany and World War I, 1890-1918

2. The Weimar Republic, 1918-1933

3. The Third Reich, World War II, and genocide, 1933-1945

4. Cold War, division, and reunification, 1945-1990

Coursework: There will be a short take-home essay based on in-class discussions and outside readings after each of the first three parts (worth 20%, 20%, and 25%), and a final essay examination (25%). Class participation will include one oral report by each student (10%), based on outside readings. Course reading materials will include a central text plus several short selections of primary and secondary sources (on reserve or available in the bookstore) to illustrate critical historical issues such as sexuality in Weimar culture or the nature of the Nazi death camps.