TRENT OSHAWA
UOIT Conlin Campus
Department of History
Summer 2013
HIST 1202H: Western Civilization from 1789 to the Present
This course explores the political, social, economic and religious developments that
shaped Western European society in the period from 1789 to the present. Subjects
addressed include the French and Industrial Revolutions, the rise of liberalism,
nationalism and socialism and the First and Second World Wars.
Course Instructor
Dr. David Lawrence
E-mail: dlawrence@trentu.ca.
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 5:00-6:00 TBA
Course Times
Lecture: Tues 7:10-9:00
Tutorial Times
Group A Tues/Thurs 6:10-7:00
Group B Tues/Thurs 9:10-10:00
Required Textbook
John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe, Vol. 2: From the French Revolution to the
Present W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd Revised, 2009. (Merriman, Modern Europe)
All seminar readings can be accessed online (see below)
Evaluation criteria
Seminar Participation
Article Review
Mid-Year Exam
Research Essay
Final Exam
20%
15% (Due July 9)
10% (July 18)
25% (Due July 30)
30% (August Exam Period)
Total
100%
Seminars and Assignments
Seminars (20%)
Your participation grade is not strictly based on attendance, but rather on your
demonstrating that you have read the assigned online readings by participating avidly in
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the group discussions. Participation is evaluated for quality, rather than quantity. Be
advised that repeated absences will affect your participation grade.
Journal Article Review (15%) Due: Tuesday, July 9
This assignment requires you to review and evaluate one of three scholarly articles
provided below. Your review essay should be no more than four double-spaced pages
(approx. 1000 words).
How to Begin
All three articles can be found online at jstor.org via either the Trent or UOIT library
websites. To find the articles on jstor.org, simply use the search engine on the jstor.org
home page.
Once you have selected an article, sit down and read through it without taking notes to
get a sense of the overall structure of the piece. Afterwards, go back and read the article
again, making sure that you note the author’s thesis, the types of sources that were used
(primary and secondary/ see either the footnotes or endnotes). As you read, ask yourself
whether the evidence that the author uses supports the thesis? Is it in any way
contradictory or problematic?
Evaluation of the Article
The article review should address the following questions. However, make sure that you
DO NOT simply answer them lock step, one after another in “shopping list” form. These
questions are merely a guide to help in writing the article review, not a rigid outline.
1) Was the author successful in proving his or her point? Were you convinced by the
arguments and the evidence presented? Why or why not?
2) Does the author have a clear bias? What is this bias? How does it affect their
interpretation of the evidence? (If there is no apparent bias, do not comment on
this)
3) Does the author give the reader any indication of how their article fits in with
other work on this subject? Does the article present a wholly new idea on the
subject or does it simply summarize the work done by other historians on the
subject?
4) Does the author raise some questions that are to be pursued in later work?
Key Points to Remember
1) Briefly summarize the theme and contents of the article. This will give the reader
an understanding of your analysis of the article, but keep this section brief. There
is no need to go through and summarize the article point by point.
2) Address the author’s thesis, argument or purpose in undertaking the work.
3) Discuss the types of sources and evidence used.
4) Evaluate whether or not the author is successful in proving their point.
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5) Give your review a title that reflects your evaluation of the article. Take time to
think about how readers might interpret your title.
6) If you cite directly from the article, you may simply use a parenthetical notation
as such (p. 29). There is no need to cite from other sources for this assignment
though you might want to reference the pages from Merriman, Modern Europe
that I cite below.
Structure
1) Introduction: Setting out the historical period, providing the article title and
author, illuminating the thesis of the author and a reflection on the overall success
or failure of the article.
2) Summary: 2 paragraph summary of the key points in the article. You need not
cover everything.
3) Analysis: Weigh the evidence presented, the validity of the thesis, problems with
the article, areas that were not addressed or unclear (this is your chance to
criticize the work (or praise it) Most important part.
4) Conclusion: Who was the intended audience? What specific field of history is
being addressed (social, political, economic, military, and religious to name a few
possible areas)? How does the article better illuminate the period and the question
under scrutiny?
Late Assignments
There will be a 1% per day late penalty for any assignment handed in after the due date of
July 9. This includes weekends.
Article Titles
Theresa M. McBride, “The Modernization of ‘Women’s Work’”, The Journal of
Modern History, Vol. 49, No. 2 (June 1977) pp. 231-245.
Read pages 758-775 in Merriman, Modern Europe
Richard Weikart, "Darwinism and Death: Devaluing Human Life in Germany,
1860-1920," Journal of the History of Ideas 63 (2002): 323-344.
Read pages 687-688, 843-45 in Merriman, Modern Europe
Mark Traugott, “The Crowd in the French Revolution of February, 1848”,
The American Historical Review, Vol. 93, No. 3 (Jun., 1988), pp. 638-652.
Read pages 614-624 in Merriman, Modern Europe
Midterm Test: Thursday, July 18 (10%) This 1 ½ -hour test will cover the material
through Thursday, July 11. The test will require students to answer five identifications
and a short answer question. There will be no tutorials or lecture on July 18.
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Research Paper (25%): Due Tuesday, July 30
The research paper allows you to be the historian, to reflect one of the topics provided by
the instructor during the first week of classes. You will be preparing a 1500-word paper
(approx. 6-8 double-spaced pages). You are to draw on the online primary sources
available on the Internet Modern History Sourcebook and a journal article as well as
Merriman’s Modern Europe.
The paper should have a cover page, with a title, and your name, student # and the date of
the assignment in the bottom right hand corner. You will also need to include a
bibliography (in correct form) as well as footnotes or endnotes in your paper.
The assignment will require you to draw on your abilities to analyse primary sources that
will be part of your seminar experience during the term. All the sources for the paper will
be available online. Links to each will be posted on the course website.
Sources
Merriman’s Modern Europe provides a bibliography at the end of the book listing
monographs that may be of use, though you are not required to use sources other than
those listed on the assignment handout.
While web sources may be used, please make sure that you are careful in selecting
materials from the internet. Be very aware that there are good sources and bad sources;
and at times it seems there are many more bad internet sources than good. I recommend
you use internet sources accessible through the Trent Library website. Please DO NOT
use Wikipedia as one of your sources. There are much better sources out there, so please
make use of them. You are free to read up on your topic in Wikipedia if you should so
desire, but it should not be cited as a source for the paper.
You MUST cite all of your sources in a bibliography at the end of the paper and you
must also use proper footnote and/or endnote style in the text of the paper. For help with
citations and with footnote/end style, please see the Chicago Manual of Style on the Trent
University Library and UOIT websites.
Final Examination (30%) August Exam Period
A three-hour exam drawing upon major themes from the lectures and tutorials, and all
course readings will be offered in August exam period. Students are expected to craft
complete identifications (who, what, when, where and significance) and answer two
essay questions, with the essays including introduction, main arguments, and conclusion,
within the three hour time limit.
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Course Goals
This first year course offers students an introduction to the history of Western European
civilization from the French Revolution to World War II. Students will be introduced to
primary sources (documents from the time period being studied) during seminars and use
these sources to evaluate the social, political and religious changes that shaped this
period. The course seeks to improve critical thinking, written and oral skills via the
lectures and the seminar discussions. On completing the course, students should have
developed a basic understanding of how to analyse an historical document and how to
interpret and construct a historical narrative.
Course Policies
Deadline Policy
A hard copy of all written assignments is due at the beginning of class on the due date.
Late papers are penalized 1% per day (including weekends). E-mail submissions will be
accepted for late papers only.
Classroom Policy
Please refrain from cellphones or playing computer games during class. Computers
should be used ONLY for taking notes. Please do not check emails and Facebook
accounts or play computer games during class time as it is distracting to the students
around you. Students failing to adhere to this policy will be asked to stop using their
electronic devices during class until they comply with this request.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an
extremely serious academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an
assignment to expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for
dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University’s Academic Integrity
Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself - unfamiliarity with the policy is not
an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s Academic Integrity website to
learn more at www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity
Access to Instruction:
It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a student has
a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she may need accommodations
to succeed in this course, the student should contact the Trent in Oshawa Disability
Services Office, Kristina Murray kristinamurray@trentu.ca (Room 111, 905-435-5102
ext 5024) as soon as possible. Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in
the Academic Calendar.
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Lectures and Weekly Seminar Readings
Date
Tuesday, June 25
Lecture Titles
Introduction
French Revolution I
French Revolution II
Napoleon and the
Restoration
Preconditions of
Industrialization
The Industrial Revolution
Textbook Readings
No Tutorials
Thursday, July 4
Capitalism and the Rise of
Liberalism
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
569-582
Tuesday, July 9
Progress and Science
The Rise of Nationalism
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
613-643, 649-671
Darwin and Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
684-705
Tuesday, July 16
Utopians, Socialists and
Marxists
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
563-568, 819-859
Thursday, July 18
Midterm Test
No Seminars
Tuesday, July 23
End of the 19th Century
World War I
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
725-741, 742-763, 863-926,
Thursday, July 25
Weimar Germany and the
Russian Revolution
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
705-725, 927-954, 955-968, 983986
Tuesday, July 30
Rise of Totalitarianism
Fascism
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
977-982, 993-1035
Europe Between the Wars
World War II
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
986-992, 1035-1103
Thursday, June 27
Tuesday, July 2
Journal Article Review Due
Thursday, July 11
Research Paper Due
Thursday, Aug. 1
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Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
435-478
Merriman, Modern Europe, pp.
479-512, 513-559
Seminar Readings
Thursday, June 27 - French Revolution, Napoleon and the Restoration
1) Abbe Sieyes “What is the Third Estate” http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/sieyes.asp
2) Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
3) Olympe de Gouges Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1791degouge1.asp
4) Decree Abolishing Feudalism (1789) http://history.hanover.edu/texts/abolfeud.html
5) Levee en Masse (1793) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1793levee.asp
6) Napoleon’s Proclamation to Troops in Italy (1796) http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/nap1796.html
7) Carlsbad Resolutions http://history.hanover.edu/texts/carlsbad.html
Tuesday, July 2 - Preconditions of Industrialization and The Industrial Revolution
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Accounts of the Potato Revolution (1695-1845) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1695potato.asp
Observations on the Loss of Woollen Spinning (1794) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1794woolens.asp
Leeds Woollen Workers Petition, 1786 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1786machines.asp
Life of an Industrial Worker in the Nineteenth Century http://www.victorianweb.org/history/workers2.html
Women Miners in the Coal Pits (1842) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1842womenminers.asp
Thursday, July 4 - Capitalism and the Rise of Liberalism
1)
2)
3)
4)
Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations, 1776 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/adamsmith-summary.asp
Andrew Ure: The Philosophy of the Manufacturers, 1835 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1835ure.asp
Thomas Malthus First Essay on Population, 1798 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1798malthus.asp
David Ricardo (1772-1823): The Iron Law of Wages, 1817 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/ricardowages.asp
5) John Stuart Mill, Liberalism Evaluated (1873) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1873jsmill.asp
Tuesday, July 9 – Progress and Science and The Rise of Nationalism
1) Marquis de Condorcet (1795) The Future Progress of the Human Mind
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/condorcet-progress.asp
2) Auguste Comte A General View of Positivism http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/comte-positivism.asp
3) Pope Pius IX (b. 1792. pope. 1846-1878): Syllabus of Errors, 8 Dec 1864
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm
4) Johann Gottlieb Fichte: To the German Nation, 1806 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1806fichte.asp
5) Giuseppe Mazzini On Nationality, 1852 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1852mazzini.asp
6) Documents of German Unification, 1848-1871
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/germanunification.asp#Droysen
Thursday, July 11 - Darwinism and Social Darwinism
1)
2)
3)
4)
Thomas Malthus First Essay on Population, 1798 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1798malthus.asp
Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species (1859) http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111dar.html
Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism, 1857 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/spencer-darwin.asp
Thomas Henry Huxley: The Struggle for Existence, 1888
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1888thhuxley-struggle.asp
5) Karl Pearson: National Life From the Standpoint of Science, 1900
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http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1900pearsonl.asp
Tuesday, July 16 - Utopians, Socialists and Marxists
1) St. Simon: Failure of European Liberalism, 1824
http://web.archive.org/web/20010203121700/http://www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/History/teaching/sem10/simon3.html
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Chartism: The People's Petition, 1838 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/bernstein-revsoc.asp
Charles Fourier: Theory of Social Organization, 1820 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1820fourier.asp
Friedrich Engels: Industrial Manchester, 1844 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1844engels.asp
Karl Marx: Scientific Socialism, 1844 – 1875 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/marx-summary.asp
Edouard Bernstein: Evolutionary Socialism (1899) http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/bernsteinrevsoc.asp
Tuesday, July 23 - End of the 19th Century and World War I
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Edward Dicey: Bulgarian Political Attitudes, 1894 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1894bulgaria1.asp
Nicky(Nicholas I) – Willy(Wilhelm II) Telegrams http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/willynicky.htm
Wilfred Owen: “Dulce et decorum est” http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html
Siegfried Sassoon: “Attack” http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/sassoon-attack.asp
Private Donald Fraser, My Daily Journal, 1915-1916 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1918Fraser.asp
Woodrow Wilson: Speech on the Fourteen Points Jan 8, 1918
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1918wilson.asp
Thursday, July 25 - Weimar Germany and the Russian Revolution
1)
2)
3)
4)
Treaty of Versailles, Jun 28, 1919 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1919versailles.asp
The 25 Points 1920 - An Early Nazi Program http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/25points.asp
V.I. Lenin: Our Programme, 1899 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1899lenin-program.asp
Alexandra Kollontai, Women’s role in production: its effect upon the family
http://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1920/communism-family.htm
5) Stalin's Purges, 1935 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1936purges.asp
6) Conditions in the Gulags Letter To the Presidium http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/d2presid.html
Tuesday, July 30 - Rise of Totalitarianism and Fascism
1) John Maynard Keynes: The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1920keynes.asp
2) Benito Mussolini: What is Fascism, 1932 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/mussolini-fascism.asp
3) Adolf Hitler: Race from Mein Kampf 1924 http://www.csustan.edu/history/faculty/weikart/hitlermk.htm
4) Franz Von Papen: Background to the German Crisis 1932
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/papen.htm
5) Sigmund Freud: Civilization and its Discontents 1918 http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1918freudcivwelt.asp
Thursday, Aug. 1 - Interwar Europe and World War II
1)
2)
3)
George Orwell From Homage to Catalonia, http://www.spunk.org/library/places/spain/sp000198.txt
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, 1939, http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1939pact.asp
Winston Churchill:"Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat", May 13, 1940
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/churchill-blood.asp
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4)
Hermann Graebe: Account of Holocaust Mass Shooting, 1942
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1942graebe.asp
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