Honors 200: The Shaping of the Modern Mind
Turmoil, Tragedy, and Triumph: Europeans in the Twentieth Century
Spring Semester, 2015
Sem 001, MW 9:30-10:45, Honors House, 195
Sem 005, MW 11:00-12:15, Honors House, 195
Dr. Alan Singer Office Hours:
Office: Honors House 138 Monday- Wednesday: 1:30-3:00
Phone: 229-4658 Thursday: 1:00-2:30
Email: asinger@uwm.edu
and by appointment
On the eve of World War One in 1914, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, is reported to have said, “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.” Grey’s sense of foreboding was apt. The war lasted well over four years and shattered an entire generation.
Furthermore, the conflict’s aftermath led to economic depression, and thirty years later an even greater war which, this time, completely blurred the lines between civilians and military combatants. After World War Two, half of Europe lay repressed under totalitarian regimes until late in the 20th century. This seminar approaches history mainly by looking at the experiences of average people. While most courses on twentieth century Europe focus on dictators, ideologies, and military and political strategy, our discussions will center on how ordinary people’s lives were shaped during this period –and how they in turn shaped regional, national, and international events. Some of the questions we will address include: What do we learn by studying the lives of ordinary people? How were the experiences of men and women comparable? How did European communities cope with at times overwhelming social, political, and military upheavals? Did the major events of the century bring out both the best and worst in people? Ultimately this course will shed light on how people behave during the most trying of times. Along with addressing these questions, this course is also designed to help you
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develop the necessary skills that will help you become a more active reader, listener, speaker, and a more effective writer.
Required Readings:
Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (ISBN-13: 978-0449213940)
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz (ISBN- 0-684-82680-1)
Slavenka Drakulic, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed (ISBN-13: 978-0060975401)
Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of ’89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin
and Prague (ISBN-13: 978-0679740483)
Required Viewing:
Europa, Europa, dir. Agnieszka Holland, 1990
Course Requirements:
Your final grade will be based on the work you do in three areas. First, there will be three, five page to seven page essays. In these assignments you will be asked to write on important issues relating to the readings from the schedule below. In the second type of assignment, you will write three, two to three page essays that answer specific questions regarding the readings or discussions. The questions will be designed to help you focus on the material as the semester progresses. The third area of evaluation regards class participation. Since this course is in a seminar format, it is absolutely essential that there is positive discussion throughout the semester. To ensure this, you are required to take part.
*A note on “positive discussion”: Ideally, in a seminar, the students do most of the talking. My main job is to direct discussion in a manner so we stay on topic. Because the course is essentially a semester-long conversation, sometimes concerning controversial issues, we all have to make sure that we respect each other. We all come into the seminar room with a variety of life experiences and backgrounds, opinions, political and religious beliefs, etc. The seminar itself and consequentially, your grades will suffer if courtesy and sensitivity towards your fellow classmates are not observed.
D2L
We will be using D2L, the online course management program. A couple of days before each class, I will be posting questions and key terms which you should consider and be familiar with when you come in.
This will greatly help our discussions and your understanding of the reading material. I will also be occasionally posting announcements about any possible changes in our schedule and any other relevant news for the class. On occasion, I will also be posting links to relevant supplementary material that is available online. Let me know if you have any questions about logging into D2L.
Grade Breakdown:
Paper One: 20%
Paper Two: 20%
Paper Three: 25%
Two to three page assignments: 15%
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Participation (attendance, punctuality, positive discussion) 20%
A note on attendance and punctuality:
Because this course is in seminar format, where you are expected to play an active part, you are required to attend classes and be on time. I will be taking attendance and noting tardiness. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent or late, be sure to email me and let me know. As you will see on the schedule below, on two occasions we will be holding required, individual meetings to discuss drafts and outlines of the longer paper assignments.
Evaluation Scale:
You will receive a percentage grade for all of your assignments. I will be using a basic plus/minus scale:
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
D 60-70
Email:
Students must check their UWM email often. Along with D2L, we will use email as a primary means of communication outside of class.
Policies:
Attendance: Missing class more than two times because of unexcused absences will result in losing 5 points from one’s final grade for each additional absence.
Tardiness: It is essential that you come to class on time. Please let me know ahead of time if you know you will be late. Excessive tardiness (more than two times) will result in losing 3 points from one’s final grade for each additional day that you are late.
Late assignments: Unexcused late assignments will lose 5 points for every twenty-four hours they are late.
Paper writing format: In this course, we will be using Chicago Manual of Style format. I will discuss the guidelines in class but you can also consult the relevant web sites for examples of how to do endnotes, a title page, works cited page, etc. Improper formatting will result in the lowering of your paper grade.
Schedule:
The following schedule lists what you should have read for each class discussion and when the five to seven page writing assignments will be due. Please note that this is a preliminary schedule. I may have to move some things back if we need more time to discuss a given topic. I will be sure to give you fair notice if any dates change. Notice that on a number of days, I have listed “background information” under “Discuss”. I have done this on days that new topics are being addressed. You should look up these subjects on your own, take some notes, and bring them to class. Just try to get a general idea of each
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term. This will greatly help our discussions when we talk about the assigned readings. When looking up these terms, try to use sources other than Wikipedia. We will discuss reputable websites in class.
Mon. Jan. 26 Course Intro
Wed. Jan. 28 Discussion on Writing and Reading History
Mon. Feb. 2 World War One: Background and General Discussion
Wed. Feb. 4 World War One
Read: Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, 1-50
Mon. Feb. 9 World War One
Read: Remarque, 51-97
Wed. Feb. 11 World War One
Read: Remarque, 99-136
Mon. Feb. 16 World War One
Read: Remarque, 137-185
Wed. Feb. 18 World War One
Read: Remarque, 187-229
Mon. Feb. 23 World War One
Read: Remarque, 231-296
Wed. Feb. 25 World War Two: Background and General Discussion
Mon. Mar. 2 No Class- Required Individual Meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Wed to discuss the first long paper.
Wed. Mar. 4 World War Two
In-class film: Europa, Europa
Mon. Mar. 9 World War Two
In-class film: Europa, Europa (continued)
*First 5-7 page essay due
Wed. Mar. 11 World War Two
Read: Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz, 9-55
************************************Spring Break*************************************
Mon. Mar. 23 World War Two
Read: Levi, 56-100
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Wed. Mar. 25 World War Two
Read: Levi, 101-144
Mon. Mar. 30 World War Two
Read: Levi, 145-187
Wed. Apr. 1 Life under European Communism
Read: Slavenka Drakulic, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, xi-42
Mon. Apr. 6 No Class- Required Individual Meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Wed to discuss the second long paper.
Wed. Apr. 8 Life under European Communism
Read: Drakulic, 43-92
*Second 5-7 page essay due.
Mon. Apr. 13 Life under European Communism
Read: Drakulic, 93-122
Wed. Apr. 15 Life under European Communism
Read: Drakulic, 123-168
Mon. Apr. 20 Life under European Communism
Read: Drakulic, 169-197
Wed. Apr. 22 The end of Communism in Eastern Europe
Read: Timothy Garton Ash, The Magic Lantern, 11-46
Mon. Apr. 27 The end of Communism in Eastern Europe
Read: Garton Ash, 47-77
Wed. Apr. 29 The end of Communism in Eastern Europe
Read: Garton Ash, 78-112
Mon. May 4 The end of Communism in Eastern Europe
Read: Garton Ash, 113-156
Wed. May 6 Final Discussion
If your class was at 9:30, your final paper will be due in my office on Wed. May 13 at noon.
If your class was at 11:00, your final paper will be due in my office on Mon. May 11 at noon.
Your paper must be in on time. If it is late, I will deduct half of a grade for every half hour it is late. You may turn your paper before the day it is due.
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