European History Argumentative Essay

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EUH 2030

Europe in the Modern Era

Spring 2018 Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:30-10:45 AM in ZEB 120

Professor Terrence G. Peterson

Department of History, Florida International University Email: [email protected] Mailbox: DM 397 Office: DM 390 Office Hours: Thursdays 12:30-2:30pm

or by appointment

Teaching Assistant Mr. Trevor Bryant Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays 11:00am-1:00pm Office: DM 392 or by appointment

Why study Europe in the modern era? For good and ill, Europe played a key role in shaping the modern world. Why did Europe give birth to human rights and modern democracy, but also dictatorship and genocide? How did Europe come to dominate the global south in the nineteenth century, and lose that dominance in the twentieth? What made Europe the source of both intense nationalism and the universalist ideologies that shaped our contemporary world? In this course, we will explore these paradoxes and others as we trace the social, political, and cultural history of Europe from the French Revolution of 1789 into our contemporary era. How will this course help you succeed? This is a Gordon Rule course. This course fulfills your historical foundations core requirement (for history majors) and the University Core Curriculum’s Humanities in Writing requirement (for all students). In order to meet these requirements, you must achieve a grade of C or better. More importantly, however, this course will teach you to think critically, read analytically, and write clearly and concisely – skills you need to succeed in college or any profession. To help you build these skills, we will practice writing frequently this semester (both in and out of class), and engage in active discussions (both in class and online).

Course Objectives. By the end of this course, you will:  Learn about and be able to explain key themes, concepts, and developments in modern

European history since 1789.  Sharpen your writing and critical thinking skills.  Build your abilities to understand, analyze, and evaluate written arguments.  Learn the techniques of writing an argumentative, thesis-driven, evidence-based paper

and apply them as you construct your own written arguments.

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Global Learning Course Objectives This is also a Global Learning Foundations course that counts towards your Global Learning graduation requirement. One of the themes of this course will therefore be the ways that different groups of people interacted over the period covered by the course. Specifically, this course will enable you to:

 Construct an evidence-based argument demonstrating how local and extra-local events (regional, inter-regional, international, and global, as appropriate) shaped the interactions of two or more groups in modern Europe. (Global Awareness)

 Construct an evidence-based argument that integrates multiple perspectives on an issue related to modern Europe. (Global Perspective)

 Consider different perspectives on a problem or controversy related to modern Europe and attempt to reach a resolution about it. (Global Engagement)

How will you succeed in this course? Attend and Participate. We’ll use our time in the classroom not only to learn important concepts

and events in European history, but also to discuss and practice writing about them. You should complete your readings before class, and come prepared to write about the material and discuss it with one of your best resources – your fellow students. Don’t shortchange them or yourself by keeping quiet in class.

Communicate.

Outside of class, I have office hours every week, and you can always reach me by email. I will always write back within 24 hours. You should also check your email regularly for updates about the course and assignments. In class, you should respect your fellow students by focusing on the conversation at hand. To this end, I encourage students to take the ‘No Laptop Challenge.’ Numerous studies (which I am happy to provide) suggest that students learn more – and more effectively – when they take written notes by hand, rather than on a laptop. Students forego the use of a laptop all semester earn an extra 10% extra credit toward their final exam. I am happy to make other arrangements for students whose circumstances make a laptop necessary.

Take Risks. In our classroom discussions, I don’t expect you to know a “right answer,” but

simply to offer your interpretation of the readings and lessons. Likewise, I don’t expect you to know all the ins and outs of writing right away. That is, after all, one of the big tasks we will tackle together this semester. The more you put into the process, the more you’ll get out of it.

How will we evaluate your progress? Written Assignments (52%). Because this course fulfills the University Core Curriculum’s

Humanities in Writing requirement, we will be writing a lot. Over the course of the semester, students will write three short 1-page papers analyzing a primary source document from among the assigned readings, as well as two 4-6 page argumentative essays debating major themes

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from the course. These papers will give you the opportunity to connect the readings with larger themes discussed in the course, and to develop writing and analysis skills useful for studying history (and life!). I will distribute prompts and grading rubrics for all papers in advance, and together we will discuss writing and argumentative techniques throughout the semester. Papers should be submitted through TurnItIn on Blackboard and in person.

Attendance and Participation (25%). The best learning takes place in dialogue with myself and

your fellow students. Because of that, I place a heavy emphasis on participation. We will practice analyzing, discussing, and writing about the readings in class every day, so attendance to Tuesday and Thursday sessions is mandatory. Students with three or more absences from class can only earn a maximum of half the possible points for their participation grade, and students with more than five absences will earn no credit.

Global Learning Site Visit (3%). History doesn’t just help us understand the past; it sheds light

on present problems, too. To help you understand how you can put your historical knowledge to use, you must complete one ‘site visit’ over the course of the semester and write a brief 1-2- page reaction paper. This site visit will consist of either: 1) a visit to a local museum; or 2) attendance to an event or lecture on campus related to the course. Further details about the assignment and a list of ongoing events will be given in class. Please note that this is a university-mandated assignment and therefore must be completed to pass this course.

Midterm and Final Exams (20%). The midterm and final exams will use short answer and essay

questions to assess your ability to draw connections between themes and concepts from the readings and in-class activities.

Grading

Course Requirements Attendance / Participation / In-class writing journal 25% Two 1-2-page short analysis papers (6% each) 12% Two 4-5-page argumentative essays (20% each) 40% Global Learning Site Visit 3% Midterm Exam 10% Final Exam 10% 100% Grading Scale A 94 - 100 B 83 - 86 C 70 - 76 A- 90 - 93 B- 80 - 82 D 60 - 69 B+ 87 - 89 C+ 77 - 79 F 0 - 59

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Academic Integrity Academic misconduct is a serious matter which can result in the failure of this course or even expulsion. All the work that you submit must be your own, and must be properly cited. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the FIU’s Code of Academic Integrity. You can find it online at: http://undergrad.fiu.edu/academic-integrity/index.html. Outside Resources I highly encourage you to take advantage of academic services that FIU offers to undergraduates. They are a valuable resource for students at all levels.

The History Tutors: The Department of History has several experienced upper-level history majors and graduate students who are available meet with you to help with papers, preparing for exams, or keeping on top of class in general. To set up an appointment, please visit: http://history.fiu.edu/tutoring

The Center for Excellence in Writing: Located in Green Library Room 125, the Center for Writing provides an invaluable resource for students, and offers help with all stages of the paper-writing process. https://writingcenter.fiu.edu/

Individual Tutoring: The University Learning Center provides peer tutoring services and general academic help: http://undergrad.fiu.edu/cas/learning-center/

Accessibility: If you have a disability-related need for accommodations in this course, please contact the Disability Resources Center and myself as soon as possible. I am very happy to accommodate you as well as possible.

Required Texts This course does not require you to purchase any books. All required readings for this course are available as .pdfs at http://fiu.Blackboard.com We do ask you to purchase a Composition notebook for in-class writing that you will turn in from time to time. These cost around $3 at the bookstore. Please also note that you will need to rent, borrow, or buy the film assigned for Week 14, The Lives of Others (2006). I have placed copies of the DVD on reserve in Green Library, and it is also available to stream online from services like Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes for $2.99.

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Weekly Schedule Week 1 – The French Revolution

1/9 Course Introduction 1/11 The French Revolution

Readings: Abbé Sieyès, “What is the Third Estate?” “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” Olympe de Gouges, “The Declaration of the Rights of Woman” – all taken from Lynn

Hunt, ed. The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History (Bedford St Marten’s, 1996).

Week 2 – Restoration and Reaction

1/16 New Political Ideologies: Liberalism and Conservatism 1/18 The Industrial Revolution

Readings: Prince Klemens von Metternich, “Results of the Congress at Laybach,” in Lualdi, ed.,

Sources of the Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, vol. II (Bedford St. Marten’s, 2009), pages 129-132.

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859), excerpts. Week 3 – The Working Class and New Revolutionary Ideologies

1/23 The Working Class and the Rise of Socialism 1/25 The Revolutions of 1848

Readings: Karl Marx, Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marxists Internet Archive, 2010). Read

Parts I (Bourgeois and Proletarians) and II (Proletarians and Communists), pages 14- 28.

“Factory Rules in Berlin (1844),” in Sources of the Making of the West, pages 143-6 Flora Tristan, “Workers, your condition is miserable and distressing,” in Sources of the

Western Tradition, pages 164-167.

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Week 4 – Nations and Empires 1/30 National Unification in Germany and Italy 2/1 Colonial Empires Abroad

First 1-2-page analysis paper due in class (& online) Tuesday 1/30.

Readings: Rudyard Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” (1899),

(http://www.bartleby.com/364/169.html) Karl Pearson, “Social Darwinism: Imperialism Justified by Nature,” in Sources of the

Western Tradition, pages 246-248. The Casement Report (1904), pages 60-64. Edward Morel, The Black Man’s Burden (1920), introduction.

Week 5 – Social Life and the Family in the ‘Belle Époque’

2/6 Women and Society in the 19th Century 2/8 Gender, Sexuality, and the ‘Modern’ Self

Readings: Sarah Stickney Ellis, The Women of England, Their Social Duties, and Domestic Habits

(London, 1839), pages 19-28. William Acton, The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs (London,

1875), pages 212-214. Florence Nightingale, Cassandra (The Feminist Press, 1979; orig. 1852), pages 29-33. Emmeline Pankhurst, “Speech from the Dock” (1908)

Week 6 – The Great War and the Russian Revolution

2/13 The Great War, 1914-1918 2/15 The Russian Revolution Part I

Second 1-2-page analysis paper due in class (& online) Tuesday 2/13

Readings: Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (Ballantine Books, 1987), pages

19-50. Jacques Tardi, Goddamn this War! (Fantagraphics, 2013), pages 47 to 59 The ‘Song of Craonne’ (1917)

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Week 7 – The Russian Revolution Continued 2/20 The Russian Revolution Part II + Midterm Exam Review 2/22 IN-CLASS MIDTERM EXAM

Readings: No readings this week – review for the Midterm

Week 8 – The Paris Peace and the Birth of Revolutionary Ideologies

2/27 The Paris Peace and the Rise of Italian Fascism 3/1 National Socialism in Germany

Readings: Benito Mussolini, “The Doctrine of Fascism,” in Sources of the Making of the West,

pages 218-223. Five Primary Source documents on Italian Fascism and Nazism from Roger Griffin, ed.

Fascism (Oxford University Press, 1995): Benito Mussolini, “Trenchocracy,” The Italian Nationalist Association, “The Nationalist Blueprint for a New Italy;” Joseph Goebbels, “The Total Revolution of National Socialism;” Gottfried Benn, “The New Breed of German;” and Paula Siber, “The New German Woman.”

Week 9 – The Interwar Crisis of Democracy

3/6 Stalinism in Russia 3/8 The Crisis of Democracy in France, Britain, and Spain

First 4-5-page argumentative essay due in class (and online) Thursday 3/8.

Readings: John Scott, Behind the Urals: An American Worker in Russia’s City of Steel (Houghton

Mifflin, 1942), excerpts. Week 10 – Spring Break (No Classes) Week 11 – The Second Word War and the Holocaust

3/20 The Second World War 3/22 The Holocaust

Readings: Tadeusz Borowski, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (Penguin Classics,

1992), pages 29-49.

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Primo Levi, “The Drowned and the Saved,” from Survival in Auschwitz (Simon & Schuster, 1958), pages 87-100.

Week 12 – Decolonization and the Cold War

3/27 The Cold War 3/29 Decolonization: The End of Empire

Readings: Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (Grove Press, 1963), pages 1-21 and 235-239. Slimane Azem, “Locust, Leave my Country,” in Todd Shepard, ed., Voices of

Decolonization: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford St. Martin’s, 2015), p. 104. Week 13 – Postwar European Society in Transformation

4/3 The Rise of the Welfare State and European Unification 4/5 Social Liberalization and the Revolutions of 1968

Readings: Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, translated by Constance Borde and Sheila

Malovany-Chevallier (Vintage Books, 2011), pages 3-17, 283-296. Week 14 – The Collapse of Communism

4/10 The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe 4/12 Europe in a Global Era

Second 4-5-page argumentative essay due in class (and online) Tuesday 4/10

Readings: Instead of the readings this week, watch the film The Lives of Others (Originally in German as Das Leben der Anderen, 2006).

Week 15 – The Future of Europe

4/17 The Rebirth of Nationalism 4/19 What Future for Europe? + Final Exam Review Final day to turn in Site-Visit Reflection Papers: Thursday 4/19, in class.

Readings:

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“The Turks are Coming! Save Yourself if You Can,” from Der Spiegel, 30 July 1973, republished in Göktürk, Gramling, and Kaes, eds. Germany in Transit: Nation and Migration, 1955-2005 (University of California Press, 2007)

“Liibaan and Abshir,” “Mustafa,” and “Shamso” from PositiveNegatives’ Meet the Somalis (link on Blackboard, or visit: http://positivenegatives.org/comics/meet-the- somalis/meet-the-somalis-comics/)

Finals Week – No Classes

Final Exam time and place TBD.