London and Berlin in the Age of Empire
Summer Term 2016, Thursdays, 6-8pm
Jan Rueger
This option focuses on the history of London and Berlin in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. It introduces the main themes and debates that have shaped the
interpretation of the histories of the two cities; and it encourages students to explore
comparative strategies in their understanding of the urban past. Ideas of ‘the modern city'
and ‘the imperial city' are in the centre of the course. Other themes include: the rise of mass
politics, entertainment and popular culture, public space and the government of the city,
London and Berlin at war.
Introductory Reading
Peter Fritzsche, Reading Berlin (Cambridge, MA, 1996).
Anthony McElligott, The German Urban Experience 1900–1945: Modernity and Crisis
(London, 2001).
Jonathan Schneer, London 1900. The Imperial Metropolis (New Haven and London, 1999).
Jerry White, London in the Nineteenth Century: ‘A Human Awful Wonder of God’ (London,
2007).
Jerry White, London in the Twentieth Century: A City and Its People (London, 2001).
David Feldman and Gareth Stedman Jones (eds.), Metropolis London: Histories and
Representations since 1800 (London, 1989).
Jay Winter and Jean-Louis Robert (eds.), Capital Cities at War: Paris, London, Berlin 19141919, vol. 2, A Cultural History (Cambridge, 2007).