Professor Kevin Cramer
CA 504B
278-7744
kcramer@iupui.edu
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 12:30-1:30

As the European nations move closer to full economic and political union, and with the reemergence of Central Europe in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet bloc, an understanding of Germany’s place in Europe becomes more pertinent than ever before. With that goal in mind, this course will examine the development of the modern German nation from a perspective shaped by an enduring problem in European history, "A European Germany or a German Europe?" Beginning with the halting progress toward unification in the first half of the 19^th century and continuing through Hitler’s Reich and the period of reconstruction after World War II, this course will explore the continuities and discontinuities in German history in the political, social, economic, intellectual and cultural realms. The main focus is on developments within Germany itself, but given the impact of German national ambitions on the modern world, international aspects are considered as well.

The graduate section will also focus on aspects of the current historiographical debate concerning the "Ordinary German" as it examines complicity, opposition, and racism in everyday life during the Third Reich.

Required Text

David Blackbourn, The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780-1918
Mary Fulbrook, The Divided Nation: A History of Germany, 1918-1990

(Additional purchase for Graduate Students)
Detlev Peukert, Inside Nazi Germany

Mid-Term Exam: 10%
Final Exam: 35%
Short Response Paper: 15%
Term Paper: 30%
Attendance and Participation: 10%

The final exam will be comprehensive and will cover material in the texts and the lectures. The short response paper (before the mid-term) of between 4 and 5 pages will answer a choice of questions dealing with the reading and primary sources. The term paper of between 10 and 12 pages will be on a choice of topics and with the course readings supplemented by suggested readings and your own work in the library. Each class will include time for discussion of the readings. Discuss the topic with me sometime before mid-term. Preparatory reading, regular attendance and participation are therefore strongly recommended (as is bringing your texts to class). This syllabus, writing assignments, paper topics, suggested readings, links, exam study guides and reviews, paper and citation formats, and other readings and class materials will be available through Oncourse. Check it regularly for these announced postings and any changes (which can be expected). Lecture outlines and discussion questions will be posted in advance of each class (see "Schedule" in Oncourse).. For class cancellations check the general announcement area. Please refer to the School of Liberal Arts Bulletin for university policies regarding withdrawals and academic misconduct (plagiarism and cheating).

Important Note: Graduate students will not have to take the mid-term. However, their term paper, dealing with some aspect of the "Ordinary German" debate, and based on a separate list of suggested readings and sources and independent research, should be between 15 and 20 pages, and will count 40% toward their final grade. In place of the short paper, graduate students will be required to submit a preliminary topic and annotated bibliography for this paper around mid-term. These will from the basis for a short conference with me.