History 3450

Modern Germany, Fall 2004

Dr. Sace Elder, Instructor

Syllabus

Office: 2542 Coleman Hall

Phone: 581-8509

Email: cfsee@eiu.edu

Office Hours: *MWF 11-12, M 3-4

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the major themes and developments in 19^th and 20^th century German history. We will focus in particular on the contested and changing concept of the German “nation” and the ways in which political, social, and economic developments such as urbanization, industrialization, the rise of mass politics, and world wars, have shaped the ways in which German nationhood has been defined, beginning with the liberal calls for unification in the post-Napoleonic era and ending with the dramatic reunification of Germany at the end of the Cold War.

Course Goals

1) To answer the following question: How has the German nation been defined over the course of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, not just geographically, but socially and culturally as well? In answering the question, consider the major political and cultural movements, social changes, and geopolitical developments, as well as regional and local differences, that have contributed to and militated against German national identity. Be sure to include in your answer a consideration of the role of the state (i.e., the various central governments) in defining “national character” and membership within the nation.

2) To answer the above question through analysis of secondary and primary sources. Students will critically engage not only novels and personal memoirs, but also critically evaluate a significant piece of historical scholarship as well as the assigned textbook.

3) To convey these analyses through verbal and written work.

Required course texts

The following texts are available from the textbook rental service:

Edgar Feuchtwanger, Imperial Germany, 1850-1918

Mary Fulbrook, The Divided Nation: A History of Germany, 1918-1990

Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941

In addition, the following books are available at the campus bookstore and are on reserve in the library:

Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest

Peter Schneider, The Wall Jumper

Course Requirements

Exams: There will be two exams, including an in-class essay and identification mid-term and an in-class final exam consisting of a brief set of identifications as well as a final paper that will be 10-15 pages in length. The final paper will answer the question defined in Course Goal #1 and will make use of all course material, including textbooks, lectures, in-class presentations, review, supplemental readings, and discussions. Students should not use outside material for the final exam unless first approved by the instructor. Students will also be responsible for all course material for the in-class exams.

Group Presentation and Short Position Paper: Once during the semester the student will participate in a group debate in which the students’ assigned group will be assigned a particular position to argue. The student will help prepare the oral presentation as well as write a 3-4 page essay that argues that particular position. The instructor will assign the groups, the question, and the position to be argued. The instructor will also assign supplemental readings where necessary. After the presentation of the arguments, the others in the class will discuss the evidence presented by the groups and will evaluate how well each group made its case. The paper is due the day of the debate and should be supported with evidence from the course material and any outside readings suggested by the instructor.

Reaction papers: Students will write a 2-page reaction paper for each of the supplemental readings (Fontane, Schneider, and Klemperer). The reaction paper should be informal but should nonetheless give a substantive appraisal of the book that adequately conveys that the book has been read, understood, and considered. These will be graded pass/fail.

Participation: This course is designed as a lecture and discussion course. For the most part, lectures will be confined to Mondays and, where necessary, Wednesdays. Students will be expected to engage their peers’ presentations. Students are expected to come to class having read the material and to be ready to participate in the discussion. Participation will be graded on the following scale:

14-15: Contributions to class discussion are frequent, informed, and relevant to the class discussion.

12-13: Contributions to class discussion are occasional, informed, and relevant to the course material

9-11: Contributions are informed but not relevant to the course material.

5-8: Contributions are neither relevant nor informed

0-4: No noteworthy contributions made whatsoever.

Course percentages:

Your grade will be calculated according to the following scale:

Course Policies:

Paper formats: All papers will be typed (computer-processed) using 12 pt. standard fonts and 1 inch margins. Citations (when used) will be endnote or footnote in format (to be discussed in class). Papers will be submitted in printed version (no electronic submissions unless previously arranged with the instructor and then only at the instructor’s discretion). Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in a lowering of the assignment grade.

Late papers: All assignments are expected to be handed in on time. Each assignment will be docked have a letter grade for each calendar day late (for example, a B paper will be a C+). A paper is a day late if handed in after the scheduled class meeting for which it is assigned, The instructor may excuse a late paper under extreme circumstances and if proper documentation of the circumstance is provided; if you anticipate having to turn in a paper late, speak to the instructor beforehand, not after the deadline.

Absences: Any unexcused absence after the second will detract three points from the class participation grade. Excuses include extreme cases, such as death in the family or personal illness., and require documentation from the appropriate authority (e.g., funeral home, doctor) must be provided.

Arriving late/leaving early: Students are expected to arrive on time and stay until class is over in order to not disrupt class. Frequent leaving early and arriving late can result in the lowering of class participation grade at the discretion of the instructor.

Academic integrity: Students are expected to follow the University guidelines for academic conduct (available at http://ww.eiu.edu/~judicial/code.html), which requires students to “observe the highest principles of academic integrity and support a campus environment conducive to scholarship.” Violations of academic integrity include “conduct in subversion of academic standards, such as cheating on examinations, plagiarism, collusion, misrepresentation or falsification of data;” “submitting work previously presented in another course unless specifically permitted by the instructor,” and “complicity in violations of this standard.” Plagiarism is “the use, without adequate attribution, of another person’s words or thoughts as if they were one’s own.” Citation of sources will be discussed in class and is required for all written assignments where appropriate.

Disabled students: Any student anticipating the need for special accommodations due to disability, physical or otherwise, should contact as early as possible Disability Services, located in Ninth Street Hall in Room 2002 or by phone at 581-6583. Accommodations can only be given to students with appropriate documentation from that office.

Writing Portfolio: This is a writing-intensive course. Should you elect to submit a paper from this course for your portfolio, you will need to give it to me one week in advance of your deadline.

NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to make reasonable and appropriate alterations in the syllabus to accommodate changing circumstances.

Tentative Course Schedule

Vormärz

8/23: Introduction

8/25: Discussion: What is Germany?

8/27: The Rise of German nationalism

Revolutions of 1848

Readings: Feuchtwanger, Chapter 1

8/30: Revolutionary politics

9/1: Reaction

9/3: Liberalism after the Revolution

The Founding of the Reich

Readings: Feuchtwanger, Chapter 2

9/6: Labor Day, No Class

9/8: Bismarck and Prussia

9/10: Creating Unity

Bismarck’s Germany

Readings: Feuchtwanger, Chapters 3 and 4

9/13: Debate: Was German unification a failure or success for the German Liberals?

9/15: Urbanization and Industrialization

9/17: Men, Women, and Honor in German Society

Wilhelmine Germany

Readings: Feuchtwanger, Chapters 5 and 6; Effie Briest

9/20: German Social Democracy

9/22: Pursuit of Empire

9/24: Fontane, Effie Briest

Great War

Readings: Feuchtwanger, Chapters 7 and 8

9/27: Origins of World War I

10/29: Waging Total War

10/1: Debate: Were the Germans responsible for World War I?

Revolution and Republic

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 2

10/4: The Roots of the Republic

10/6: Postwar Settlement

10/8: Fall break: No class

Weimar Society

10/11: Inflation and Stabilization

10/13: Modernism

10/15 Mid-term Exam

Collapse of the Republic and the Rise of the Nazis

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 3; Klemperer, 1933-1934

10/18: Crises of the Republic

10/20: The Nazi Basis of Power

10/22: Discussion: Klemperer, 1933-1934

Nazi Germany

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 4; Klemperer, 1936, 1938, 1939

10/25: Debate: Was the Weimar Republic doomed to fail or could it have survived given other conditions?

10/27: Consent and Coercion

10/29: Discussion: Klemperer

WWII

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 5

11/1: Nazi War Aims

11/3: War on Two Fronts

11/5: Debate: Was appeasement a misguided foreign policy?

Holocaust

11/8: The Final Solution

11/10: Victims, Perpetrators, Bystanders

11/12: Denazification and the Memory of the Holocaust after the War

Germany and the Allies

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 6

11/15: Occupation and Division

11/17: Debate: Were the Soviets or the Western Allies responsible for the division of Germany?

11/19: No Class

11/22-11/26: Thanksgiving Break: No class

GDR and FRG in the Cold War

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 7 and 12

11/29: Founding the two Republics

12/1: Redefining the Nation(s)

12/3: Discussion: Peter Schneider, The Wall Jumper

Fall of Communism and Reunification

Readings: Fulbrook, Chapter 8, 9, 13

12/6: Debate: By the 1970s did the FRG and the GDR represent one divided nation or two separate nations?

12/8: Crisis of German Communism

12/10: Reunification

Final Papers Due Monday, Dec. 13, 10:00am at the Final Exam