History 312 Fall
2006
TTh 3:00-4:15, Hearst 204
Dr. Kristian
Blaich
Hearst 317a,
504-3464
Email: kblaich@oglethorpe.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:30-2:30, and by appointment
Course Description
Perhaps no
European state has witnessed as much overwhelming change during the past
century and a half as
For purchase
at OU bookstore:
Dietrich Orlow, A History of Modern
Peter Fritzsche, Germans
into Nazis
David Crew, ed.,
Nazism and German Society
Dirk Philipsen, We Were
the People
Additional
required readings will be distributed in class in the form of course packets
during the first weeks of the semester (marked with *)
·Class participation (20%): This course
emphasizes discussion of historical problems in German history. It is therefore vital that students attend
class regularly, complete all readings before class meetings, and come prepared
to discuss the material. Please bring
the book or article under discussion with you to class. Attendance is
mandatory, and no distinction will be made between "excused" and
"unexcused" absences. You may miss up to two classes for any reason
and with no penalty. Any more than that will result in a reduced final grade.
Missing more than six absences will result in a final grade of F or FA in the
course.
·Two brief essays (ca. 4 pages) responding
to selected readings and/or films (15% each, 30% total). Details will be
provided in advance. Due September 28 and November 9.
·Term paper (10-12
pages) on a topic of the student’s choice, determined in consultation with the
instructor (25%).
Students will submit a prospectus (ca. 2 pages) at the beginning of class on
Thursday, October 12. The prospectus should include at least three paragraphs,
one on each of the following: a) description of the topic selected; b)
discussion on the methodology, for example what types of (primary and
secondary) sources you will be consulting; and c) why you have selected this
topic – for example, you may be arguing that the existing historical literature
on a given topic is inadequate or fails to consider a particularly important
issue, and that you will redress this matter. Finally, your prospectus should
include a specific bibliography. Failure to submit the prospectus will result
in a lowered grade for the term paper.
·Final examination (25%): Primarily essay
format covering material from the entire semester. More details will be
provided near the end of the term.
Please note: papers will be marked down one third of
a grade for every weekday that they are submitted late.
Honor Code: “Because Oglethorpe students and faculty
expect each other to be truthful in the intellectual endeavor they share,
academic work at the University is done under the provisions of an Honor Code.
Oglethorpe students affirm their commitment to the Honor Code with a written
pledge on each piece of graded work, as requested by the instructor. Both
students and faculty have the responsibility of reporting suspected violations”
(The O Book).
Cheating: (a) The unauthorized possession or
use of notes, texts, or other such materials during an examination. (b) Copying another person’s work
or participation in such an effort. (c) An attempt or participation in an
attempt to fulfill the requirements of a course with work other than one’s
original work for that course.
Plagiarism includes representing someone else’s
words, ideas, data, or original research as one’s own, and in general failing
to footnote or otherwise acknowledge the source of such work. One has the
responsibility of avoiding plagiarism by taking adequate notes on reference
materials, including material taken off the internet or other electronic
sources, used in the preparation of reports, papers, and other coursework.
University Policy on Course Withdrawal: Students withdrawing from a
course may do so through the 9th week, or two weeks after the published
mid-semester date with a “W”. For two weeks between the 9th and 11th weeks the
grade “W” or WF” may be given at the discretion of the instructor. Students
withdrawing after the Friday that falls on the 11th week will receive a grade of
“WF”. Only in the event of medical emergency or hardship may students appeal a
grade of “WF” to the Provost.
University Policy on Incompletes: If a student is unable to
complete the work for a course on time for reasons of health, family tragedy,
or other circumstances the instructor deems appropriate, the grade “I” may be
assigned. If the student completes the work within thirty days of the
last day of exams of the semester in question, the instructor will
evaluate the work and turn in a revised grade. Any “I” not changed by the
professor within forty five days of the last day of exams will automatically be changed to a grade of “F”.
Tu, 8/29 Introduction: Problems in German History
Th, 8/31 The German Confederation
*
Ernst Moritz Arndt, "The German
Fatherland";
A.W. Schlegel, "Abroad"; *Johann Gottlieb Fichte,
"Addresses to the German Nation" (First and Eighth Addresses)
Tu, 9/5 Unification and
*
Orlow, ch. 1-2
Th, 9/7 The Politics of Defining the Nation
*Brubaker, Citizenship and Nationhood in
Tu, 9/12 Germany’s Path to War
Orlow, ch. 3-4
Peter
Fritzsche, Germans into Nazis, 3-36
Th, 9/14 The Experience of WWI
Fritzsche, 36-82
*Ernst
Jünger, Fire
(
*The
Treaty of
*
Tu, 9/19 Revolution and the Search for New
Beginnings
Fritzsche, 85-136
*The
Spartacist Manifesto (WRS, 37-38)
*The
Constitution of the
Th, 9/21 The
Fritzsche, 139-183
Tu, 9/26
Film:
Metropolis (excerpts) and Mother Krausen’s
Journey to Happiness (excerpts)
*WRS, 206-210, 218-219, 228-229, 397-400
Th, 9/28 Film:
The Prodigal Son
First
essay due
Tu, 10/3 Longing for Heimat?
*Alon Confino, “The Nation as
Local Metaphor”
Discuss
films and Confino article
Th, 10/5 The Rise of National Socialism
Fritzsche, 183-214
*Hitler,
Mein Kampf
(excerpts) and Goebbels, Why are we enemies of the Jews (WRS, 130-133, 137-138)
Orlow, ch. 6
Tu, 10/10 The Destruction of
Fritzsche, 217-235
Th, 10/12 “Awakened
Film:
Triumph of the Will (excerpts)
***topics
for term papers need to be chosen***
Tu, 10/17 Forging a Volksgemeinschaft
Crew, 1-28,
110-136
Th, 10/19 National Socialism in Power: Coercion or
Consent?
Crew,
141-160, 166-189, 197-213
Tu, 10/24 Preparing and Fighting War
Crew,
219-269
Orlow, ch. 7
Th, 10/26 Enemies of the Volksgemeinschaft
*Bartov, chs. 2-3
Tu, 10/31 The Holocaust: Victims Bear Witness
Film
(excerpts): Shoah
*Bartov, The Holocaust:
Origins, Implementation, Aftermath, chs. 4-5, 7
Th, 11/2 War and Extermination
Crew, 41-62,
274-296, 300-314
Tu, 11/7 Defeat and Occupation: Denazification
and Democratization
American
Reeducation film (1945)
Orlow, ch. 8
Th, 11/9 “Coming to Terms with the Past”
Film:
“Murderers are Among Us”
Second
essay due
Tu, 11/14 Recasting the Nation: Social and Cultural
Reconstruction in the FRG
*Fehrenbach, Cinema in
Democratizing
Heimatfilm clips
Orlow, ch. 9
Th, 11/16 Prosperity, Conservatism and Protest in the
West
*Markovits/P.S. Gorski,
“Anabaptists in the Affluent Society” in The German Left: Red,
Green and Beyond
Tu, 11/21 Building Socialism in the East
Film (excerpts): Traces of Stones
Orlow, ch. 10
Th, 11/23 Thanksgiving—no class!
Tu, 11/28 Politics, Society and Culture in the GDR
Philipsen, 1-96, 111-139
Th, 11/30 Socialism’s Demise
Philipsen, 172-208, 280-350
Tu, 12/5 Unification
Film
(documentary): My Second Life
Orlow, ch. 11
Th, 12/7 Problems of Present-Day
Orlow, ch. 12