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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Fall Semester 2014
Time: Mon/Wed 11:00-11:50am
Location: 213 Gregory Hall
HIST 258: World War I
and the Making of the Global Twentieth Century
Professor Tamara Chaplin
E-mail: tchaplin@illinois.edu
Office: 419B Gregory Hall
Hours: Tuesday 11am-12pm
or by appointment
Professor Peter Fritzsche
E-mail: pfritzsc@illinois.edu
Office: Gregory Hall
Hours: Monday 3-5pm
or by appointment
TAs: John Carlos Marquez: jcmarqu2@illinois.edu
Megan White: mswhite3@illinois.edu
“You will be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees.”
Kaiser Wilhelm II to German soldiers, August 1914
This year, 2014, marks the hundredth
anniversary of the onset of World War I.
Lasting from 1914 to 1918 and known as “The
Great War” to those unaware that more carnage
would soon blight the history of the twentieth
century, World War I stands as the first
incarnation in human history of modern
industrial warfare on a truly global scale. This
bloody conflict permanently recast the ways in
which nations and peoples have considered,
experienced and commemorated not just military
conflict, but both Western and global culture,
society, industry, politics and economics writ
large. Our class, which will be team-taught by
Professors Tamara Chaplin and Peter Fritzsche,
attempts to come to grips with World War I’s
astonishing historical legacy. Our canvas is
broad: we will not only learn about the
chronology of the war—from its origins and
military operations, to its political ramifications
(including the demise of imperial empires and
the rise of Soviet socialist communism), to
competing experiences of battlefront and
homefront (with their technological and
industrial innovations—including such diverse aspects as aerial and trench warfare, the use of
gas and chemical weapons, food rationing, war bonds and the feminization of the workforce), but
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we will also study the war’s psychological and embodied effects (shell-shock, trauma,
amputation, prosthetics, plastic surgery and disability) as well as the artistic and cultural attempts
to acknowledge, represent and memorialize its devastation (in poetry, art, music, dance, theatre,
film and literature). Our sources will be equally varied; we will read history, fiction and memoir,
examine newspaper coverage, cartoons, propaganda posters, photographs and film and analyze
geographic, architectural and cartographic evidence of World War I’s destruction and
commemoration. We also hope to think hard together about how this history has shaped our
present concerns, from our attitudes towards such issues as terrorism and human rights, to our
understandings of masculinity, sexuality and gender, to our ideas about peace-making,
revolution, religion and global apocalypse. To aid us in our work, our class will benefit from a
series of guest lectures and presentations from specialists in other disciplinary fields. If you are
interested in exploring the ways in which modern warfare continues to shape the world in
which we live, this class is for you.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES: We are here to make this course an interesting and enjoyable
experience for you. Please contribute to the creation of a harmonious learning environment
and respect your professor and your colleagues by observing the following rules: 1) TURN
OFF ALL CELL PHONES during lectures and sections; 2) Arrive on time and remain in the
auditorium for the duration of the lecture. 3) Surfing the net, consulting Facebook, sending
tweets, texts and emails during lecture ARE NOT PERMITTED. If you need to make a
call or send a text, please leave the class to do so. Remember: others can often see your screen
and these behaviors disrespect your professor and colleagues and disrupt our focus. We will
confiscate electronics for the duration of the lecture and lower your final grade by a full grade if
you are found using technology inappropriately during our class.
GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
1. (15%) 6 Quick Writes and Quizzes (unannounced in-class, ONE of these will be
dropped from the final grade)
2. (50%) DISCUSSION SECTION: Participation, Attendance and Written
Assignments
3. (15%) Mid-Term Exam (One Hour: In Class, October 13, 2014)
4. (20%) Final Exam (Three Hour: In Class, Wednesday December 17, 2014, 8AM to
11AM, location to be determined)
5. Extra Events: You will be required to attend 3 extra events (film showing, art exhibit,
theatre performance) for this class. See the syllabus below and in class announcements
for specifics.
Note: You must complete the mid-term, final, short and all discussion section assignments
by 5:00PM on December 20, 2014 in order to pass this course.
LECTURE QUICK WRITES: From time to time we will give an unannounced in-class writing
assignment called a QUICK WRITE in which you will be required to write a brief paragraph in
response to a question about that day’s lecture or required readings. These will be graded  or
 or -. If you turn in a paper without a valid attempt at an answer, it will count as “O”.
Responses will only be accepted in class on the day for which they have been assigned. You
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cannot do well in this class if you do not attend the lectures. QUICK WRITES are designed to
encourage your regular attendance. Because we will have opportunities for extra credit and
will allow you to drop ONE of these SIX quick writes from your final grade, THERE are
NO MAKE-UPS FOR MISSED QUICK WRITES.
DISCUSSION SECTIONS: ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. FIFTY PERCENT of your
course grade will be determined by your attendance at, participation in, and completion of work
and readings required for discussion sections. Your discussion leader is responsible for grading
all of your work for this class. Unexcused absences will affect your course grade. Unexcused
absences from 4 or more discussion sections results in automatic failure in this course.
DISCUSSION SECTION SCHEDULE:
Tuesday
10:00-10:50am (AD1) Loc: Armory 137 JOHN MARQUEZ
11:00-11:50am (AD4) Loc: Armory 137 JOHN MARQUEZ
Thursday
10:00-10:50am (AD3) Loc: David Kinley Hall 325 MEGAN WHITE
11:00-11:50am (AD2) Loc: David Kinley Hall 325 MEGAN WHITE
Friday
10:00-10:50am (AD6) Loc: English Buidling 303 JOHN MARQUEZ
11:00-11:50am (AD5) Loc: English Building 303 MEGAN WHITE
NO COMPUTERS ARE PERMITTED IN DISCUSSION SECTIONS. YOU MUST BRING
HARD COPIES OF ALL READINGS TO CLASS OR YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED
ABSENT FOR THAT DAY.
MID-TERM EXAM: There will be a one-hour mid-term exam held in class on Monday,
October 13 2014. The exam will consist of one essay question and five short definitions based
on lectures, readings and discussions.
FINAL EXAM: A three-hour in class final exam will be given on Wednesday, December 17,
2014 from 8:00AM to 11:00AM. The exam will consist of two essay questions (one
cumulative, one based on the second half of the semester), and seven short definitions based
on lectures, readings and discussions. Location to be determined.
REQUIRED READING: The following texts are required reading for this course. Books are
available for purchase at the UIUC Bookstore, and the Coursepack is available at Notes-nQuotes.
WEBSITE: THERE IS A WEBSITE FOR THIS COURSE. PLEASE BOOKMARK IT:
http://wwihist258.weebly.com/
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COURSPACK: PLEASE NOTE: There is a COURSEPACK reader for this course. The
COURSEPACK for HIST258 will be available for purchase at Notes-n-Quotes at 502 E. John
Street, Champaign, IL AFTER Tuesday, September 2 at 3pm. You may call them at 217-3444433, or email info@notes-n-quotes.com.
BOOKS:
Required:
Howard, Michael. The First World War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, 2007.
Neiberg, Michael S. The World War I Reader. NYU Press, 2006.
Porter, Katherine Anne. Pale Horse, Pale Rider: The Short Stories. Penguin, 2011.
Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet On the Western Front. Ballentine reissue 1987.
Ward, Candance, ed. World War One British Poets: Brooke, Owen, Sassoon, Rosenberg and
Owen. Dover, 1997.
West, Rebecca. The Return of the Soldier. Dover, 2002.
Recommended:
Meyer, G.J. A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914-1918. Delacourte, 2007.
Many of these books should also be easily obtainable used, but please make sure that you have
the same edition and translation as the ones noted above. YOU MUST BRING BOOKS
AND/OR THE COURSEPACK WITH THE READINGS TO ALL DISCUSSION
SECTIONS AND CLASSES on the days for which they are assigned.
ILLINOIS COMPASS: This lecture course has a website on Illinois Compass. You can
find the syllabus, exam reviews and Powerpoints posted to this site.
Email: CHECK YOUR EMAIL REGULARLY to ensure that you are receiving all
communications about our class. DON’T LET YOUR INBOX GET FULL—EMAILS
WON’T BE RECEIVED!
OFFICE HOURS: Office hours, whether our own or those of the discussion leaders, are for you
to talk about scholarly interests, questions or concerns that you may have relative to our course
and beyond. This time is for you, and we encourage you to take advantage of it. In addition to
visiting during office hours, e-mail is an excellent way to contact your discussion leaders.
Although we welcome communications from you if the circumstances warrant, please be aware
that this is a very large class and that your discussion leader should be your first line of contact
regarding any questions that you may have. Email addresses are listed at the front of this
syllabus.
LATE PAPERS: Late assignments will ONLY be excused with written authorization from
the Emergency Dean or McKinley Health Center. ALL LATE ASSIGNMENTS THAT
HAVE NOT BEEN EXCUSED ARE MARKED DOWN AT THE RATE OF 1/3 GRADE
PER DAY LATE.
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PLAGIARISM:
Preamble:
In order to preserve the integrity of our courses and insure that honest efforts by
students are not cheapened by the cheating of others, the Department of History sets out its
definition of plagiarism and its policies and procedures concerning this abuse. These are in
accord with University of Illinois standards as stated in the Student Code, Article 1, Part 4,
available at http://admin.illinois.edu/policy/code/article1_part4_1-401.html. All faculty and
students should read this document. All forms of plagiarism and cheating are unacceptable
and may result in AUTOMATIC FAILURE IN THE COURSE AND REFERRAL TO
THE DEAN.
Plagiarism Defined: Plagiarism is representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own.
Submitting a paper you did not write is the most blatant form of plagiarism. Plagiarism also
includes, but is not limited to: copying part or all of another student’s work in exams, papers, or
other exercises; inappropriate collaboration with another student; and verbatim copying, close
paraphrasing, pasting in, or recombining published materials, including materials from the
internet, without appropriate citation. Please note that according to university guidelines,
“ignorance of a rule is never a defense.” It is your responsibility to understand plagiarism. If
you are unclear, please ask. For examples of plagiarism, see Article 1, Part 4 in the web address
provided above.
SPECIAL NEEDS: Please let us know if there are any special circumstances or physical
challenges that may affect your work so that we can facilitate your full participation in this
course.
WWI COURSE OUTLINE (Tentative Topics)
PART ONE: ORIGINS
WEEK ONE
START READING REMARQUE, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (ALL MUST
BE READ BY SEPTEMBER 22)
1) August 25/ Monday: INTRODUCTION (Tamara Chaplin and Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Start reading Erich Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front. You must read
chapters 1-6 by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, and finish the book by MONDAY,
SEPTEMBER 22.
2) August 27/ Wednesday: ORIGINS (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Nicky-Wilhelm Telegrams, in The World War I Reader, pp. 46-49.
 BOOK: Chapters 1 and 2 in Howard, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction,
pp.1-26.
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WEEK TWO
NOTE: PURCHASE HIST258 COURSEPACK at Notes-n-quotes, 502 E. Green Street,
beginning Tuesday, September 2 at 3pm.
3) September 1/ Monday: LABOR DAY—NO CLASS
4) September 3/ Wednesday: TERRORISM (John Lynn)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Chapters 3 and 4 in Howard, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction,
pp.27-55.
WEEK THREE
5) September 8/ Monday: CULTURAL ORIGINS: FUTURISM AND THE RITE OF SPRING
(Tamara Chaplin)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, “The Futurist Manifesto” (1909)
 COURSEPACK: Excerpt from Stefan Zweig, The World of Yesterday (Omaha:
University of Nebraska Press, 1964), Chapter 8, “Light and Shadow Over Europe,” and
Chapter 9, “The First Hours of the War of 1914,” pp. 192-237.
6) September 10/ Wednesday: ATTRITION (John Lynn)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: Michael Howard, "Men against Fire" from Makers of Modern Strategy
from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, ed. Peter Paret (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1986), pp. 510-526
 BOOK: Chapter 5 in Howard, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction, pp. 5667.
PART TWO: HOMEFRONT TO TOTAL WAR
WEEK FOUR
ANNOUNCEMENT:
 Before class on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, YOU MUST ATTEND the
exhibit “La Grande Guerre: French Posters and Photographs from World War I.”
The exhibit is at the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion (500 East
Peabody Drive in Champaign), on the main level, and is open from 9-5 Monday to
Saturday. For more information, please see:
http://kam.illinois.edu/exhibitions/current/grandeguerre.html
6) September 15/ Monday: THE LITTLE MAN’S WAR (REMARQUE) (Peter Fritzsche)
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REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Remarque, All Quiet On the Western Front, chapters 1-6, pp. 1-136.
7) September 17/ Wednesday: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE / LETTERS HOME (Tamara
Chaplin)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Vera Brittain, from Letters from a Lost Generation, in The World War I Reader,
pp. 227-242.
 COURSEPACK: Vera Brittain, Letters from a Lost Generation: First World War Letters
of Vera Brittain and Four Friends, ed. Alan Bishop and Mark Bostridge (Lebanon, N.H.:
Northeastern University Press, 1998), pp. 25-27 (Roland to Vera, 21 Aug, 1914; Vera to
Roland, 23 August, 1914) and pp.30-36 (Vera to Roland, 1 Oct, 1914 through Vera to
Edith, 18 November, 1914).
WEEK FIVE
HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAR POSTER EXHIBIT AT KRANNERT ART MUSEUM
YET? IF NOT, YOU MUST SEE IT BY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24!
8) September 22/ Monday: SHELLS, ZEPPELINS, AND GAS (PIGEONS) (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Remarque, All Quiet On the Western Front, chapters 7-12, pp. 137-296.
9) September 24/ Wednesday: PROPAGANDA (David O’Brien on war posters)
ANNOUNCEMENT:
 By this class, attend the exhibit “La Grande Guerre: French Posters and Photographs
from World War I” at the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion.
WEEK SIX
NOTE: TERI EDELSTEIN WILL BE SPEAKING ON “EN GUERRE: FRENCH BOOK
ILLUSTRATION AND WORLD WAR I,” MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH AT 5:00PM AT
KRANNERT ART MUSEUM, ROOM 62. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT
10) September 29 /Monday: SEXUALITIES AND RACE (Tamara Chaplin)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Jennifer D. Keene, “The Politics of Race” in The World War I Reader, pp. 272288
 COURSEPACK: George Chauncey, Jr., “Christian Brotherhood or Sexual Perversion?
Homosexual Identities and the Construction of Sexual Boundaries in the World War One
Era.” The Journal of Social History 19, no. 2 (Winter 1985): 189-211.
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11) October 1/ Wednesday: HOMEFRONT / FOOD, RATIONING / TOTAL WAR (Peter
Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: “An English Wife in Berlin,” in The World War I Reader, pp. 243-251.
 BOOK: Belinda Davis, “Home Fires Burning”, in The World War I Reader, pp. 252-271.
WEEK SEVEN
12) October 6/ Monday: THE WOUNDED WORD: POETS and THE GREAT WAR (Rosanna
Warren)
REQUIRED READINGS: TO BE POSTED TO COMPASS
13) October 8/Wednesday: THE MEDIEVAL WAR (Carol Symes)
REQUIRED READINGS:
• COURSEPACK: Allen J. Frantzen, Bloody Good: Chivalry, Sacrifice, and the Great War
(Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2003), Chapter 7, “Teach them how to war,”
pp. 148-194.
PART THREE: IMPERIAL AND GLOBAL DIMENSIONS
WEEK EIGHT
14) October 13/ Monday: MID-TERM EXAM
(One essay question and five short definitions)
15) October 15/ Wednesday: AMERICA (Kristin Hoganson)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Fourteen Points, in Howard, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction,
pp. 120-121.
 BOOK: Chapter 6, “America Enters in the War,” in Howard, The First World War: A
Very Short Introduction, pp. 68-80.
 COURSEPACK: Charter of the League of Nations.
 BOOK: (ALL!) Katherine Ann Porter, Pale Horse, Pale Rider
WEEK NINE
REQUIRED: FILM SHOWING OF “REGENERATION” this THURSDAY EVENING,
OCTOBER 23rd IN GREGORY HALL 319 FROM 5:30-7:30.
16) October 20/ Monday: RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (Mark Steinberg)
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REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: Mark Steinberg, ed., Voices of Revolution, 1917 (New Haven, Conn.:
Yale University Press, 2003), documents 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 33, 37, 67, 70, 71, 74, 81,
117, 118, 121 and 122.
17) October 22/ Wednesday: 1918/1919, LOST GENERATION/ PACIFISM (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Chapters 7, 8 and 9, “1917: The Year of Crisis,” “1918: The Year of Decision”
and “The Settlement” in Howard, The First World War: A Very Short Introduction, pp.
81-119.
THURSDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 23rd IN GREGORY HALL 319 FROM 5:30-7:30
Required film showing of “REGENERATION.”
PART FOUR: DEVASTATION AND REPRESENTATION
WEEK TEN
18) October 27/ Monday: SHELL SHOCK (Mark Micale)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: World War I British Poets, pp. 18-27 and 31-38
 MOVIE: Watch the movie “Regeneration,” either on your own or at a showing, location
and time TBA.
19/ October 29/ Wednesday: VETERANS/ DISABILITY/ MEDICAL PROSTHETICS (Tamara
Chaplin)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: “The Men with New Faces” packet.
Includes: Ward Muir, “The Men with New Faces,” pp. 746-753; photographs from Anna
Coleman Ladd’s collection; J. Olin Howe, “The Flag of Section Sanitaire, No. 5,” The
Boston Evening Transcript (August 20, 1919); “An American Sculptor’s Splendid War
Work,” The American Magazine of Art (June 1919); and Padraic King, “How Wounded
Soldiers Have Faced the World Again with ‘Portrait Masks,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(March 26, 1933).
WEEK ELEVEN
REQUIRED: ATTEND DRESS REHEARSAL OF “OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR” AT
THE KRANNERT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
starting at 7pm. DETAILS ON COMPASS.
20) November 3/ Monday: GENOCIDE AND POGROMS (ARMENIA) (Taner Akçam )
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REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: Richard Hovannisian, “The Armenian Question in the Ottoman Empire,
1876-1914” in Richard Hovannisian, ed., The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern
Times, vol. II (New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, 1997), pp. 203-236.
 COURSEPACK: Christopher J. Walker, “World War I and the Armenian Genocide” in
Richard Hovannisian, ed., The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, vol. II
(New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, 1997), pp. 239-273.

NOTE: DR. AKCAM WILL BE SPEAKING ON “Denying the Armenian Genocide: A
Turkish National Security Concept” AT 3PM ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT 210 Illini
Union. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT
21) November 5/ Wednesday: “OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR!” (Philip Johnston / Theatre)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: “Oh, What a Lovely War!” packet.
Includes: Matthew Sweet, “‘Oh, What a Lovely War’: Why the Battle Still Rages,” The
Guardian (February 1, 2014); Christopher Hope and Jasper Copping, “Left, Right. Left,
Right. Halt! Call to Keep Politics Out of the WWI Anniversary,” The Telegraph (January
26, 2014); and Michael Billington, “Oh What a Lovely War—Review (Theatre Royal
Stratford East, London),” The Guardian (February 12, 2014).
WEEK TWELVE
NOTE talk w/Timothy Snyder on November 11 on Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and
Stalin
22) November 10/ Monday: GUEST SPEAKER TIMOTHY SNYDER (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: Rebecca West, Return of the Soldier, all.
NOTE: DR. SNYDER WILL BE SPEAKING ON “FROM THE GREAT WAR TO THE
BLOODLANDS: RETHINKING EUROPE’S HISTORY” AT 3PM ON MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 10 AT SPURLOCK MUSEUM. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT
23) November 12/ Wednesday: THE GREAT WAR AND LITERARY MODERNISM: (Vicki
Mahaffey)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 COURSEPACK: T.S. Eliot, “The Wasteland” (http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html).
WEEK THIRTEEN
24) November 17/ Monday: MODERN ART (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
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
COURSEPACK: Paul Fox, “Confronting Postwar Shame in Weimar Germany: Trauma,
Heroism and the War Art of Otto Dix,” Oxford Art Journal, vol. 29, no. 2 (2006): 247267.
25) November 19/ Wednesday: GLOBAL DIMENSIONS (Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 TO BE POSTED ON COMPASS
WEEK FOURTEEN
FALL BREAK: NOVEMBER 24 AND 26. NO CLASSES—ENJOY!!!!
PART FIVE: AFTERMATH AND RECONSIDERATIONS
WEEK FIFTEEN
26) December 1/ Monday: JEWS/ WAR/ PALESTINE (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: “British Diplomacy: The Hussein-McMahon Letters” in The World War I
Reader, pp. 335-339.
27) December 3/ Wednesday: MONUMENTS, MEMORY AND MEDIA (Tamara Chaplin)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 BOOK: World War I British Poets, pp. 12
 COURSEPACK: Antoine Prost, “Verdun” from Realms of Memory: The Construction of
the French Past, vol. III, Symbols, ed. Pierre Nora and Lawrence D. Kritzman, trans.
Arthur Goldhammer (New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, 1998), pp. 376-401.
WEEK SIXTEEN
28) December 8/ Monday:: GREAT WAR/ WORLD WAR I/ WORLD WAR II / EMPIRE IN
DECLINE (Peter Fritzsche)
REQUIRED READINGS:
 TO BE POSTED ON COMPASS
29) December 10/ Wednesday: SHORT TWENTIETH CENTURY (Peter Fritzsche and Tamara
Chaplin)
Final exam TBA
CONGRATULATIONS! It’s over!