Syllabus: B359 (C379/H 509-3 CR))
Europe from
Napoleon to the First World War I:
Revolution and
Modernization, 1815-1871
MW 2:30-3:45 CA
221
(Subject to
Change)
Professor Kevin Cramer Cavanaugh 504B
317-278-7744 Mon/Weds: 12-1:30
kcramer@iupui.edu and by appointment
Required Texts:
This course covers the eventful period in nineteenth-century European history between the defeat of Napoleon’s French Empire in 1815 and the rise of modern nations such as France, Germany, and Italy some sixty years later. This may seem like a relatively short span of time. But in fact this era witnessed profound upheaval and change that set the stage for the world we live in today. The legitimacy of the rule of kings was shattered by revolution and the advent of democratic politics. The European economic system accelerated and completed its evolution into industrial capitalism. The agricultural rhythms of rural life gave way to the rapid expansion of cities and factory production which in turn radically transformed family life, the roles of women and men, and ideas of social and political organization. Art and culture became more “democratic”, reflecting the hopes, desires, and fears of this new mass society, which employed science and reason to transform and improve the material world and the human condition. This economic and social modernization was aided and paralleled by a political modernization that saw the rise of the modern nation state. As these states competed for resources, territory, economic advantage, and national prestige on the global stage they not only spread European cultural, political, and economic ideas but also created an unstable international environment characterized by nationalism, racism, imperialism, and militarism. These were the twin legacies of the nineteenth century to the twentieth: the globalization of Western cultural and economic ideas and endemic war, instability, and genocide.
The aim of this course is to increase your understanding of a period crucial to the development of the modern world. Lectures and exams will introduce you to facts, concepts, themes, and terms that will allow you to explain and contextualize the importance of this period while applying this knowledge to a better understanding of how your society and world works. The writing assignments, based on readings of primary sources, will enable you to develop your reflective, critical, and analytical abilities. The various modes of in-class participation and discussion will push you to sharpen your communication skills as well as your capability to efficiently and spontaneously summarize, categorize, interpret, and evaluate information. This aspect of the course also allows you to make a vital and necessary contribution to how topics and issues are brought into focus in each class.
This course is divided into seven areas of evaluation:
I. Papers on Major Themes (40%):
1. The Impact of the French Revolution (3pp; 10%)
2. Industrialization (4pp; 10%)
3. Social Instability and Revolution (4pp; 10%)
4. Nation Building (4pp; 10%)
These papers
require you to write on a set of historical questions based on the primary
sources in the Barnes and Feldman volume. In preparation for these written
assignments you will usually have one or more lectures, a related “Case Study”,
an in-class discussion of the relevant documents, and an entire class
devoted to discussion of how to approach the topic, the problems associated
with writing about it, and how to use the Breunig and Rich books. Come to
these special sessions prepared with all problems, questions, and ideas
related to writing the paper. The topic and questions for each paper will
be posted on Oncourse and/or distributed in class well in advance of the due
date. These papers are evaluated with a letter grade.
II. Mid-Term and Final (25%)
1. Mid-Term: 10%
2. Final: 15%
The mid-term and
final exam will test your knowledge of content, major themes, factual
information, and historical context. They will consist of multiple choice
questions, identifications, and short essay questions. There will be an entire
class session devoted to a review for each of these exams. These tests are
evaluated with a letter grade.
III. Case Studies (10%)
1. The Napoleonic Revolution
2. The Conservative Reaction
3. Liberalism and Civil Society
4. Materialism
5. Family, Gender, and Class
6. Socialism
7. The National Project
The “Case Study” is a participation assignment designed to generate a general in-class (and in-depth) discussion that allows us to explore and understand some important nineteenth-century issues and ideas. To understand the past, which for most of us is foreign territory, we must be able to appreciate the motivations and options of historical actors. These Case Studies are based on material in the lectures, background texts, and the volume of primary sources. What you will be doing is, in effect, engaging in history through a type of time travel as you are asked to enter into various hypothetical historical situations. These Case Studies will ask you to recreate the thinking, problems, choices, and solutions of people in the past. This type of assignment assumes that there is no “right” answer and requires you to challenge your own assumptions and stereotypes even as you apply your own perspectives to the case at hand.
Example of a Case Study examining political liberalism: You own a promising import/export firm in the German port city of Hamburg in 1820. You fought in the Prussian army to liberate your city from French rule in 1813. However, you approved of some of the democratic ideas arising out of the French Revolution. But after the defeat of the French, your prince, restored to his throne, announces the re-establishment of autocratic absolutist rule. What is your reaction? What do you think should be done? Why? What are your options and how are they limited?
The parameters of
each Case Study (time, place, characters, situation, historical background,
relevant text and source references, etc.) will be posted on Oncourse and/or
distributed in class the week before the discussion. These
assignments are intended to promote participation in class and to prepare you
for writing the papers. Your participation will be noted and a cumulative
letter grade for this part of the course will be assigned at the end of the
semester.
IV. Book Discussion Forums (10%)
You will be reading
two short historical monographs over the course of the semester: Schivelbusch’s
Disenchanted Night and Corbin’s The Village of Cannibals. The aim
of this assignment is to get you to think critically about how historians
choose certain topics, how they pose historical questions, what broader issues
they think their answers address, and what sources they use (and how they use
them) in arriving at those answers. In short, what is “history” and how is it
written? You are not being asked to write a “book report.” Rather, you will be
“reviewing” these books according to a set of defined criteria. You will not
turn in this short “review” but post it on Oncourse for your peers to debate in
an online discussion forum (mediated by yours truly). Your review and your
participation in the discussion forum will be evaluated with a letter grade.
V. “Rapid Response Papers” (5%)
At the conclusion of
some classes I will ask you to write a “Rapid Response Paper” in which you will
quickly record the principle thing you learned that day and the idea that you
found most difficult or unclear. The goal of this assignment is twofold: for
me, it gives me your immediate input as to what material needs to be reinforced
or clarified; for you, it encourages you to listen to lectures and discussions
more critically and attentively. These papers should be no more than a few
sentences. I will return them to you with brief comments during the next class
after addressing or clarifying the main points raised in the papers. These
assignments will not be announced in advance. They are not graded. You will be
assigned a cumulative letter grade evaluating your participation in this
assignment at the end of the semester.
VI. Oncourse Submission of Discussion Questions (5%)
Part of the
preparation for the four papers will be in-class discussions of the relevant
primary sources in the Barnes and Feldman book and the assigned sections in the
Breunig and Rich books. No later than the day before the class scheduled
for “document discussion” you will be required to submit to me via Oncourse
mail one or two questions (based on your reading) you would like to have
discussed. This assignment gives you input into how the discussion will be
structured and also gives you an opportunity to explore questions you feel were
not covered in the paper assignment and ideas that help you approach these
questions. Your submission of a question will be noted (and acknowledged in
class) and a cumulative letter grade evaluating your participation in this
assignment will be assigned at the end of the semester.
VII. Quizzes (5%)
Occasionally I will
give you a short quiz on the texts to make sure that you are keeping up with
the assigned readings (which will include Rampolla’s Writing in History).
In addition, I will give you at least two map quizzes based on maps in the
background texts. The readings quizzes will be unannounced. I will announce
in advance which maps you will be responsible for. These quizzes are evaluated
with a letter grade.
Grading System
This course will use the following grading system and numerical equivalencies established by the Registrar in evaluating individual assignments and computing the average for your final semester grade:
A+ = 4.0 Highest Passing Grade D+ = 1.3
A = 4.0 D = 1.0
A- = 3.7 D- = 0.7
B+ = 3.3 F = 0.0 Failing Grade
B = 3.0
B- = 2.7
C+ = 2.3
C = 2.0
C- = 1.7
Course Policies
I. Late Work and Make-Up Exams
Written assignments that are submitted late will be docked ½ grade for every day late past the due date. Work submitted more than 3 class days late (except in the case of mitigating circumstances and with prior approval) will not be accepted. Obviously, many of the non-written assignments are directly connected to preparation for in-class discussion and are essential to the success of these discussions. Consistently late submissions, failure to participate, or inadequate or perfunctory preparation will be duly noted at the end of the semester when final grades are calculated. Exams or other work missed during absences can only be made up with my approval.
II. Attendance Policy
This course is participation oriented. The course cannot work well without consistent attendance. As absences prevent you from participating in discussion and other interactive and preparatory exercises, missed classes will seriously and adversely affect your grade. If you are unable to attend class for any reason you should contact me prior to or immediately following the absence. An excused absence includes documented or otherwise confirmed medical, family, job, or transportation emergencies. If you know well in advance that you will miss class (i.e., athletics, job), let me know as soon as possible so we can arrange for make up work. You should also find someone in class who is willing to share notes or discuss what was missed. Missed assignments will be available on Oncourse.
III. Academic Misconduct (adopted from the IUPUI Campus Bulletin, 2000-2002)
1. Do not be tempted to take digital shortcuts, no matter how dire a situation you find yourself in. There are many search engines now available to professors that can easily and quickly identify text downloaded from websites that sell papers. In any case, the specificity of the assignments for this course does not easily lend itself to this particular type of subterfuge.
2. You are not allowed to submit work for this course that is substantially derived from work done for another course.
3. Plagiarism is not only the theft of someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. Inattention, ignorance of citation conventions, and sloppy note taking can also result in plagiarism, even if it is unintentional. You cannot use the ideas, words, or statements of another person without citation or other acknowledgment (we will discuss citation methods and conventions in detail when we prepare for the first paper. See also Rampolla’s Writing in History). You must appropriately acknowledge the source of direct quotes, paraphrases or reformulations of someone else’s words, ideas, opinions, or theories, and facts, statistics, or other information that is not “common knowledge” (more on this later). Indications of plagiarism obligate me to investigate and take appropriate action (at my discretion), including reporting to the Dean of Student Affairs.
4. The high level of in-class peer interaction demanded by this course requires a correspondingly high level of tolerance, respect, and attentiveness in discussion. Fairness, civility, and deference are the watchwords. Criticism is only useful if it is constructive and non-confrontational. Respond to your colleagues with the tone and content with which you expect to be treated. Inappropriate behavior will be duly noted.
5. Some of the administrative tasks and assignments of this course utilize campus email and Oncourse sites, mail and discussion forums. You are responsible, ultimately, for activity on your computer accounts.
Class Schedule, Topics, Readings,
and Due Dates
Week One
1. Wednesday, 8-22: The Syllabus: Overview and Objectives
· Readings for Next Week: Breunig, chapters 1-2; Rich, chapter 2, pp. 43-47.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #1 Scenario: “The Napoleonic Revolution”
I.
Europe in Upheaval: Revolution Against the Old Order,
1789-1820
Week Two
2. Monday, 8-27: Introduction: The Impact of the French Revolution (Lecture)
3. Wednesday, 8-29: The Napoleonic Revolution: Case Study #1
MONDAY, 9-3: LABOR DAY HOLIDAY: NO
CLASSES
Week Three
4. Wednesday, 9-5: Documentary: “Napoleon”
· Readings for Next Week: Breunig, chapter 3 (entire); Barnes and Feldman, chapter 1, pp. 1-13.
· Post/Distribute: Topic and Questions for Paper #1: “The Impact of the French Revolution and Napoleon.”
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Tuesday, 9-11: Two questions, one drawn from Barnes and Feldman reading, the other from the Breunig, for discussion on 9-12.
Week Four
5. Monday, 9-10: The Reform Era, 1803-1819 (Lecture)
6. Wednesday, 9-12: The Congress of Vienna, 1815 (Lecture and Text/Document Discussion)
· Readings for Next Week: Rampolla, pp. 1-28, 43-51, 57-93; Breunig, chapter 5, pp. 196-205; Rich, chapter 2, pp. 63-65; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 1, pp. 14-18.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #2: “The Conservative Reaction”
Week Five
7. Monday, 9-17: Discussion: Paper #1
8. Wednesday, 9-19: The Romantic Reaction; Literature, Music, and Art (Lecture, slides, music)
· Readings for Next Week: Breunig, chapter 4, pp. 173-174, chapter 5, 180-190; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 1, pp. 18-31.
II.
Europe in Transition: Modernization and Conflict,
1820-1848
Week Six
9. Monday, 9-24: The Conservative Reaction: Case Study #2
IMPORTANT: PAPER #1 DUE
10. Wednesday, 9-26: Liberal Aspirations, 1815-1820 (Lecture)
· Readings for Next Week: Breunig, chapter 4, pp. 155-174, chapter 6 (entire); Barnes and Feldman, chapter 2, pp. 41-50, 54-61.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #3: “Liberalism, Politics, and Civil Society”
· Important: Start reading Schivelbusch: Discussion Forum posted.
Week Seven
11. Monday, 10-1: The Liberal Solution: Case Study #3
12. Wednesday, 10-3: Industrialization I (Lecture)
· Readings for Next Week: Barnes and Feldman, chapter 3, pp. 72-90, chapter 7, pp. 174-182.
· Post/Distribute: Topic and Questions for Paper #2: “Industrialization”
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Friday, 10-5: One question drawn from the Barnes and Feldman reading for discussion on 10-8.
Week Eight
13. Monday, 10-8: Industrialization II (Lecture and Document Discussion)
14. Wednesday, 10-10: Discussion: Paper #2
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 1, pp. 1-14, chapter 2, pp. 31-38; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 2, pp. 32-40, chapter 5 (entire).
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #4: “Materialism”
Week Nine
15. Monday, 10-15: Materialism: Science: Case Study #4
IMPORTANT: PAPER #2 DUE
16. Wednesday, 10-17: Mid-Term Review
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 2, pp. 27-31, 49-62.
Week Ten
17. Monday, 10-22: Mid-Term Exam
18. Wednesday, 10-24: Materialism: Culture (Lecture, slides and Schivelbusch wrap-up)
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 1, pp. 14-26, chapter 3, pp. 66-69; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 3, pp. 62-71, chapter 7, pp. 183-188.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #5: “Family, Gender, Class”
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Tuesday, 10-30, two questions, one drawn from the Rich reading, the other from the Barnes and Feldman, for discussion on 10-31.
Week Eleven
19. Monday, 10-29: Family, Gender, Class: Case Study #5
20. Wednesday, 10-31: “The Social Problem”: Capitalism (Lecture and Text/Document Discussion)
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 2, pp. 38-43; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 4, pp. 91-108, 115-119, chapter 7, pp. 189-200.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #6: “Socialism”; Topic and Questions for Paper #3: “Social Instability and Revolution”
Week Twelve
21. Monday, 11-5: “The Social Problem”: Socialism: Case Study #6
22. Wednesday, 11-7: Discussion: Paper #3
· Readings for Next Week: Breunig, chapter 7 (entire); Barnes and Feldman, chapter 4, pp. 109-114.
· Important: Start reading Corbin: Discussion Forum posted.
III.
Europe in Transformation: The Rise of the Nation State,
1848-1880
Week Thirteen
23. Monday, 11-12: Mid-Century Revolution: 1830-1848 (Lecture)
24. Film: “Hard Times”
IMPORTANT: PAPER #3 DUE
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 4, pp. 77-81, chapter 5 (entire); Barnes and Feldman, chapter 6, pp. 155-173.
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Friday, 11-16, two questions, one from the Rich reading and the other from the Barnes and Feldman, for discussion on 11-19.
Week Fourteen
25. Monday, 11-19: Building the Nation: France, Germany, Italy (Lecture and Text/Document Discussion)
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 4, pp. 91-100, chapter 7, pp. 184-195, 202-216; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 6, pp. 147-154.
· Post/Distribute: Case Study #7: “The National Project”; Topics and Questions for Paper #4: “Nation Building”
WEDNESDAY, 11-21 TO SUNDAY, 11-25: THANKSGIVING RECESS: NO CLASSES
Week Fifteen
26. Monday, 11-26: Imagining the Nation: Case Study #7 (Slides)
27. Wednesday, 11-28: Discussion: Paper #4
· Readings for Next Week: Rich, chapter 6, pp. 145-159, chapter 7, pp. 198-202, 216-225; Barnes and Feldman, chapter 8, pp. 201-209.
· Post/ Distribute: Final Exam Review
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Friday, 11-10, two questions, one from the Rich reading, the other from the Barnes and Feldman, for discussion on 12-3.
Week Sixteen
28. Monday, 12-3: Consolidating the Nation State (Lecture and Text/Document Discussion)
IMPORTANT: PAPER #4 DUE
29. Wednesday, 12-5: Final Exam Review
· Submit via Oncourse Mail: By Friday, 12-7, two questions/ideas concerning the “legacy” of the period covered by the course for the twentieth century for discussion on 12-10.
Week Seventeen
30. Monday, 12-10: Last Class: “The Legacy of the Nineteenth Century” (Corbin wrap-up)
FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER
12, 1-3 PM