TWELVE EVENTS THAT SHOOK MODERN EUROPE
HSTEU 251 / JSIS 251
Professor James Felak
Office Hours—Wednesday, Noon-1:00 p.m.
Or by appointment
E-mail: felak@uw.edu
Office: Smith Hall 112-B
COURSE OVERVIEW:
This course will acquaint students with twelve key events in the history of modern Europe, events that had significant impact both in their time and after, and in helping to shape the world in which we live today. These are not intended to be the definitive top twelve events of modern European history; indeed, there are dozens of events that could be candidates for a course like this.
Events were chosen based on the following criteria:
--their significance for their own time
--their impact on later historical developments
--their role in shaping the world in which we live today
--their connection, wholly or in part, to the major themes of the course, that is:
*revolution
*war
*nationalism
*democracy and dictatorship
*ideology
COURSE TOPICS:
I-the French Revolution
II-the Napoleonic Wars and their Aftermath
III-the Industrial Revolution
IV-the Revolutions of 1848
V-the Unification of Germany
VI-World War I
VII-the Bolshevik Revolution
VIII-the Nazi Revolution
IX-World War II
X-the Collapse of Europe’s Colonial Empires
XI-the Revolutions of 1989
XII-the Development of the European Union
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Midterm examination: 40%
Final examination: 40%
Two document assignments: 10% each
Exams will be based on the course material covered in lectures, as well as readings from the main text, Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History by Perry M. Rogers. Document assignments will be based on documents from the Rogers text. The text is a collection of primary sources related to modern European history. Particular documents will be assigned in connection with the events under discussion.
IMPORTANT DATES:
Monday, 1/22 at Noon--first document assignment due [via e-mail]
Wednesday, 1/31 at 1:30 p.m.--midterm examination
Monday, 2/19 at Noon--second document assignment due
Monday, 3/11 at 2:30 p.m.--final examination
TEXT:
Perry M. Rogers, Ed., Aspects of Western Civilization: Problems and Sources in History, Volume 2, Seventh Edition
--this collection is essential for this course for three reasons
1-the introductory sections of each chapter serve as the textbook for our course
2-documents from Rogers will be referred to frequently in course lectures
3-there will be two assignments, as well as some parts of the course exams, based on documents from Rogers.
(be sure to get the proper volume and edition)