History 341, Fall 2005

Prof. Kathleen Addison

ST 606, x 2404; oh W 2-5, by appt

Kathleen.addison@csun.edu

 

 

341 TAKEHOME FINAL QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

History of Europe:  1815-Present

 

 

            This class is an upper division survey of Europe from 1815 to the present.  It is a period of tremendous transition in Europe, with the conjunction of Industrialism, post-Revolutionary France, post Napoleonic wars, and the start of an Age of Diplomacy.  A political Renaissance of sorts was under way, with voices of the people now having outlets, at the same time that the conservative forces of old fought to maintain their hold on power in society.  The Eurocentric process was confirmed more than ever with the age of imperialism, and the creation of a new urban working class as a byproduct of the forces of industrialism and capitalism.  The big problems raised as a result of changing conditions wound its way towards false answers of Nationalism and, ultimately, war on a global scale.  At the same time, the intellectual and cultural responses to the world’s transitions also took a dramatic turn, and we will also trace those.

 

A philosophical note towards history:  Open to all majors, and not strictly a hard-core history course (i.e., you don’t need to be a history major), you will need to take a couple of items to heart.   History is, at its base, a written medium; if you do not like to read, this is not the class for you.  The approach to this class is taken quite seriously, and it will be taught as an upper division class: to that end, the suggested writing “quota” per university standards is 2500 words (approximately 25-30 pages).  This includes your exams as well as your papers.  The required readings are going to be discussed, and additional readings will be posted on the course website; a significant component of your coursework will require the discussion of these readings in a thoughtful, insightful manner.  You will also need to incorporate those readings into your written work.  I picked them for a reason, not just to be mean. 

 

Grading:  You will have a midterm for 20% of your grade; a paper for 25%, a final at 40%, and class participation (including written responses to reading) for 15%.  The grade scale is 94.00% and above A, 90.00-93.99% = A-; 87.00-89.99% B+, 84.00-86.99% B, etc.  There is no curve.  There is no extra credit.  All components of the class must be completed in order to receive a passing grade. 

 

The Rules, standards, and guidelines section:  Read this!

 

The final for the class is scheduled for Monday, December 12.  No exceptions will be granted for any reason.  If this conflicts with your holiday schedule, your vacation plans, your work schedule, visiting family, anticipated organ donations (other than your own), alien abductions, etc – take another class.   Check your calendar NOW; inform your work/family/jury duty/mothership that you are unavailable on that day.   Additionally, university regulations regarding drop deadlines are now being strictly enforced; the deadline to drop without penalty or mark on transcript (or my permission is Friday of the third week (September 16).  After that, a partial withdrawal may be accomplished by petition, providing there are “serious and compelling reasons” – defined as emotional, physical, psychological wellbeing in jeopardy – and not including work, child care, transportation, sporting events, nonrelevance to major, or subpar performance.  

 

Academic Code of Conduct:  You are expected to be familiar with the University’s standards on academic honesty, particularly with respect to cheating and plagiarism.  Cheating is defined, but not limited to, the use of unauthorized means of assistance during an exam, consultative efforts (voluntary or otherwise) with another student, copying, or in any way compromising the integrity of the exam setting.  Plagiarism is defined, but not limited to, the presentation of work as an original creation when it is not, by virtue of inappropriate (or nonexistent) citation, recycling of work from another class, purchasing papers or inappropriately replicating them from sources other than your own individual thought processes.  All works will be run through a paper analysis database and you will be required to submit your work both in hard copy and on disk.  Those reviews on ratemyprofessors.com are correct: I have no mercy in this sense.  Cheating and plagiarism will be referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action, with my recommendation for the strongest appropriate penalties, up to and including expulsion.  Your family will be disappointed, your graduation will be delayed, and law schools don’t like it on your transcript.  Just don’t.

 

Lastly, a word about the social contract:  This is an early morning class.  Truly, I understand.  Try to get here early for parking, coffee, etc.  You are welcome to bring your coffee into class (I will), as long as you clean up after yourself.  You are not welcome to walk into class 30 minutes late, nor will your presence in the class be welcome if you engage in behavior which is disruptive to class or disrespectful to your classmates (or me).  This particularly means cell phones:  If it goes off in class, please leave immediately without argument for the day.  If your phone goes off during an exam, it is an automatic F without appeal.

 

Books:  Your textbooks for this class are (in order): 

1.         John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe, vol 2, second edition, W.W. Norton Press; this is your main narrative text for the class; it is $49.25 used in the             bookstore

2.         A.E. Wrigley, Poverty, Progress and Population.  Cambridge Press, 2004.  ISBN 0521529743; $28.00 new in bookstore

3.         Niall Ferguson, The Pity of War, Basic Books/Perseus Press, 0465057128; there are plenty of used copies in the bookstore at $15.00

4.         Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz, in bookstore for $9.00, but many imprints available. 

 

Additionally, primary sources will be posted on the class website:  http://www.csun.edu/~kaddison/341home.htm  --

NB: inevitably something will be wrong with the website initially, people will be unable to link to it, etc.  Server here at csun is hinky.  If you are unable to access it, try eaving off the 341home.htm and you will see a publicly viewable directory with uploaded files. If that still doesn’t work…we’ll figure something out.

 

Schedule of Lectures:

 

Week 1             Introduction; background of Revolution, Enlightenment, Napoleon’s Campaigns.  Congress of Vienna, Napoleonic Legacies; Russia is introduced.  Read:  Chap 12-13, briefly (more on 13); start on Wrigley, chap 1, chap 2

 

Week 2             Monday holiday.  Social situations, conservative orders; start of industrialization = start of social problems; responses

                        Read:  Industrial Revolution; read: Wrigley, 3-5.  Read:  Malthus on website

 

Week 3:            Industrial, Agricultural, Demographic Revs; Utilitarianism, Liberalism and Socialism;  Read Wrigley, chap 6, 9, 10; Merriman, chap 15

 

Week 4             Continue with Liberalism: political manifestations and the roots of Nationalism; Fichte on website; Burke (not flannery J); calls for Republican Reform

9/19, 21, 23       (continue chap 15)

 

Week 5             Revolution of 1830; Hausmann’s redesign; Russia’s Age of Reaction; German economic development (pay attention to Merriman, “Nationalist Dreams”)

 

Week 6             1848 and responses:  Political Daydreams, indeed.  Political organization across the continent, counter-rev. attempts; and oh yeah, that

10/3, 5, 7           Communist Manifesto thing.  MIDTERM FRIDAY OCTOBER 7.  Click here for Midterm questions

                        Read:  Web sources; chap 16 (communist manifesto is good, solid reading, available online, could you ask for better?) Link to Communist Manifesto

 

Week 7             Unification in Italy and Germany, the triumph of Bismarckian politics, and that little “non-war” interlude.  Read:  Chap 17, web sources.  You should start reading Ferguson now.  But trust me, it goes really fast.

 

Week 8             Liberalism and the Middle Classes: “We are not amused.”  Victorianism, Women and Class

                        Read:  Chap 18 (yeah, it’s a little out of order, sorry).  Cruise through chap 19

 

Week 9:            Rule Britannia, or The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire; Imperialism and its effects.  Read:  Chap 20 (skim); chap 21.  Pay particular attention to Social Darwinism; tie all of this into the 2nd industrial rev from chap 19.

 

Week 10:          World War I:  The Battles, the politics, the responses. 

10/31, 11/2, 4     Chap 22 and Ferguson.  Also:  Read part 1 of chap 24, through settlements in Eastern Europe

 

Week 11:          Russia:  The Bear Awakens:  The Revolution, Stalinism, things get ugly

                        The Weimar Republic.  Read:  chap 23, 24

 

Week 12           Fascism continued, Nazi’ism in Germany, Mussolini’s Blackshirts, Spanish Civil War and the politics of appeasement:  Remainder of chap 24, all of chap 25

 

Week 13           It didn’t work:  World War II begins.  Film on Weds. 11/23 Holiday on FRI 11/25;

 11/21, 23                      Read Primo Levi.  Chap 26

 

Week 14           Acts of Settlement, the dawn of the Cold War; decolonization

11/28                PAPERS DUE MONDAY 11/28, NO EXTENSIONS, NO EXCUSES.

 

Week 15           You say you want a Revolution?  Students challenge the world.  Paris, 1968; the rebellion against Communism; “Tear Down the Wall.” (an homage to Pink Floyd, not Mr. Reagan).  Skim through Chap 29. 

 

TAKE HOME FINAL DISTRIBUTED/POSTED FRIDAY 12/9; due to the history dept office by MONDAY, 12/12, 12:00, IN HARD COPY (you will have already submitted it to the database).  No copy, no grade. 

 

                        NB:  University regulations require that for an Incomplete to be granted, the student must have dire, and documentable, reasons for not being able to complete the coursework.  Additionally, the student must have completed at least half the coursework with a passing grade.  For this class, that means your midterm, class participation, and paper must be done at a C level or above.