"It's sometimes argued that there's no real progress; that a civilization that kills multitudes in mass warfare, that pollutes the land and oceans with ever larger quantities of debris, that destroys the dignity of individuals by subjecting them to a forced mechanized existence can hardly be called an advance over the simpler hunting and gathering existence of prehistoric times. But this argument, though romantically appealing, doesn't hold up. The primitive tribes permitted far less individual freedom than does modern society. Ancient wars were committed with far less moral justification than modern ones. A technology that produces debris can find, and is finding, ways of disposing of it without ecological upset. And the school-book pictures of primitive man sometimes omit some of the detractions of his primitive life--the pain, the disease, famine, the hard labor needed just to stay alive. From the agony of bare existence to modern life can be soberly described only as upward progress, and the sole agent for this progress is quite clearly reason itself."
--Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)
We will not provide a total view of the movement "from the agony of bare existence to modern life," as Pirsig puts it; this course will, however, examine the emergence, and the crisis, of modern politics, society and culture in Europe. It will be left to you to decide whether or not this has been progress.
This course is an introduction to the history of Europe in this grand and cataclysmic age, from the Enlightenment to the total wars of the twentieth century and after (1715 to the present). We will survey some defining episodes of European history--the French revolution, the Napoleonic wars, the revolutions of 1848, the scramble for empire, the world wars of the twentieth century, the Holocaust, the democratic revolutions of 1989. We will examine developments in society, culture and ideas--industrialization and urbanization, changing gender roles, the emergence of new aesthetic forms (from the novel to the film), scientific explanations of racial difference, mass culture and the birth of a consumer society. We will look to Europe's relationship with the wider world, from the grand colonial projects of the nineteenth century, to decolonization and immigration in the twentieth. Throughout, we will ask: How were these developments experienced? How were they remembered and retold? What is their legacy? Course readings/viewings include a lively selection of original sources--recollections of revolution, classic political statements, soldiers' accounts of the experience of war, a worker's autobiography, novels, propaganda posters, newsreels, historical films. There are no prerequisites, but for a desire to escape "the most degrading of intellectual slaveries--that of the exclusive present."
There is simply too much history here; if we aimed to cover the principal political events of the major powers of Europe, we would be reduced to drawing schematic outlines. We will study the major political developments of the period, from a broad perspective. But we will emphasize a set of issues at the heart of modern European history, examining these in different times and places: wars and revolutions, relations between Europe and a wider world, the search for solutions to the problems of modern development, cultural and intellectual reactions to change, and the continuing disenchantment with political panaceas.
There are three short writing assignments for the course. Details about each assignment will follow.
Before writing your papers, look to the handout, "Paper Style Sheet, Plagiarism, Grading Guidelines." For guidelines to analytic papers, see the handout, "Writing Analytic Papers for History 111."
Late papers will be penalized.
There is a required coursepack, available at Ulrich's Bookstore as of this Friday. Tel: 741-9669. The following required books are (or will soon be) available at Shaman Drum Bookstore on South State St. Tel: 662-7407. You may order them from their website (http://www.shamandrum.com). These readings will be available in the Reserve Room of the Undergraduate Library.
You have two readings that are not listed on the schedule. These are included for the second paper assignment.
There are three required films for the course. These will be shown in Angell Hall, Aud. C, at 8:00 pm on the following dates. If you miss the regular showing of the film, you can arrange to see it at the Film and Video Library on the second floor of the Undergraduate Library.