HISTORY 105-401: EUROPE FROM 1660 TO THE PRESENT

 

             S 2005

 

Professor Jeremy Popkin                 Office: 1725 POT

                                        Phone: 257‑1415

  email: popkin@uky.edu

 

Time: Tues. 5:30-8 pm, CB 235         Office Hrs: Tu 3:30-5 pm, W 3:30-4:30 or by appt.

 

Course Content:  This course will cover the political, social, economic and cultural revolutions that transformed Europe from a tradition‑oriented, agricultural society to a modern industrial one.  Major topics will include absolutism and the Enlightenment, the French and industrial revolutions, the rise of Germany, the spread of European imperialism and the interaction of European and non-western cultures, the impact of the two world wars, the Russian revolution, and the state of Europe today.

 

Course Learning Goals: (1) Students completing this course will have a basic knowledge of the major events and changes in European history from 1660 to the present; (2) Students will gain experience in understanding and interpreting a wide variety of historical source materials.

 

Course Web Page:  The course syllabus, course assignments, and other materials concerning this course are posted on Professor Popkin’s Web site:  www.uky.edu/~popkin.

 

Course Requirements:   1. regular attendance at classes and                               sections and active class participation.  Attendance will be taken and unexcused absences may affect your grade.             

2. completion of required readings (see below)  

3. writing assignments based on assigned readings (assignments will be given out in class)

4. 2 in‑class midterms and a final exam.  Exams include essay        questions, IDs and multiple‑choice items. Final exam is comprehensive.

 


Grading:  Class participation 25%; writing assignments 25%; midterms 12.5% each; final 25%

 

Required Readings (to be purchased by each student)

Wiesner, Ruff, Wheeler, Discovering the Western Past, 5th ed., vol. II: Since 1500 (Houghton Mifflin) ISBN 0-618-31293-5

Olaudah Equiano, The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Dover) ISBN 0-486-040661-X

McCord, The Calling of Katie Makanya (Wiley) ISBN 0-471-24691-3

Levi, Survival in Auschwitz (Touchstone) ISBN 0—684-826-801

Hammond Historical Atlas of the Modern World 0-8437-7461-4

 

In addition to these books, there will be handouts given out in class which also count as part of the reading assignments.  Be sure to keep your handouts so that you can use them to study for exams.

 

Recommended Reading:  Noble et al., Western Civilization: The Continuing Experiment, Brief Edition (Houghton Mifflin) 0-395-88550-7 (or any other standard textbook on modern European history)

 

NB ISBN numbers are provided for your convenience if you order your textbooks via the Internet.  This is the best way to be sure you are getting the proper edition for this course.

 

Be sure to bring the relevant books to class each week.  Bring your Hammond Historical Atlas to all class sessions.

 

Writing Assignments

 

 Writing assignments for this class will be graded both for understanding of historical material and on the basis of ability to write clearly and grammatically.

 

There will be four graded writing assignments during the semester.  Three of these will be based on questions about the required readings. The fourth will be a book review of a book chosen from a reading list of works on European history not on our reading list that will be given out in class.

 

There will be a number of ungraded writing assignments, ranging in length from a sentence to a page.  These will be given out and collected in class.

 

 

                        Schedule of Reading Assignments

 

The reading assignments are shown in italics on the syllabus. Reading assignments are to be completed BEFORE each week’s section meeting.

 

NB:  Each class meeting will cover two topics, one “before break” and one after.  Be sure to do the readings for both halves of the class beforehand.

 

18 Jan.: Introduction to the Course:  Europe in 1660.  Readings: in-class handout.

 

25 Jan.: (I) Age of Absolutism: Discovering Western Past, 38-64.

(II) Peasant life: Discovering Western Past, 95-115

 

1 Feb.: (I) The European Enlightenment: Discovering Western Past, 65-94

      (II) Europe and the Slave Trade: Olaudah Equiano (all)

 

*8 Feb.: (I) The French Revolution of 1789: A New Set of Ideals (handout)

(II) The French Revolution: Popular Participation: Discovering Western Past, 116-42

 

First essay assignment due

 

15 Feb: (I) The Napoleonic era (handout)

      (II) The First Industrial Revolution: Discovering Western Past, 143-77

 

*22 Feb: (I) 1ST MIDTERM (covers lectures, readings in Discovering the Western Past, chs. 2-6, and Olaudah Equiano)

      (II) Revolutions of 1848 and Unification of Germany (handout)

 

1 Mar.:(I) Liberalism and Socialism: Discovering Western Past, 178-209

      (II) Urban Life: Discovering Western Past, 210-46

 

8 Mar.: (I) Age of Imperialism: Discovering Western Past, 247-68

      (II) The ‘Woman Question’: Discovering Western Past, 269-97

 

15 Mar.: Spring Break, no class

 

*22 Mar.: (I) Europe and the non-European world: Katie Makanya, 1-137

      (II) Europe and non-European world, cont.: Katie Makanya, 140-253

 

      Second essay assignment due

 

*29 Mar.: (I) 2nd MIDTERM (covers lectures, readings in Discovering the Western Past, chs. 7-10 and Katie Makanya)

      (II) Second Industrial Revolution (handout)

 

5 Apr.: (I) The Great War: Discovering Western Past, 298-334

      (II) Russian Revolution and Interwar period (handout)

 

12 Apr: (I) Rise of Hitler: Discovering Western Past, 335-64

      (II) The Holocaust: Survival in Auschwitz, all

 

*19 Apr.: (I) Cold War: Discovering Western Past, 365-402

      (II) Postwar era: Discovering Western Past, 403-34

 

      Third essay assignment due

 

26 Apr.: (I) Europe in a New Millenium: Discovering Western Past, 435-63

      (II) Concluding discussion

 

3 May: FINAL EXAM (5:30-7:30 pm, no break, in regular classroom). Covers all material studied during semester.

                                     *****

 

 

 

Course Policies

 

1. Late Work and Make‑Up Exams:  Late papers are not accepted and make‑up exams are not administered unless students requesting them can produce documented evidence of illness, accident or other legitimate cause beyond their control accounting for absence.  Students who will miss an exam or assignment because of a scheduled university activity must notify the professor or teaching assistant and make arrangements to make up the work before the scheduled due date.

 

2. Plagiarism: Plagiarism and the penalties for it are defined in the UK Student Handbook.  Students submitting work which is not their own will receive an 'E' for that assignment and will not be allowed to make it up.  Students should keep materials used in preparing written assignments until after final grades are received (e.g., notes, rough drafts of written assignments).  Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, any unacknowledged use of material copied from another source, whether that source is a book, journal, Web site, or another student’s paper.  History Department instructors have access to some very effective Web search engines for detecting plagiarism—don’t take a chance!

 

3. Rights, Responsibilities, Attitudes:  I take my responsibilities as a teacher seriously and I expect you to take your responsibilities as students just as seriously.  Students are expected to be prepared for class, to be in class on time and not disrupt sessions by arriving late or leaving early, and to be attentive and ready to participate during class. No sleeping, crossword puzzles, private conversations, or instant-messaging during class!  The schedule for this class (one meeting per week, in the early evening) poses some special problems.  In order to make this class as good a learning experience as possible, please note the following class rules: (1) no eating during class! You may bring drinks in spill-proof containers. If you need a snack, eat it before class or during break. (2) I will schedule a short break about half-way through the class (about 10 min.), on the understanding that you will be back in your seat promptly.  If necessary, I will take attendance again at the end of break and you may be counted absent for half the class if you are late returning from break.  (3) Break is your opportunity to use the rest room: do not disrupt class by leaving at other times except in an emergency.

 

4. Modern Technology: Recording devices are not permitted during lectures and discussions, except for students who have a valid physical reason for needing them (e.g., inability to take written notes).  Students wearing earphones during class will be invited to go be bored somewhere else.  Beepers, cellular phones and other devices which may cause a distraction must be turned off during class.

 

5. Written Assignments:  Formal written assignments should be typed or done on a word-processor.  Instructors will indicate which assignments need to be typed.  Copies of papers that have been xeroxed are not acceptable unless an original copy of the paper is also shown to the professor. Midterm and final exams must be done in standard blue book.