Syllabus: B421/H509 (subject
to change)
War and Society: The Second
World War: Summer I 2003
Professor
Kevin Cramer Cavanaugh
504B
317-278-7744
Mon/Tu/Th: 4-6
kcramer@iupui.edu and
by appointment
The end of World War II in 1945 terminated a 350-year-old era in world history: an epoch distinguished by the economic and military rivalry between the European powers, imperial domination and competition, the global hegemony of European culture and values, and the destructive and genocidal aspirations of aggressive nationalism. The war left as its legacy the potential of even greater global destruction and destabilization in the Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Another consequence was the emergence of the idea of the “Third World” as a result of the bankruptcy and collapse of the old European empires. The war also made American military and economic power and cultural influence the foundations of globalization. Some of the issues left unresolved at the end of the war have been decided, notably in the collapse of Soviet communism, the reunification of Germany, and the emergence of the European Union. Other issues, such as Balkan and eastern European nationalism, the democratization of the developing world, and the global aspirations of the capitalist economic system, remain sources of instability and conflict. This course does not focus exclusively on military history. It will also examine the origins of the war, the war’s impact on economic, social, and cultural life, and the war’s enduring legacy for a world that continues to grapple with problems of globalization, the international balance of power, terrorism, and genocide.
The
aim of this course is to place the war in the context of international
relations and history; to understand the aims and strategies of the combatants;
to examine the impact of the war on societies, culture, families, soldiers, and
victims; to understand the war’s impact on economic and social policy; and to
understand the place of the war in modern memory. 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 this event while giving you
the historical context for a better understanding of how the war 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 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.
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.
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. Lecture outlines, writing assignments, test
reviews, film and slide notes, discussion 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.
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, and sloppy note taking can also
result in what can be construed as plagiarism, even if it is unintentional.
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.
Readings: “Western Hemisphere” [WH] (Penguin History of WWII):
chapters 1-2.
Readings: WH: chapters 3-4.
Discussion Session 1: “Appeasement”
“The Treaty of Versailles: Part VIII. Reparation.
Section 1. General Provisions. Articles 231-247”
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/text/versaillestreaty/ver231.html
Neville Chamberlain: “Peace in Our Time”
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs36.htm
Winston Churchill: “A Total and Unmitigated Defeat”
(House of Commons, 10-4-38)
http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/Munich.html
“The Hossbach Memorandum” (11-10-37)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/document/hossbach.htm
Questions for Book Discussion and Essay Format
posted on Oncourse.
Readings: WH: chapters
5-7; “Asia and Pacific Conflict” [APC]: chapters 1, 8, 15-17.
Map Quiz 2 announced.
Readings: WH: chapters 9, 15
Discussion Session 2: “War Aims and Strategies”
Winston Churchill: “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”
(House of Commons, 6-4-40)
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/beaches.htm
“Japanese Imperial Policy Adopted at Imperial
Conference, 2 July 1941”
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/PTO/Dip/IR-410702.htm
Washington War Conference: “Memorandum by the U.S.
and British Chiefs of Staff, 1-10-42)
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/psf/box1/+04g02.html
“Extract from the Commissar’s Order for Operation
Barbarossa” (6-6-41)
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/documents/part3/doc170.html
The Nazi Slave Labor Program (excerpts from Nuremberg
Prosecution Documents: “Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, vol. 1, chap. X)
http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/document/DOCSLA1.HTM
Monday, 5-26: Memorial Day Holiday (no classes)
6. Lecture 5 (Th 5/29): “Technological and Economic
Mobilization”
Readings: WH: chapter 23.
Mid-Term Format and Review Guide posted on Oncourse.
7. Lecture 6 (M 6/2): “The Turning Points: Midway
and Stalingrad”
Readings: WH: chapter 22; APC: chapters 19-20.
Documentary 1: “The World at War: Stalingrad”
8. Mid-Term Exam (T 6/3)
9. Lecture 7 (Th 6/5): “The War of Ideas”
Documentary 2: “The Propaganda Wars”
Questions for Discussion Session 3 and Documentary 3
Notes posted on Oncourse
10. Lecture 8 (M 6/9): “Resistance and
Collaboration”; ESSAY DUE
Readings: WH: chapters 13, 19.
Documentary 3: “The Eye of Vichy”
Map Quiz 3 announced.
11. Lecture 9 (T 6/10): “The Nazi ‘New Order’ in
Europe”
Readings: WH: chapter 11.
12. Lecture 10 (Th 6/12): “The Murder of the
European Jews”
Discussion Session 3: “The Final Solution”
The Wannsee Protocol (1-2-42)
http://library.byu.edu/~rdh/eurodocs/germ/wanneng.html
Operational Situation Reports of the Special Action
Units (Einsatzgrüppen)
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Holocaust/situation_reports.html
Testimony of Otto Ohlendorf (Nuremberg, 1-3-46, pp.
315-354))
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/01-03-46.htm#ohlendorf
Leaflets of the White Rose Resistance Group (Munich,
1942-43)
http://www.jlrweb.com/whiterose/leaflets.html
Private and Political Testaments of Adolf Hitler,
4-29-45
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1945/450429a.html
13. Movie (M 6/16): “Conspiracy” (2001); Map
Quiz 3; GRADUATE PAPERS DUE
Final Exam Format and Review Guide posted on
Oncourse.
14. Lecture 11 ((T 6/17): “The End of the War in
Europe, 1942-1945”
Readings: WH: chapters 24-25.
Documentary 4: “The World at War: Nemesis—Germany
February-May 1945”
15. Lecture 12 (Th 6/19): “The End of the War in the
Pacific, 1942-1945”
Readings: APC: chapters 24-25.
Documentary 5: “The World at War: Pacific—February
1942-July 1945”
16. Lecture 13 (M 6/23): “The Post-War Settlement”;
Final Exam Review.
17. Last Class (T 6/24): Final Exam