HY 300 Section 007: Special Studies in History
Fall 2011
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Janek Wasserman
Syllabus subject to change.
Fascism was the most significant new political ideology of the twentieth century. It is also the most controversial because of its legacy of war and genocide. In fact, the term itself is still hotly contested. This course will attempt to address these controversies, by examining the circumstances that contributed to the rise (and subsequent decline) of this phenomenon. This exploration will extend well beyond the borders of Italy and Germany, the countries most associated with fascism, to look at the movement in a broader European context. It will also go beyond mere political and military history to look at daily lives of men and women under authoritarian rule in interwar Europe. This is an advanced history course designed for majors and other interested students, and although there are no formal prerequisites for the course, completion of an introductory course in European history (such as the department’s Western Civilization sequence) is strongly recommended.
By the end of the semester, students in HY 300 will be able to:
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
NOTE: schedule is provisional and subject to change
PART I: Fascism as a concept and its ideological origins
Wednesday 24 August Introduction to course
Friday 26 August First Discussion
Reading: Kallis, 45-56, 89-100; Payne, 3-14; newspaper search
Monday 29 August What is Fascism? Understanding ‘generic’ fascism
Reading: Kallis, 57-81, Payne, 462-70
Wednesday 31 August Nineteenth-century origins: Nationalism and Anti-Semitism
Reading: Payne, 35-70; Griffin sources on pre-1914 Germany
(electronic reserve)
Friday 2 September Discussion on nationalism and fascist concepts
Reading: Sources on anti-Semitism (ER)
Monday 5 September: NO CLASS – Labor Day
Wednesday 7 September French thought and the leftist roots of fascism
Reading: Kallis, 165-173; Sternhell, 36-70 (ER); 78-91 (optional)
Friday 9 September Discussion on ideological origins and the prewar period
Reading: Kallis, 129-136; Payne, 80-87
Monday 12 September Cultural Crisis and World War One
Reading: Griffin on pre-1918 Italy (ER); Payne, 23-34; De Grazia, 18-30
Wednesday 14 September The Bolshevik Revolution and the Aftermath of WWI
Reading: Payne, 71-79; Kallis, 120-28, 137-41
Friday 16 September Discussion
Reading: Payne, 87-110; sources on early Fascism (ER)
PART II: Early Fascism in Italy and Beyond
Monday 19 September Italian Fascism in the 1920s
Reading: Payne, 110-28; Kallis, 466-74
Wednesday 21 September Viewing of Novacento
Reading: De Grazia, 1-13, 30-76
Friday 23 September Discussion on 1920s Fascism, especially women’s roles
SHORT PAPER DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
Monday 26 September Who supported the Fascists/Women’s roles in the movement
Reading: Kallis, 278-285; 381-390
Wednesday 28 September Discussion
Reading: De Grazia, Ch. 4, 6
Friday 30 September CLASS CANCELLED
Monday 3 October Fascist Social Policy
Reading: Ben-Ghiat, Ch. 4
Wednesday 5 October Culture under Fascism
Reading: De Grazia, Ch. 7, Ben-Ghiat, Ch. 1
Friday 7 October Discussion on Fascist culture and Western Europe
Reading: Ben-Ghiat, Ch. 2-3
Monday 10 October Fascism in Western Europe: France and Spain
Reading: Payne, 252-267; Kallis, 475-81; Soucy, Ch. 2
Wednesday 12 October MIDTERM
Friday 14 October Treno Popolare and Western Europe discussion
Monday 17 October Fascism in Central and Eastern Europe
Reading: Payne, 245-52, 267-89; Griffin on Romania and Hungary (ER); Kallis, 195-222
PART III: The Rise of Nazism
Wednesday 19 October Weimar Germany and the early years of the Nazis
Reading: Payne, 147-61
Friday 21 October Discussion on European fascisms
Monday 24 October Depression, Electoral Success, and the Death of Weimar
Reading: 25 Points and Mein Kampf excerpts; Peukert, 21-48
Wednesday 26 October The “Seizure of Power” and early Nazi rule
Reading: Peukert, 49-85; Griffin on early rule (ER)
Friday 28 October NO CLASS – MIDTERM BREAK
Monday 31 October Nazi Social Policy
Reading: Burleigh and Wippermann (B and W), Ch. 2-3
Wednesday 2 November Triumph of the Will
Reading: Peukert, Ch. 6; Herzog, Introduction and Ch. 1 (optional)
Friday 4 November Discussion on early Nazism and their social policy
Monday 7 November Nazi Culture and Gender Policy
Reading: B and W, Ch. 7-8; Kallis, 407-13
Wednesday 9 November Radicalization of Nazi persecution
Reading: B and W, Ch. 4-6
Friday 11 November Discussion
Reading: B and W, Ch. 1
Final Paper Topic Due
Monday 14 November Opposition and Resistance
Reading: Peukert, Ch. 8 and 13; Kallis, 442-52
PART IV: The “Second Wave” of fascism and the coming of war
Wednesday 16 November European responses to the rise of Italy and Germany
Reading: Kallis, 223-231, 241-8; Soucy, Ch. 3-4
Friday 18 November Discussion
Reading: Orwell (ER); Ben-Ghiat, Ch. 5
Monday 21 November Spanish Civil War and the lead-up to European war
Reading: Griffin war excerpts (ER)
No Class Wednesday and Friday HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Monday 28 November Outbreak of war and fascism’s spread
Reading: Ben-Ghiat, Ch. 6; Kallis, 367-73, 414-21; Payne, 355-80
Wednesday 30 November Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
Reading: Kallis, 323-331, 341-358; revisit B and W
Friday 2 December End of War
Paper Due
Monday 5 December End of Fascism? Postwar Europe
Reading: Payne, 496-520
Wednesday 7 December Fascism in modern memory
Reading: E-Learning Documents; Kallis, Ch. 10, 15, 16
Friday 9 December Final Discussion
FINAL EXAM is Tuesday, December 13, 8-10:30am
Class Attendance and Participation (20% of course grade)
One short (3-5 page) paper based on class readings (15% of course grade): The paper will deal with primary source readings from the early portion of the course. Detailed information about the short paper assignment will be distributed at a later time.
Midterm (15% of course grade): This test will evaluate your knowledge of material covered in the first half of the course. It will consist of a mix of short-answer identifications of key terms and concepts and a longer essay.
One longer paper (7-10 pages) (25% of course grade): Students, in consultation with me, will select their own topics for a longer research paper that will be due at the beginning of class on Friday December 2. Papers will be expected to use both primary and secondary sources and to include properly formatted footnotes, and a bibliography [the bibliography is not included in the page limit.] Students will be required to submit paper proposals for their papers. More information about these requirements will be distributed at a later time.
Final Exam (25% of course grade): All material covered in the second half of the course, including lectures, course readings, and class discussions will be eligible for the exam, which will consist of identifications, short answers, and an essay.
Papers are due by the beginning of class on the date due. Extensions will not be granted. Please hand papers in to me in hard copy before class begins. Papers handed in to me after class begins will be penalized 1/3 letter grade. Papers that have not reached me by the end of class on the due date will be counted as one day late. Late papers will be graded down one full letter grade for the first weekday late and 1/3 letter grade for each subsequent weekday late. For example, an A quality paper would receive a B if it is handed in one day late, a B- if two days late, a C+ if three days late, etc.
Exam Make-up Policy: Make-up exams will be allowed only for students with legitimate, documented excuses (illness, family emergency, official university functions) that are made known to the instructor before the exam. Make-up exams are administered on Saturday mornings according to Departmental policy.
Attendance is mandatory, will be recorded, and will be factored into your course grade. Excused absences, limited to 1. illness; 2. family emergencies; and 3. official university functions, will not be penalized as long as they are fully documented and said documentation is provided promptly (in the case of university functions, in advance of the absence.) We will pass around a sign-in sheet every day, and the remaining 10% of the final grade will depend on that attendance record. Students may miss 4 meetings, but after that we will assign an attendance grade as follows: 100-90% attendance will mean an A, 89-80% a B, 79-70% a C, and so on. Please come to class on time. I’m going to start class on time and if you come late you’ll miss part of the class.
Students will be expected to complete all course readings and attend each discussion section prepared to discuss the readings. Good discussion presupposes that students have not only read the material but have also thought about it in a meaningful fashion in advance. Students are required to bring a copy of all readings assigned for a particular day with them to that day’s class. When readings are available electronically, you should print a copy and bring it with you to class.
Keep in mind: this course has a fairly heavy reading load and assignments are meant for the entire week and not simply the night before discussion. I reserve the right to assign quizzes if I feel that students are not keeping up with the reading.
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The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
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