Villanova University
HIS 3352-01:
Twentieth century European Culture and Society
Fall 2005, MW 1:30-2:45 pm, John Barry 211
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Professor: Office: Office hours: Phone: E-mail: Web page: |
Paul Steege SAC 428 M 11 am-12 pm; F 2:30-3:30 pm ; or by appointment x9-6963 |
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Course Objectives: |
This course will focus on Europe’s effort to wrestle with the violent ruptures of the twentieth century. Weaving discussions of high and popular culture into a careful examination of European society and everyday life, students will discuss Europeans’ attempts to cope with the experiences that often quite literally tore their world apart: two world wars, revolution, economic crisis, dictatorship, terrorism, and genocide. We will confront the ways in which a variety of people (artists, politicians, and “ordinary” Europeans) tried to make sense of situations that often seemed to defy comprehension. While the course will depend on the students’ ability to critically analyze and deconstruct an array of texts and images and will work aggressively to foster those skills, it ultimately aims to challenge participants to explore the disconcertingly central place of violence in twentieth century Europe and the modern world more generally. |
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Required Books: |
Borowski, Tadeusz. This way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. Trans. Barbara Vedder. New York: Penguin, 1976. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Eksteins, Modris. Rites of Spring: the Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age. Boston and New York: Mariner Books, 2000. Enzensberger, Hans Magnus.
Europe, Europe: Forays into a
Continent. Trans. Martin Chalmers.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1989. Sebald, W. G. On
the Natural History of Destruction. Trans. Anthea
Bell. New York: The Modern Library, 2004. Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
Trans. H. T. Willetts. New York: Farrar, Strauss,
and Giroux, 2005. |
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Optional text: |
Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe’s twentieth century. New York: Vintage Books, 2000. (M) All books are available for purchase in the Villanova
University Shop. If you choose to buy
any of the books used (online or otherwise), make sure to obtain the edition
listed on the syllabus. |
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Course Organization: |
The course will utilize a combination of lecture and discussion. Even during lectures, I encourage students to pose questions, request clarifications, and challenge my assertions. At the beginning of each class session, students will have the opportunity to pose questions about readings and/or previous classes. Come prepared to raise points that interest, disturb, or provoke you. Films: Six films will be required viewing as part of this course. One will be screened in class; the other five will be screened outside of class at a time to be arranged. You MUST view the films, which will be integrated into the course assignments (see below). Where possible, copies of the films will be placed on reserve in Falvey Library, but owing to the large number of students in this course, attendance at the general showing is strongly encouraged. During the course, I will
at times distribute critical information via e-mail using your official Villanova
e-mail address. You are responsible
for checking that account regularly.
If you use an outside e-mail address, be sure to set the preferences
on your Villanova account to automatically forward messages to your preferred
address. Check the online syllabus
regularly for any updates. |
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Assignments and Grading: |
In-class midterm exam, (Monday, October 24): You will be asked to write short essays in which you elaborate the significance of 5 of 8 identification terms. The eight terms on the exam will be drawn from a longer list distributed about one week ahead of time. A successful answer will not just identify the term and date it correctly but also make and support an argument about its broader historical significance. I will discuss the exam with you in greater depth a few weeks into the course. Take-home final exam: You will receive three questions during the last week of classes. You must submit an 8-10 page type written response to one of these three questions. Your answers are due in my box in the History Department office by 4 pm on Thursday, 15 December. Note: Any student who misses an exam or exam deadline without making prior arrangements will receive a failing grade (zero) for that exam. Students should alert me to any conflicts with a scheduled exam as soon as possible to make arrangements to take the exam before the scheduled date (I reserve the right to determine whether the conflict is reasonable). Should an emergency require you to miss/be unable to submit an exam, you must contact me before the class period in which the exam is to be given/due. As a way to help prepare for our discussion of the films, I am asking you to prepare three very short (2-page) essay responses to questions that I will pose in advance. For the first essay, all students must write on the film Battleship Potemkin. This essay is due at the beginning of class on Monday, September 12. You may write the other two essays on any of the other films. In each case, the essay is due at the beginning of class on the date we discuss that film. Your essay should be typed using 12-point Times or Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Please do not include a cover page and print on the front and back side of the paper. You should draw on other course readings to help you frame your argument. More details will be posted on the course website. Note: I will adhere rigorously to these deadlines. Assignments submitted after the deadline will be substantially penalized. Electronic submission of papers is generally to be avoided and will be accepted only in isolated cases and with prior approval (a faulty printer is not an adequate reason to submit a paper by e-mail). Should some emergency require an extension on any assignment, you must contact me before the scheduled due date. Attendance and participation: I will not take attendance. However, attending class and completing
assigned readings are quite simply the best ways to succeed in this
class. Regular, engaged participation
in class discussion will have a positive influence on your final grade. In
assessing your participation, I do expect you always to have the answer. In many ways, asking good questions most
effectively demonstrates your ongoing engagement with course material. For continuous, outstanding contributions
to class (measured not just in quantity but in quality), students will have
their final grade raised by one letter increment (from B to B+, from B+ to
A-, etc.). |
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Final Grade:
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In-class midterm exam
Take-home final
exam 3 reviews |
30% 40 30 |
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TOTAL
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100% |
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Academic Integrity: |
Plagiarism or cheating on any coursework will not be tolerated. Any case of academic fraud (copying of another student’s work, illicit use of notes on an exam, undocumented use of an outside source, etc.) will automatically result in a failing grade for the course and the submission of an academic integrity report to the university. If you have any questions about documenting sources or what constitutes academic fraud, please speak to me or consult the student handbook. We will discuss this in detail during the first weeks of the course. |
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Disabilities: |
Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations are encouraged to discuss options with me after class or during my office hours during the first two weeks of class. More information about documenting or addressing learning disabilities is available from Nancy Mott, Director of the Office of Learning Services (tel. x9-5636 or e-mail nancy.mott@villanova.edu) or from that office’s web site. |
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Class/Reading Schedule |
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Read the assignments prior to the class for which they are scheduled. BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS! I will make every effort to stick to this schedule but reserve the right to adapt it as may prove necessary. |
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Part I: The Shock of Modernity Optional background for this section of the course: Mazower, to p. 137 |
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Wed., Aug. 24 |
What is modernity? |
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Mon., Aug 29 |
Modernity
and outrage |
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Wed., Aug. 31 |
Europe
interrupted |
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Mon., Sept. 5 |
No class—Labor Day |
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Wed., Sept. 7 |
Making
sense of a ruptures world |
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Thu./Fri. |
Film: Battleship Potemkin (USSR, 1925) Time/Location TBD |
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Mon., Sept. 12 |
Discussion: Battleship Potemkin Due: First essay response |
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Wed., Sept. 14 |
The aestheticization of politics |
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Mon., Sept. 19 |
Possibility
and danger in interwar Europe |
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Part II: Totalizing
Violence Optional background for this section of the course: Mazower, 138-249 |
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Wed., Sept. 21 |
Preparing
for the next war |
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Mon., Sept. 26 |
Totalizing violence:
the State |
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Wed., Sept. 28 |
Totalizing
violence: war |
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Mon., Oct. 3 |
The Banality
of Evil: the workings of the Holocaust |
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Wed., Oct. 5 |
Obscenity
at the heart of the century |
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Oct. 10-14 |
No class – fall break |
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Mon, Oct. 17 |
Europe in Ruins |
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Mon./Tue. |
Film: Ashes and Diamonds (Poland, 1958) Time/Location TBD |
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Wed., Oct. 19 |
Discussion: Ashes and Diamonds DUE: Ashes
and Diamonds essay |
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Mon., Oct. 24 |
Midterm Exam |
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Part III:
Coming to Grips with a Violent Century Optional background for this section of the course: Mazower, 250-403 |
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Wed., Oct. 26 |
Trying to
locate wartime destruction |
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Thu./Fri. |
Film: Persona (Sweden, 1966) |
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Mon., Oct. 31 |
Discussion: Persona DUE: Persona essay |
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Wed., Nov. 2 |
Alienation,
isolation, action |
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Mon., Nov. 7 |
The ironies
of European “Civilization” |
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Wed., Nov. 9 |
Modern
violence |
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Mon., Nov. 14 |
Living
comfortably in Europe? |
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Wed., Nov. 16 |
Protest and
Terror in a Divided Continent |
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Thu./Fri. |
Film: Germany in Autumn (West Germany, 1978) |
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Mon., Nov. 21 |
Discussion: Germany in Autumn DUE: Germany in Autumn essay |
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Nov. 23-25 |
No class – Thanksgiving break |
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Mon., Nov. 28 |
Imagining
Europe |
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Wed., Nov. 30 |
1989 |
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Thu./Fri. |
Film: Calling the Ghosts (Croatia/USA, 1999) |
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Mon., Dec. 5 |
Discussion: Calling the Ghosts DUE: Calling the Ghosts essay Distribution of final exam questions |
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Wed, Dec. 7 |
NO CLASS!! |
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Mon., Dec. 12 |
NOTE CHANGE:
Final discussion: Returning to a violent past? |
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Thu., Dec. 15 |
Take-home final due by 4pm in my box in the History Department (SAC 403) |
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