HIS 3230-020 Modern Germany                                                                     Dr. Jeffrey Johnson

12:30- 2:20pm, Bartley 034                                                                             Summer 2002

           

Contact info. for Dr. Johnson:   

Office:  SAC 440, X7404; Hrs. M&Th 10-11 am, M 2:30-3:30 pm & by appt.

email:  Jeffrey.Johnson@villanova.edu

Website:  http://www11.homepage.villanova.edu/jeffrey.johnson/

 

AIM:  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 reunfication; we will focus on these crises' causes and consequences.

 

MATERIALS:  Readings will come from the following books available in the bookstore, and in some cases from materials on reserve on the web or in the Falvey Library reserve room. 

Mary Fulbrook, Concise History of Germany

Erich M. Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front

Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

 

We will also have the opportunity to view some classic films, including "All Quiet on the Western Front," "M," and "Triumph of the Will."

 

WORK AND EVALUATION:  

Attendance, reading, and discussions:  You will be expected to attend five lecture‑discussion session per week (EXCEPTION:  class will not meet on July 4-5).  The discussions will deal with the assigned readings, lectures, and occasional films to be shown in class.  Each week you will be responsible for reading from the required texts and on-line or reserve selections.  After the first meeting, be sure to read each assignment before coming to class, so that we can have an informed discussion of each principal topic (class participation is worth 10%, of which 5% will come from a 10-minute oral report to be assigned).

 

Written work:  There will be a take-home essay based on in-class discussions and outside readings at the end of each of the first three parts (worth 20%, 20%, and 25%), and a final essay examination (25%).   Evaluations of written work will consider both argument and evidence.  Full explanations of the standards expected will be distributed with the first assignment.

 

Late work, make-ups, plagiarism:  In case you have a problem completing a take-home essay, notify Dr. Johnson by phone or email (see contact info above) BEFORE the due date.  If you do not complete an assignment within the first week it is due, and if you do not have an adequate excuse (such as medical reasons), your maximum possible grade must be reduced one letter grade after each week the assignment is overdue.  If you submit work that is not your own (plagiarism), you will be penalized according to university policy.

Learning disabilities:  It is Villanova University’s policy to make reasonable academic accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.  This may include special arrangements for note-taking, taking examinations, etc.  If you will need such arrangements, please make an appointment with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss this, or consult the Office of Learning Support Services in Geraghty Hall (610-519-5636).

 

 

OUTLINE AND READING SCHEDULE:

 

6/28:  Introduction

 

Part One:  Imperial Germany to World War I

7/1:  Origins of the Second Reich  (Fulbrook, 95-131)  FIRST ESSAY ANNOUNCED

7/2:  Politics of Imperial Germany (Fulbrook, 131-137; reserve:  Bismarck, Eley, Treitschke)

7/3:  Society & Culture of Imperial Germany (Fulbrook, 137-148; reserve:  Nietzsche) FIRST ORAL REPORT (O.R.)

7/8:  German Imperialism & World War I (Fulbrook, 148-154; reserve:  Mann) O.R.

7/9:  Experiencing the Western Front (Remarque; reserve:  Jünger) FIRST ESSAY DUE; SECOND ESSAY ANNOUNCED

 

Part Two:  Weimar Germany, 1919-1933

7/10:  Postwar crises (Fulbrook, 155-167; reserve/on-line:  Heiden, "Death of money") O.R.

7/11:  Temporary recovery (Fulbrook, 167-172) O.R.

7/12:  Weimar culture (in-class film:  "M"; reserve:  Tatar, "Lustmord," ch. 1) O.R.

7/15:  Economic crisis & political collapse (Fulbrook, 172-178) SECOND ESSAY DUE; THIRD ESSAY ANNOUNCED

 

Part Three:  The Third Reich, 1933-1945

7/16:  Hitler & the National Socialist dictatorship (Fulbrook, 178-187) O.R. 

7/17:  Nazi culture (in-class film:  "Triumph of the Will"; reserve:  Klemperer "I will bear witness," 1933) O.R.

7/18:  Recovery, rearmament, expansion (Fulbrook, 187-193; reserve:  Dehio) O.R.

7/19:  War, resistance, extermination (Fulbrook, 193-203; reserve:  Bull [=Boell], "Stranger bear word to the Spartans") O.R.

7/22:  In the deathcamps (Levi) THIRD ESSAY DUE 

 

Part Four:  Germany Divided & Reunited, 1945-1991

7/23:  Germany defeated & divided (Fulbrook, 204-211; reserve:  Bull [=Boell], "When the War Was Over") O.R.

7/24:  Cold War politics, 1949-89 (Fulbrook, 211-228) O.R.

7/25:  German society & culture in West & East (Fulbrook, 228-241; reserve:  Bull [=Boell], "Business is Business", & TBA) O.R.

7/26:  Revolution & reunification (Fulbrook, 241-248; reserve:  Ash) O.R.

 

7/29:  Final discussion and review

7/30:  Final examination