Syllabus:
Graduate Seminar H720 (C312) Spring 2004
Modern Western European History: “War and Memory”
Tuesday
Professor Kevin Cramer Cavanaugh
503 M
317-278-7744 Tues/Thurs:
3-5
kcramer@iupui.edu and
by appointment
If you do not already own one, you are strongly encouraged to buy a
scholarly style manual, such as Kate L. Turbian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
"Catastrophic
cataclysms . . . make terror the basis of human mentality."
James Joyce, Ulysses
"The truth is that we all
live by leaving behind; no doubt we all profoundly know that we are immortal
and that sooner or later every man will do all things and know
everything."
Jorge
Luis Borges, Funes, The Memorious
"Nations are bound
together not by what they choose to remember, but by what they choose to
forget."
Ernst Renan,
What is a Nation?
The broad theme of this course is to examine how two of
the most fundamental aspects of the human condition, memory and war, have
intersected in the cultural, intellectual, and civic life of the modern world.
The historians we will be reading draw connections between memory, culture,
suffering and identity. They all are posing one basic question: why has the
human need to remember focused so obsessively with the traumas of mass death,
genocide, persecution, and dislocation? Remembrance comes in many forms—it is
official and private; individual and collective; consensual and contested;
cultural, psychological, and political. As you ponder possible subjects for
your paper, and as you read the texts, you will want to keep the following
questions in mind: What interests does the remembrance of suffering serve? What
are the uses of history, memory, and commemoration? What are the connections
between history writing, the redress of injustice, identity, and the perception
of victimization?
Course Objectives
This course is designed to refine your skills at the
graduate level in the following areas: reading historiography critically to
discern and analyze arguments, biases, and methodologies; finding and analyzing
primary sources to construct an argument; conceptualizing and organizing a
research plan to demonstrate that argument; presenting and defending your
conclusions in oral and written form; engaging in and benefiting from peer
review and critique; and revising your work based on those critiques.
You will divide your time in this course between five
main activities: familiarizing yourself with some of the theoretical
propositions in this field; reading some models of work in this field; pursuing
independent research; revising your written work based on peer review and
individual consultation with me; and participating in seminar discussions of
the common readings.
Requirements
The main requirement for this course is the final paper,
about thirty pages in length, based on original research analyzing primary
sources. As you prepare for writing this paper, you will be presenting possible
research questions, a prospectus with annotated bibliography and research plan,
and drafts of your work with your colleagues. These presentations are based on
written work you will be submitting to me and distributed to the seminar for
comments. You are required to give to me and your peers written comments on all
presentations. All written work must be typed and submitted and distributed in
a timely fashion.
This course is designed as a seminar. This means that
lively discussion, argument, critique, and exchange of ideas are all essential
for the success of the course. Barring extraordinary circumstances, and prior
consultation with me, attendance is mandatory. Respectful and constructive
critiques of your peers’ work are also important for the success of the course.
Discussion questions for the seminars on the common
readings at the beginning of the semester will be posted the week before on
Oncourse under “Schedule.” Please check
“Course Announcements” regularly for any changes in the syllabus or schedule.
We will also be using Oncourse extensively for submitting and exchanging
written work prior to the presentations (see schedule for due dates).
Your grade for the course is broken down as follows:
1. Final
Paper: 40%
2. Participation
(Seminar readings discussion and presentations): 20%
3. Peer
Critiques (presentations and drafts): 20%
4. Preliminary
Research Questions and Prospectus: 20%
·
Four potential research questions
·
Statement of argument
·
Research plan and preliminary outline
·
Annotated bibliography of secondary literature
·
Preliminary survey and annotated bibliography of
primary sources
Schedule, Assignments, and Due
Dates
Part One: Loss and Memory Work
Introduction (1/13)
Questions
for Seminar 1 posted on Oncourse
Seminar
One (1/20): History and Memory
Questions
for Seminar 2 posted on Oncourse
Readings:
Jacques Le Goff,
"Memory" (pp. 51-100), in History
and Memory (New York, Columbia University Press, 1992). Available on Errol
Jay Winter and Emmanuel Sivan,
"Introduction," and "Setting the Framework" (pp. 1-39) in War and Remembrance
Seminar
Two (1/27): History, Memory, and Trauma
Questions
for Seminar 3 posted on Oncourse
Readings:
Cathy Carruth, "Unclaimed
Experience: Trauma and the Possibility of History" (pp. 181-192), in Yale French Studies 79: Literature and the
Ethical Question (1991). Available on Errol
Paloma Aguilar, "Agents of
Memory: Spanish Civil War Veterans and Disables Soldiers" (pp. 84-103) in War and Remembrance
Annette Wieviorka, "From
Survivor to Witness: Voices from the Shoah" (pp. 125-141) in War and Remembrance
Emmanuel Sivan, "Private
Pain and Public Remembrance in Israel" (pp. 177-204) in War and Remembrance
Seminar
Three (2/3): Collective Memory and Identity
Questions
for Seminar 4 posted on Oncourse
Readings:
David Lowenthal,
"Identity, Heritage, and History" (pp. 41-60) in Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity, John R. Gillis
ed., (Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1994). Available on Errol
Catherine Merridale, "War,
Death, and Remembrance in Soviet Russia" (pp. 61-83) in War and Remembrance
Dolores Hayden,
"Landscapes of Loss and Remembrance: The Case of Little Tokyo in Los
Angeles" (pp. 142-160) in War and
Remembrance
Antoine Proust, "The
Algerian War in French Collective Memory" (pp. 161-176) in War and Remembrance
Seminar
Four (2/10): Remembering and Culture
Questions
for Seminar 5 posted on Oncourse
Readings:
Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory,
chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 7.
Special
Session (2/17): University Library: Using the Library and
Archives (Kristi Palmer)
Seminar
Five ((2/24): "Truth" and Reconciliation
Questions
for Seminar 6 posted on Oncourse; Sign up for Presentation of Preliminary Research
Questions
Readings:
David W. Blight, Race and Reunion, chapters 1-4, 7, 8,
and Epilogue
Seminar
Six (3/2): Memory, Myth, and the Nation
Readings:
Nachman Ben-Yehuda, The Masada Myth, chapters 1-5, 7,8, 11.
Part Two: Presentations of Preliminary Research
Seminar
Seven (3/9): Research Question Presentations
NB:
Questions must be submitted to me and distributed to the seminar.
Sign up
for Prospectus Presentations
Spring
Recess (No classes): Monday, March 15 through Sunday March 21
Seminar
Eight (3/23): Prospectus Presentations
NB:
Prospectus must be submitted to me and distributed to the seminar.
Sign up
for Individual Conferences and Presentation Group 1 or 2
No
Class (3/30): Research and Writing
DRAFT
PAPER DUE: 5 PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 1
NB:
Distribute to all members of the seminar
Part Three: Presentation of Draft Papers
Seminar
Nine (4/6): Presentation Group 1
NB:
Drafts will not be read in their entirety; presenters will introduce their
project with a short précis and answer questions from the seminar.
WRITTEN
CRITIQUES DUE: 5PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 8
NB:
Copies of critiques to be provided to presenters
Seminar
Ten (4/13): Presentation Group 2
WRITTEN
PEER CRITIQUES DUE: 5PM, THURSDAY, APRIL 15
No
Class (4/20): Individual Conferences
FINAL
VERSION OF PAPER DUE: 5 PM, Monday, March 3