Syllabus: B361/H509 (Subject to change)

Europe in the Twentieth Century I: 1914-1941

Fall 2003

MW 9:30-10:45: Cavanaugh CA221

Professor Kevin Cramer Cavanaugh 504M

317-278-7744 Mon/Weds: 3-5

kcramer@iupui.edu and by appointment

Required Texts

1. Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914-1918, second edition (London and New York, Routledge, 1973).

2. Sheila Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution, second edition (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001).

3. Frank McDonough, Hitler and Nazi Germany (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999).

4. James L. Stokesbury, A Short History of World War II (New York, Harper Perennial, 1980).

If you do not already own one, you are strongly advised to buy a scholarly style manual, such as Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.

Course Description

The first half of the twentieth century was a particularly violent and bloody forty years. Those decades left legacies of state-sanctioned violence and mass death that are still with us today. This relatively brief historical epoch included two world wars, two major civil wars, the dissolution of four imperial monarchies, the creation of the first communist state, the rise of fascism and Nazism, brutal political purges, mass deportations and executions, genocide, and, after Europe had devastated itself, the emergence of the United States and Soviet Russia as superpowers. In a violent flare of expansionist nationalism between 1914 and 1945 three centuries of European world domination came to a sudden end. This course begins with Europe's drift toward war in the first decade of the twentieth century as the continent seemed prepared to liquidate its proudest achievement-- a century of progress, reason, and prosperity. World War I is explored in depth, from its origins to the peace settlements that led to communist revolution in Russia and democratic revolution in Germany. The apparent collapse of democracy, liberalism, and capitalism in the 1930s in the face of totalitarianism is examined in units dealing with Stalinist Russia, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and the Spanish Civil War. The course concludes with a discussion of Adolf Hitler's plans to reverse the German defeat in 1918 and the first two years of World War II. The course ends in 1941 with the entry of the United States into the war after Pearl Harbor, an event that marked the end of "Hitler's war" as a continuation of WWI and the beginning of a new global conflict.

Course Objectives

The aim of this course is to show how the international order of the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by the conflict between radical utopian ideologies of the left and right and how this conflict was particularly open to the use of mass murder as a political weapon. The course is also designed to further develop and improve the skills required by the university's "Principles of Undergraduate Learning” (for details and further information on the PUL go to www.iupui.edu/~history/principlesundergradlearning.htm). Lectures and exams will introduce you to facts, concepts, themes, and terms that will allow you to understand the importance of these events while giving you the historical context for a better understanding of how this period continues to resonate in our world sixty years later. The term paper assignment, based on readings of primary sources and current secondary literature, will enable you to develop your reflective, critical, and analytical abilities while requiring you to become familiar with library resources and research techniques. In-class participation and discussion will enable you to sharpen your communication skills as well as your capability to efficiently and spontaneously argue a position and summarize, categorize, interpret, and evaluate information. This part 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.

Course Requirements

1. Final Exam (Non-cumulative; 25%)

2. Mid-Term Exam (25%)

3. Research Paper with Proposal and Bibliography (Topics and Format TBA; 20%). Important Note: Students in the graduate section (H509) are required to submit a longer research paper (further details TBA).

4. Participation in four debates (20%)

5. Reading Quizzes (Unannounced; 10%)

Grading System and Policy

Final grades in this course will be calculated with the four-point grading system used by the Registrar, e.g., A (4), A- (3.7), B+ (3.3) and so on. Tests, quizzes, and other course work will be graded on the traditional 100-point scale (and then converted for the final grade). An A-range grade evaluates work that goes substantially beyond the formal outlines of the assignment by showing marked originality, creativity, and strength of argument, organization, and conception. A B-range grade evaluates work that fulfills the assignment with noticeable, but not thorough, attention paid to these ideas. Such work might also include flawed reasoning and organization as well as stylistic problems (sentence structure, spelling, vocabulary, use of scholarly conventions, etc.). A C-range grade evaluates work of genuine effort that largely fulfills the assignment but displays substantial weaknesses in several of the above areas. D-range work is evaluated as meeting the bare minimums of the assignment in a perfunctory fashion. Obviously, an F grade indicates complete failure to fulfill the assignment.

Course Policies

Make up tests and quizzes will only be offered in emergencies (and given on the next class day) and when I am notified no later than the morning of the test or quiz class day. Keep me informed reasonably in advance of circumstances that will force you to miss lectures (via my office email or through Oncourse email). Lecture outlines, writing assignments, test reviews, film and slide notes, debate questions and other important information and course material will be posted on Oncourse, so check it regularly. To log on or get help go to https://oncourse.iu.edu. All assignments must be completed for your final grade to be accurately calculated (an A+ on the introductory test, for example, does not give you the option of skipping the map quizzes). Failure to turn in assignments or take tests and quizzes will be noted as part of your participation grade. Late submission of the term paper will be penalized a third of a grade (e.g. B to B-) for papers not turned in on the due date, one full grade for the first week overdue, and two full grades for two weeks overdue. Unless there are extraordinary and documented circumstances that prevent timely submission, papers overdue by more than two weeks will not be accepted.

Academic Misconduct

Plagiarism is usually defined as the deliberate theft of someone else's work and passing it off as your own. But inattention, ignorance of citation conventions, cutting and pasting from Internet sources, and sloppy note taking can also be construed as plagiarism, even if these offenses are defended as unintentional. The penalties for plagiarism include an automatic failing grade for the assignment and the course. Please consult the IUPUI Campus Bulletin (2001-2002) for further guidelines and information on plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. For details and further information, also see “Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct” at www.hoosiers.iupui.edu/studcode.

Other Important Information

• As participation in class discussions is part of your final grade, and lecture material not covered in the textbooks is tested on the exams, attendance is important (and it also effects your participation grade). Some topics, such as pre-Revolutionary Russia, Fascist Italy, and the Spanish Civil War, are only covered cursorily in the readings. For the same reasons, tardiness and leaving early will also be noted.
• Lecture outlines will be posted on Oncourse no later than the day before the lecture.

• Learning to take effective notes is a skill rewarded by heightened comprehension, increased retention of information, and good grades; the recording of lectures is therefore prohibited barring special circumstances.
• The four debates will be based on questions posed by the readings. The positions for the debates will be posted in advance on Oncourse under "Schedule." Group assignments will be chosen in class.
• The readings for each week are intended to provide background information for that week’s lectures. You will find the lectures much easier to follow if you do the readings in advance, so it is advisable to keep up with the readings. There will be at least five unannounced reading quizzes over the semester. The exams will have material drawn from the textbook that will not always be discussed in class.
• Because of the sheer number and profound differences in quality of Internet sources and references, they can only be used (sparingly) in the term paper with my approval.
• You must submit in advance a research proposal and annotated bibliography for your paper. Format and details will be provided. I will not evaluate and grade your paper if you fail to submit this bibliography.

Class Schedule and Readings

Week One

1. Introduction (W 8/20): The Syllabus

Week Two

2. Lecture 1 (M 8/25): The Militarization of Europe

3. Lecture 2 (W 8/27): August 1914

Readings: Ferro, Part II

Debate 1 Positions posted on Oncourse; Debate Groups chosen

Labor Day Holiday: 9/1 (no classes)

Week Three

4. Debate 1 (W 9/3): "What or Who was 'Responsible' for the Start of WWI?"

Week Four

5. Lecture 3 (M 9/8): The "Race to the Sea" and Trench Warfare

6. Lecture 4 ((W 9/10): The British Experience of War: Somme to Passchendaele

Readings: Ferro, pp. 55-63, 70-72, 89-90, 94-107

Debate 2 Positions and Paper Topics and Format posted on Oncourse; Debate Groups chosen

Week Five

7. Film 1 (M 9/15): TBA

8. Lecture 5 (W 9/17): The French Experience of War: Verdun and the 1917 Mutinies

Readings: Ferro, pp. 82-86, 90-93, 200-205

Week Six

9. Debate 2 (M 9/22): "The Soldiers' Experience of War: Hyper-Nationalism or Disillusionment?"

10. Lecture 6 (W 9/24): The War's Periphery: Russia, Italy, and the Middle East

Readings: Ferro, 63-70, 72-81, 87-88, 108-116

Mid-Term Format and Review Guide posted on Oncourse

Week Seven

11. Lecture 7 (M 9/29): War's End: 1917-1918

12. Lecture 8 (W 10/1): Peace and Revolution, 1918-1926

Readings: Ferro, 116-123, chapters 12-14, pp. 205-209, chapters 16, 18

Week Eight

13. Mid-Term Exam (M 10/6)

14. Film 2 (W 10/8): "Battleship Potemkin"

Week Nine

15. Lecture 9 (M 10/13): Pre-Revolutionary Russia

16. Lecture 10 (W 10/15): The Russian Civil War

Readings: Fitzpatrick, chapters 1-3

Week Ten

17. Lecture 11 (M 10/20): Leninism and Stalinism

18. Lecture 12 (W 10/22): Italian Fascism

Readings: Fitzpatrick, chapters 4-6

Debate 3 Positions posted on Oncourse; Debate Groups chosen

Week Eleven

19. Film 3 (M 10/27): "Triumph of the Will"; Paper Proposal and Bibliography Due

20. Lecture 13 (W 10/29): National Socialism

Readings: McDonough, chapters 1-3

Week Twelve

21. Debate 3 (M 11/3): "Totalitarianism"

22. Lecture 14 (W 11/5): The Spanish Civil War

Debate 4 Positions posted on Oncourse; Debate Groups chosen

Week Thirteen

23. Film 4 (M 11/10): "The Spanish Earth"

24. Review Session (W 11/12): Paper Topics and How to Write an History Essay

Week Fourteen

25. Lecture 15 (M 11/17): Hitler's Plans for Conquest

26. Debate 4 (W 11/19): "Appeasement: Rational Policy?"

Readings: McDonough, chapters 5, 6 (pp. 86-94; Stokes, chapters 1-5

Final Exam Format and Review posted on Oncourse

Week Fifteen

27. Film 5 (M 11/24): TBA; RESEARCH PAPER DUE

Thanksgiving Recess: 11/26-11/30 (no classes)

Week Sixteen

28. Lecture 16 (M 12/1): World War I Resumed: 1939-1941

29. Lecture 17 (W 12/3): 1942-1945: The End of the 19^th Century?; GRADUATE PAPERS DUE

Readings: Stokes, 6-13

Week Seventeen

30. Last Class (M 12/8): Final Exam