Villanova University

HIS 3171-001: Europe since 1945

Spring 2009, TR 2:30-3:45 pm, John Barry 208

Dr. Paul Steege STAUG 428 x9-6963 paul.steege@villanova.edu		Office hours: T 6-7 pm R 10:15-11:15 am and by appt.
Online syllabus via http://www26.homepage.villanova.edu/paul.steege/Steege-courses.htm
Course Objectives:	After the Second World War, Europe struggled to come to grips with the legacy of the previous half-century. Entering the 20^th century, Europeans had seen themselves at the pinnacle of civilization, technologically, politically, and culturally superior to the rest of the world. By 1945, the illusory nature of this claim was readily apparent. Following a devastating war, Europeans attempted to rebuild their societies but at the same time raised questions about their own place in Europe and the world. This course will explore these diverse efforts to (re)construct Europe after 1945. It is not designed to provide even coverage of all events or all regions of Europe but rather to ask provocative questions about the meanings of European history, particularly as they relate to the material and symbolic worlds that Europeans sought to inhabit and define after World War II. I will challenge students to think critically about this past and to formulate independent evaluations of the significance and ramifications of the history we study.
Required Materials:	All materials are available for purchase at the Villanova University Shop. Where possible, I will place materials on reserve in Falvey Library. (D) Drakulić, Slavenka. How we survived communism and even laughed. New York: Harper, 1993. (F) Fulbrook, Mary, ed. Europe since 1945. The Short Oxford History of Europe. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. (P) Perec, Georges. Things: a story of the sixties and A Man Apart. New York: David Godine, 2002. (R) Kristin Ross. May ’68 and its Afterlives. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2002.. NOTE: The above abbreviations are used in the reading schedule below.
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. In addition to regular class meetings, students will be required to attend two film screenings (You will be compensated with a class-free day). You should add these films to your schedule at the beginning of the semester. You can anticipate that films will figure in the material addressed on the two exams. 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.
Assignments and Grading:	Midterm exam (25% of total grade): You will be asked to write brief essays in which you elaborate the significance of pairs of terms. A successful answer will not just identify the terms but connect them but also make and support an argument about their broader historical significance. I will discuss the exam with you in greater depth a few weeks into the course. The midterm will be open book/open note. Final Exam (40% of total grade): The final exam will be cumulative and will ask you to write detailed, coherently argued essay responses to a choice of questions. The final exam will NOT be open book/open note. 8-10 page paper (35% of total grade): Write a precise, coherently argued essay on one everyday object of European consumption (product, good, raw material, or cultural item) from the second half of the 20^th century. Discuss the ways in which examining that thing can inform our understanding of post-1945 European history. Your choice is open to any item for which you can find sufficient information, regardless of its political, economic, or cultural “weightiness.” Bear in mind that your essay should explore how that object reflected or was part of the development of post-1945 Europe and should demonstrate your firm grasp of the themes explored over the course of the semester. You MUST incorporate assigned readings into your essay (at least 2)—which will necessarily restrict the research options available to you. Your essay must include footnotes and a bibliography. A choice of topics and a preliminary bibliography will be due on FRIDAY, February 13 (via WebCT). The final paper will be due in class on Thursday, APRIL 16. I will provide additional information on this assignment—including a list of suggested subjects—and encourage you to speak to me regularly about your progress during the semester. Attendance: 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 NOT 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.). Late work/missed exams: I will adhere rigorously to the above deadlines. Unless you have made prior arrangements with the instructor, assigned work submitted after the deadline will be penalized one letter grade for each day it is late. Should some emergency require an extension, you must contact me before the scheduled due date to make the necessary arrangements. Missed exams will receive a failing grade unless you contact me before the exam. Grades: 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.”
Academic Integrity:	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.
Laptop Policy	The class voted to permit the use of laptops in class. Laptop users should make sure to respect their classmates and do everything they can not to use their computers in any way that disrupts the work of the class.
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.
Class/Reading Schedule
Complete all readings before the class for which they are assigned. Bring the reading to class. Please note: on occasion I may revise the reading/lecture schedule slightly. Any changes will be announced in class and noted in the online syllabus. While I realize that there is a fair amount of reading in this class, I have tried to keep each week’s assignments within reasonable bounds. Longer reading assignments tend to be in more readable texts, which should make them a bit less daunting.
Tue., Jan. 13	Setting the stage: 20^th century Europe before 1945
Thu., Jan. 15	Reshaping a Europe in ruins Reading: (F) pp. 1-33
Tue., Jan. 20	Competing empires? Reading: Protocol of the proceedings of Crimea Conference (Feb. 1945) George Marshall Harvard commencement address (June 1947) The Warsaw Pact (1955)
Thu., Jan. 22	The Cold War Reading: (F) pp. 187-213, 240-7
Tue., Jan. 27	Complicating the Cold War: the Berlin Blockade Reading: William Stivers, “The incomplete Blockade” [Electronic Reserve]
Thu., Jan. 29	Looking back at the postwar period Reading: Elizabeth Heinemann, “The Hour of the Woman: Memories of Germany's ‘Crisis Years’ and West German National Identity,” AHR 101, no. 2 (1996).
Tue., Feb. 3	Solving the economic dilemma: the welfare state and really existing socialism Reading: (F) pp. 53-94
Wed., Feb. 4	FILM: The Marriage of Maria Braun (Germany, 1978) Driscoll Hall, Room 132 (auditorium), 7:30 pm
Thu., Feb. 5	Discussion: The Marriage of Maria Braun
Tue., Feb. 10	(Failed?) Revolutions in East-Central Europe Reading: Hungarian Students: Sixteen Political, Economic, and Ideological Points, Budapest, October 22, 1956 Statement of the Soviet Government, October 30, 1956 and Imre Nagy: Last Message (November 4, 1956)
Thu., Feb. 12	Consumer culture, East and West Reading: (F), 146-86
Friday, Feb. 13	DUE: Topic Proposal and Preliminary Bibliography (to be submitted via WebCT by 3pm)
Tue., Feb. 17	Discussion: Things Reading: (P), 13-123
Thu., Feb. 19	NO CLASS—compensation for film viewing (NOTE CHANGE)
Tue., Feb., 24	The Berlin Wall and the stabilization of the Cold War (NOTE CHANGE) Reading: USA and USSR: Exchange of notes on the Berlin Wall (1961)
Thu., Feb. 26	Midterm Exam
March 2-6	SPRING BREAK
Tue., Mar. 10	Decolonization and its implications for Europe Reading: (F) 248-62
Thu., Mar. 12	Race and national identity in Europe Reading: Kathleen Paul, “Keeping Britain white” [Electronic reserve]
Tue., Mar. 17	Onward to 1968 Reading: (R), ch. 1 The Brezhnev Doctrine (1968)
Thu., Mar. 19	Détente and Ostpolitik Reading: (F) 213-27
Tue., Mar. 24	NO CLASS—compensation for film viewing
Thu., Mar. 26	New social movements: forms of protest Reading: (R), ch. 2.
Tue., Mar. 31	Protest and Terror Reading: Claudia Verhoeven, “The ‘German Autumn’ between Mallorca and Mogadishu”

Thu., Apr. 2	The end of revolution? Reading: (R), ch. 4
Tue., Apr. 7	1989: The power of the powerless Reading: Vaclav Havel, “The power of the powerless” [Electronic reserve] (Note: No further reading)
Thu., Apr. 9	NO CLASS—Easter Break
Tue., Apr. 14	Discussion: How we survived communism and even laughed Reading: (D) selections TBD
Thu., Apr. 16	European integration FINAL PAPER DUE
Mon., Apr. 20	FILM: Goodbye Lenin! (Germany, 2003) Driscoll Hall, Room 132 (auditorium), 7:30 pm
Tue., Apr. 21	Discussion: Goodbye Lenin
Thu., Apr. 23	War returns to Europe: the former Yugoslavia Reading: First Report On The War Crimes In The Former Yugoslavia
Tue., Apr. 28	NO CLASS—Friday Classes Meet
Thu., Apr. 30	To the Euro and beyond Reading: (F) pp. 275-84
Mon., May 4	Final Exam, 10:45am-1:15pm