Villanova University HIS 3230: Modern Germany Fall 2008, MWF 11:30 am – 12:20 pm, Driscoll Hall, Room 227
Dr. Paul Steege STAUG 428 x9-6963 paul.steege@villanova.edu http://www.homepage.villanova.edu/paul.steege/			Office hours: MW 3-4 pm and by appointment
Course Objectives:	This course will explore German history from approximately 1800 through German reunification at the end of the twentieth century. While it will consider the various political developments leading to the creation of a German state in 1871 as well as Germany’s violent practices in the following century, the course will primarily adopt a cultural approach to explore the ways that people at various levels of society across the German lands crafted, resisted, and coped with the development of modern, mass culture. We will examine different ways of imagining Germany and challenge any master narrative of German history. One important part of these investigations will be to explore the sources but also the legacy of Nazi Germany. Our investigation of that history will seek less to isolate something pathological in that past than to wrestle with disconcerting continuities to our own present and everyday lives.
Required Materials:	The following books are available for purchase from the Villanova University Shop. Garton Ash, Timothy. The File. New York: Vintage, 1998. Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. Tipton, Frank B. A History of Modern Germany since 1815. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
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. This course seeks to facilitate a joint exploration of historical arguments rather than consisting simply of “professorial wisdom” being dispensed from the podium. Given the small size of the class, I will as much as possible attempt to run the class as a discussion seminar. The course is arranged more or less chronologically and explores subsequent generations’ efforts to answer the “German question.” 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. The online syllabus will be updated from time to time. Check it regularly.
Assignments:	Midterm Exam (Friday, October 3): You will be asked to provide essay responses to a choice of questions. We will discuss the exam in greater detail several weeks into the course. NOTE: Missed exams will receive a failing grade (zero) unless you contact me before the exam. 4 “Answer” Essays: Following each unit, you will submit a short (2-3 page) essay that explores how people during that time period attempted to “answer” the various German questions. Each essay should draw on assigned course materials only. Due dates are listed in the class schedule. Final Paper: This 8-10 page paper will develop in greater detail one of the arguments you explored in an “answer” essay. In addition to assigned course materials, your paper must incorporate scholarly monographs and articles and at least one primary source. NOTE: We will discuss these essay assignments in some detail during the first week of the semester. Late Work policy: Assignments submitted after the deadline will be substantially penalized. Additionally, an unexcused absence does not excuse the failure to submit your work in a timely fashion. If you must be absent on a date an assignment is due, you must make arrangements with the professor in advance. Participation: In this relatively small class, regular engaged participation is quite simply expected. Attending class and completing assigned readings are quite simply the best ways to succeed in this class. 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.
	Final Grade:	Midterm Exam “Answer Essay” Final Paper Participation		20% 40 (10% each) 30 10
		TOTAL		100%
Academic Integrity and Grading:	Academic integrity rests at the foundation of intellectual life in a university. 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. I will discuss this in detail during the first week of the course. Grades will adhere to the criteria stated in the undergraduate catalog. As a reminder, an "A" is defined as: “the highest academic grade possible; an honor grade which is not automatically given to a student who ranks highest in the course, but is reserved for accomplishment that is truly distinctive and demonstrably outstanding. It represents a superior mastery of course material and is a grade that demands a very high degree of understanding as well as originality or creativity as appropriate to the nature of the course. The grade indicates that the student works independently with unusual effectiveness and often takes the initiative in seeking new knowledge outside the formal confines of the course.”
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.
Campus Services:	Villanova Writing Center in Old Falvey: 610.519.4604 Consultations should be arranged by appointment.
	Villanova Counseling Center in Corr Hall: 610.519.4050 The Counseling Center can help you make an adjustment in your study habits, deal with a crisis, or address an ongoing matter.
Lecture/Reading Schedule
Complete all reading and viewing assignments before the class for which they are scheduled. Readings in Tipton are abbreviated (T). Many readings are available via web links from the online syllabus. Films will be available on reserve in Falvey Library. Please note: I will occasionally adjust the readings on this schedule. These changes will be announced in class and posted on the online version of the syllabus.
The German Question
Mon., Aug. 25	Introduction: the Reichstag
Wed., Aug. 27	The Sonderweg and the German Question (T) to p. 24
Fri., Aug., 29	Imagining Germany Der Erlkönig—Fischer-Dieskau Performance (1959) (T) chapter 2
Mon., Sept. 1	LABOR DAY—NO CLASS
Wed., Sept. 3	From Holy Roman Empire to Revolution (T) chapter 3 to p. 82
Fri., Sept. 5	1848 (T) pp. 83-89 The Democrats: Gustav von Struve: Motion in the German Pre-Parliament (March 31, 1848) Image: Barricade fighting in Berlin Image: Barricades in Berlin Image: Burial of the fighters fallen for liberty (March 22, 1848)
1^st Answer: Empire
Mon., Sept. 8	Reaction and Nationalism (T) pp. 111-28, 156-79
Wed., Sept. 10	Socio-Economic Transformation (T) pp. 94-9, 134-43, 184-201, 223-43
Fri., Sept. 12	Imperialism (T) pp. 243-69
Mon., Sept. 15	Tensions of modernity (T) pp. 202-22 Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols (excerpts)
Wed., Sept. 17	War arrives (T) chapter 8
Fri., Sept. 19	Constructing the experience of war FILM: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Ernst Jünger, Excerpts from In the storm of steel
2^nd Answer: Modern Republic
Mon., Sept. 22	Deconstructing the war experience Sigmund Freud, “The Uncanny” DUE: 1^st Answer Essay
Wed., Sept. 24	In search of Weimar (T) chapter 9
Fri., Sept. 26	A culture of violence FILM: M (1931) E. M. Mungenast, “The murderer and the state” Siegfried Kracauer, “Murder trials and society” [both via WebCT]
Mon., Sept. 29	Crisis and stability (T) chapter 10
Wed., Oct. 1	Did Weimar fail? Fritzsche, Peter. “Review Article: Did Weimar Fail?” The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Sep., 1996), pp. 629-656.
Fri., Oct. 3	Midterm Exam
3^rd Answer: Modern Dictatorship
Mon., Oct. 6	Nazi Revolution (T) chapter 11
Wed., Oct. 8	Nazi everydayness NOTE CHANGE: DUE: 2^nd Answer Essay
Fri., Oct. 10	Complicity and Resistance Alf Lüdtke, “The Appeal of Exterminating ‘Others’” [via WebCT]
October 13-17	FALL BREAK
Mon., Oct. 20	Nazi Aesthetics I Selected images
Wed., Oct. 22	Nazi Aesthetics II Film clips to be viewed in class
Fri., Oct. 24	No Class—start Levi
Mon., Oct. 27	Imagining mass murder (T) chapter 12 The Nuremberg Laws on Citizenship and Race
Wed., Oct. 29	Practicing mass murder The Wannsee Protocol Christopher Browning, “One Day in Josefow” [via WebCT]
Fri., Oct. 31	Discussion: Levi
More German Questions?
Mon., Nov. 3	DUE: 3^rd Answer Essay (Note expanded instructions)
Wed., Nov. 5	From war to postwar Heinrich Böll, “Stranger, bear word to the Spartans, we…” [via WebCT] (T) pp. 500-11
Fri., Nov. 7	Nazi legacies (T) pp. 547-55 Charter of the International Military Tribunal (at Nuremberg) Judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Trial of German Major War Criminals
Mon., Nov. 10	Working with Rubble Elizabeth Heinemann, “The Hour of the Woman: Memories of Germany's ‘Crisis Years’ and West German National Identity,” AHR 101, no. 2 (1996).
Wed., Nov. 12	Economic Miracles (T) pp. 496-9, 511-47
Fri., Nov. 14	From June 17 to August 13 FILM: Berlin, Ecke Schönhauser (1957)
Mon., Nov. 17	Cold War Normalcy (T) chapter 14
Wed., Nov. 19	Ostpolitik Gordon Craig reviews Timothy Garton Ash in Foreign Affairs
Fri., Nov. 21	Challenging the status quo in East and West I Reading: Jonathan Sperber on the “German Autumn”
Mon., Nov. 24	Challenging the status quo in East and West II No Reading DUE: 4^th Answer Essay
November 26-28	Thanksgiving Break
Solving the German Dilemma?
Mon., Dec. 1	November 9, 1989 (T) chapter 15
Wed., Dec. 3	No class—read Garton Ash
Fri. Dec. 5	Discussion: Garton-Ash
Mon., Dec. 8	Wrapped Reichstag Christo website Paul Goldberger, “Christo’s Wrapped Reichstag: Symbol for the New Germany”
Tue., Dec. 9	No Class—work on your final paper
Wed., Dec. 10	Germany’s new normal?: World Cup 2006 H-German Discussion (summer 2006)
Mon., Dec. 15	Final Paper Due in my box (SAC 403), 3 pm