MAT European History Seminar
History Seminar, Europe: Modern European History within the World System
HIST 58100-21; M-Th 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Williams Hall 310
Summer 2009, Department of History
Zenon V. Wasyliw
Muller 427, Phone 274-1587
Office Hours: 12:15-1:30
http://faculty.ithaca.edu/wasyliw
Introduction
The history of Modern Europe is a key element in the evolution of contemporary Europe and our present-day world. Modern European history includes all regions of Europe since the French Revolution of 1789. This graduate seminar offers an analytical overview of major themes and issues in Modern European history within a world-system context and a more in-depth appraisal of twentieth century developments with a special focus upon Soviet and East European history, Inter-War Europe, World War II, the Cold War and the fall of communism. Mastery of seminar themes and issues include analytical discussions of assigned readings and the writing of a focused history research paper. The seminar also places a special focus upon the New York State Social Studies curriculum requirements for Global History. Mastery of historical content is matched with these curricular requirements. Social Studies curricular mastery is demonstrated through carefully and thoughtfully designed lesson and unit plans.
Course Requirements
1. “Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any excused absence from class...Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences.” (Ithaca College Catalog) As the seminar meets over an abbreviated five week summer session, perfect attendance is expected of all participants. All seminar participants must complete their assignments in full and make thoughtful contributions in seminar discussions and presentations.
2. Seminar discussions and presentations are a significant percentage of the final grade. Participants must compose a one page outline/summary of the assigned reading for each seminar session. The one page outline/summary serves as a guide for discussion and to assure that an assignment is completed for the session. Participants will carefully read for analysis and assessment assigned books, distributed articles and book chapters. Primary historical documents, internet sites, social studies instructional guides and other related readings will serve to enhance applied learning. The weekly Topics and Assignments section below offers a guideline for assignments.
3. A fifteen to twenty page research paper is required on a specific historical theme or issue related to major topics under study. The research paper thesis, research and content must fit within one of the themes and topics covered in the seminar and related to the New York State Social Studies curriculum. It is very important to select a topic, in consultation with the instructor, early in the summer semester. The research paper must follow the University of Chicago research paper guidelines. The Jules Benjamin link A Student’s Guide to History offers valuable guidance and direction.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/benjamin
4. A unit plan is also required of all seminar participants and should be in part related to your research paper topic. The unit plan offers a broader and applied overview for a high school global history class through a series of thematically connected lessons plans. Lesson and unit planning guidelines and examples are provided during the seminar.
Modern European themes and topics related to the New York State Social Studies Standards in Global History – ** = topics covered in this seminar
Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
American and French Revolutions
Revolutions of 1848
Irish Potato Famine
**Russian Absolutism
Nationalism – German and Italian
**Industrialization
**The Modern World and Modernization Ideologies
**Adam Smith, Marx and Engels
British and European Imperialism
**World War I
**The Russian Revolution, USSR, Stalin and the Ukrainian Famine
**Inter-War Europe, the Depression, the Rise of Fascism and the Nazis
**World War II, the Holocaust
**The Cold War and the European Union
The Collapse of European Imperialism
**The Collapse of Communism
*The Status of Women
**Ethnic and Religious Tensions, Human Migrations
*The Environment and Sustainability
Science, Technology and the Future
4. Please note Ithaca College policies regarding Standards of Academic Conduct -
http://www.ithaca.edu/attorney/policies/vol7/Volume_7-70104.htm
Books
The following books are required for the seminar.
Borowski, Tadeusz. This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen.
Dolot, Miron. Execution by Hunger.
Marples, David. The Russian Revolution.
McCauley, Martin. Stalin and Stalinism.
Overy, R. J. The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939.
Additional articles, readings and documents will be distributed throughout the summer seminar.
Coverage of Soviet history will also follow in tandem -
Project Look Sharp, Soviet History Through Posters. A Visual Literacy Curriculum Kit.
http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/USSRweb and
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History http://www.soviethistory.org
Websites
History –
http://www.historians.org American Historical Association
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/RUSA/ Primary Sources on the Web
http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/ Bridging World History
http://www.worldhistoryconnected.org World History
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html Historical Sources
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/tm/europe.html European History
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/eurohist.html European History
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com
http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html World Wide Web Virtual Library
http://europeanhistory.about.com
http://www.besthistorysites.net
http://legacy.ncsu.edu/classes/hi300001/write.htm How to Write History Essays
Social Studies Education -
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs National Center for History in Schools
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf NYState Social Studies Standards
http://socialstudies.org National Council for the Social Studies
http://www.nyscss.org New York State Council for the Social Studies
http://www.dsharer.org Donna Sharer, Social Studies Teacher
http://www.readingquest.org Social Studies Literacy Strategies
http://www.historyteacher.net Ms. Pojer, Social Studies Teacher
Grading
Research Paper, Unit Plan and Presentation 60%
Seminar preparation and participation, 40%
100%
TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
The following outline and assignments are subject to change.
Week 1 June 29 – Introduction and Overview: Modern Europe within the World-System, Globalization and the Social Studies Global History Curriculum
Nineteenth Century Europe – Industrialization, Modernization and Political Ideologies of the Nineteenth Century
Read and discuss – “Revolution as a Theme in Teaching Twentieth Century World
History,” in http://www.worldhistoryconnected.org/4.2/wasyliw.html
World System Theory http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/wallerstein.html
Globalization Theories http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/theories.html
NY S.S. Standards http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf
Read and discuss – from Weisner, Discovering the Western Past –
“Labor Old and New: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution,” (handout)
“Two Programs for Social and Political Change: Liberalism and Socialism.” (handout)
Weekend assignment for Monday - Review and comment on websites found in this syllabus.
“World War I: Total War.” (handout)
For later next week – Marples. The Russian Revolution
Selection of research and unit plan topics.
Week 2 July 6 - A critical assessment of internet sources – seminar designated websites.
World War I, the Russian Revolutions, Civil War and creation of the USSR.
Read and Discuss – “World War I: Total War,” Marples, The Russian Revolution.
Weekend assignment for Monday – Overy, The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939, pp. 1-47;
For later next week – the rest of the Overy book and McCauley, Stalin and Stalinism
Yekelchyk, “Stalinism: Famine and Terror.” (handout)
Week 3 July 13 Inter-War Europe, 1919-1939, Communism and the rise of Stalinism: human tragedy or industrial miracle? Hitler and the Nazis, A Crisis of Democracy?
Read and Discuss – Overy, The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939, and McCauley, Stalin and Stalinism.
Yekelchyk, “Stalinism: Famine and Terror.”
http://www.lucorg.com/luc/holodomor.php
Weekend assignment for Monday and next week – Read Borowski, This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen and Dolot, Execution by Hunger
Week 4 July 20 Memory and Human Tragedy. The Cold War.
Read and Discuss – Borowski, This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Holocaust
Dolot, Execution by Hunger, Political famine as genocide?
http://www.osa.ceu.hu/gulag/index.html
The Cold War
Weekend assignment for Monday and next week –
“The Perils of Prosperity: The Unrest of Youth in the 1960s,” (handout) “The European Nation State and Regional Ethnic Nationalism.” (handout)
Final Draft of Research Paper and Unit Plan.
Week 5 July 27 The Decline and Fall of Communism, The European Union and a New Europe within a Global Context.
Read and Discuss – Handouts on the fall of communism.