Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Europe, 1789-1914 

Fall 2010 (42.326.01) Weds, 6-9 PM

M. Hickey  Old Science Hall Office 130  570-389-4161 mhickey@bloomu.edu

Office Hours:  T-Th. 2:00-3:30; Weds 2:00-2:45 and 5:30-6:00; or by appointment

Navigation links for this syllabus

• course description    
• graded assignments    
• course policy notices
• required texts 
• participation   
• précis papers     
• term paper
• weekly schedule of assignments

Warning re. plagiarism.       How to use endnote citation form

Course Description:

This course is an introductory seminar on nineteenth century European history.  Historians often refer to the "long nineteenth century," meaning the period from 1789 (the start of the French Revolution) to 1914 (the start of the "Great War," World War One).  This course will cover the period 1789-1914.  We will begin with an overview of the entire period that considers the entire European continent.  We then will focus on aspects of three "national" histories: we will focus first on Great Britain, then France, and then Germany.  At the same time, we will examine different methods of historical inquiry and different forms of historical writing.       

The course is organized as a reading seminar.  You have common assigned readings for each week, which generally range between 100 and 200 pages.  At each meeting we will discuss what we have read in common for that week.  Each student also will conduct independent readings towards completion of a term paper.

The main course objectives are to help you:

• Develop a base of factual knowledge regarding 19th century European history
• Develop familiarity with several interpretive frameworks for understanding the 19th century European History 
• Develop critical reading skills (identifying, comparing, contrasting, and critiquing) necessary to assess other historians' arguments
• Develop communications skills with reference to conventions of historical writing and verbal argument 

The fundamental topics covered in the course are:   

• The impact of the French Revolution on 19th century European thought and politics
• The impact of economic development and the expansion of industrial capitalist market economies on 19th century European society
• The political, economic and social ramifications of demographic change in 19th century Europe
• Patterns of state building and state formation in 19th century Europe
• The development and elaboration of ideological systems (e.g., Liberalism, Conservativism, Socialism) in 19th century Europe
• The development of mass politics and political parties/movements
• The development and elaboration of social class identities and their political ramifications in 19th century Europe
• The development and elaboration of national identities and their political ramifications in 19th century Europe
• The development and elaboration of gender and religious identities and their political ramifications in 19th century Europe
• Patterns of popular protest and dynamics of revolution (and counter-revolution) in 19th century Europe
• The development and elaboration of diplomatic alliances in 19th century Europe and their ramifications for war and peace

Reading is central to the study of history.  It is crucial that you complete all reading assignments on schedule. 

The course readings and seminar discussions are designed to:

• Provide you with access to basic factual information about 19th Century European history

• Provide you with means to contextualize the relationship between various national histories in 19th century Europe

• Provide you with means to contextualize the relationship between 19th Century European history and European history in other time periods

• Provide you with means to contextualize the relationship between the history of Europe and that of other regions in the nineteenth century

• Introduce you to a variety of interpretive and methodological frameworks for understanding modern history

• Develop critical reading skills that will help you analyze, compare, contrast, and assess historians' interpretations of the past

• Provide you with exercises to improve your communication skills

Graded Assignments in the course will include:

• Participation in Class Discussions, which help assess your progress in developing a base of information about the topic, conceptualizing that information historically, comprehending interpretive frameworks, reading critically, and communicating effectively orally.

• Short Précis Papers which help assess your progress in comprehending interpretive frameworks, reading critically, and communicating effectively in writing.

• A Term Paper which helps assess your progress in developing a base of information about the topic, conceptualizing that information historically, comprehending interpretive frameworks, reading critically, and communicating effectively in writing.

Graded assignments:

Your course grade is based upon the following components:  seminar participation (20 percent); five précis papers (10 percent each, for a total of 50 percent); and a term paper (30 percent).  Each component is described in greater detail below. 

You must complete each assignment as directed in a manner that is

• factually correct,
• employs clear and sound logic,
• provides appropriate evidence,
• follows technical conventions of historical writing (including use of source citations),
• and uses clear, grammatical English.

Grade scale: A final grade of "A" in this course means that your cumulative score on all assignments adds up to 93 percent or more of possible points.

• A=93-100
• A-=90-92
• B+=88-89
• B=83-87
• B-80-82
• C+=78-79
• C=73-77
• C-=70-72
• D+= 68-69
• D=60-67

COURSE POLICY NOTICES:

Verification that you have read the syllabus:  You must verify that you have read the syllabus and are aware of course policies and of assignments that must be completed to pass the course. 

• By the end of the second week of the course, you must fill out the linked form verifying that you have read this syllabus and that you are aware of course policies and of assignments that must be completed to pass the course. 

• If you have questions about the syllabus, course policies, or assignments, it is your responsibility to ask those questions (in class, or after class, or in my office hours, or by email).  It is my responsibility to answer those questions as clearly and directly as possible.  

• I will not grade any of your written assignments until you have verified that you have read the syllabus (etc).

• This is the link to the Verification document form

Plagiarism Policy:  I will enforce university policy on plagiarism.  I will give you a failing grade for any assignment that is plagiarized (in part or in full), and I will file a formal report with the Office of Student Standards.  See the linked Warning re. plagiarism.   See also the link  How to use endnote citation form.

Attendance Policy:  You must attend every class session. 

• In keeping with university policy, absences will be excused only if they are discussed with (and approved by) me in advance or if documented by the university administration.  
• Your course grade will fall in direct ratio to the number of unexcused absences.  (To put this in practical terms, if you have an A on all assignments, but you have 4 unexcused absences, your grade will fall to a C-.)

Late Paper Policy:  Unless indicated in class, papers are due by 6:00 PM on the date noted in the syllabus.  I will deduct 10 percent from the grade of any assignment for each day that it is late.

Required texts:

• Gildea, Robert.  Barricades and Borders:  Europe 1900-1914. Second Edition.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. 

• Hobsbawm, Eric and Terence Ranger, eds.  The Invention of Tradition. New York:  Cambridge University Press, 1992. 

• Sewell, William H., Jr.  Work and Revolution in France:  The Language of Labor from the Old Regime to 1848.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1981.
• Weber, Eugen.  Peasants into Frenchmen:  The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914.  Stanford:  Stanford University Press, 1976.

• Blackbourn, David.  History of Germany, 1780-1918:  The Long Nineteenth Century.  Second Edition.  Oxford:  Blackwell, 2003. 

Participation (20 percent of grade):

This course will only work well if you participate.  You must attend each session having read and thought about the assigned readings for that week. 

• I expect you to take notes while you read.  Keep a readings notebook.   Highlighting is basically useless--you must write out your notes!
• Use your notes to write down main points made by the authors, to answer any study questions that I provide before class (I will link these to the syllabus), and to record questions you want to discuss in class.
• Each week you must bring these notes, with the book assigned for that week.  Our discussions will be based upon your reading notes.  I will not tolerate BS; you must actually do the readings and think about what you read.

Your participation grade will be based upon the quality of your contributions to our discussions.  You can contribute by asking as well as by answering questions, by offering thoughtful critiques of what others say as well as by presenting your own interpretations, etc.  But do not try to "fake" your way through discussion.

Participation will account for 20 percent of your course grade.  As already noted, your course grade will fall in direct ratio to the number of your unexcused absences.

5 Précis papers (10 percent each)

For each book that we read in common this semester, you will write a 1-2 page précis. 

A précis is a very sharply focused summary.  In your papers, without quoting the text, you must explain

• the main question or "problem" that the author is trying to solve in the essay or book

• the author's thesis

• the basic structure of the author's argument (an outline of the main points)

• the most important evidence that the author presents to prove that argument.  

Notice that  I am not asking if you "liked" the reading, or if you thought it was "interesting," or even if you agreed with the author.

I'm asking you to do something that is deceptively "simple"---explain the argument. 

If you understand what you are reading, then you should be able to explain the main point in one or two pages.

• Paper 1:  On the Gildea book.   You each will be assigned a specific chapter from this book.  Your task is to explain the argument (the thesis, the main point) of that chapter in 1-2 pages without quoting.
• Paper 2:  On the Hobsbawm and Ranger book.  You each will be assigned one specific essay (chapter) from this book.  Your task is to explain the argument (the thesis, the main point) of that chapter in 1-2 pages without quoting.
• Paper 3:  On the Sewell book.   You will write a 1-2 page paper that explains the argument (the thesis, the main point) of this entire book, without quoting. 
• Paper 4:  On the Weber book.  You will write a 1-2 page paper that explains the argument (the thesis, the main point) of this entire book, without quoting. 
• Paper 5:  On the Blackbourn book.  You each will be assigned one specific section of the book (Part I, Part II, or Part III), each of which includes three chapters.  You will write a 1-2 page paper that explains the argument (the thesis, the main point) of that specific part of the book, without quoting. 

The papers are due by 6:00 PM on the dates indicated in weekly schedule.

I will base your précis grades on the accuracy, clarity, and logic of your papers.  (Note that clarity includes use of proper grammar, spelling and punctuation).  Each précis will account for 10 percent of your course grade.  

Paper grades will fall by 10 percent for each day that the paper is late.

Term Paper (30 percent of course grade):

• Pick any European country except for Great Britain, France, or Germany.   
• Identify a topic that interests you regarding that country (it must fall within the historical period 1789-1914). 
• By the end of Week III, give me a brief written statement that defines your topic.  If I think that your topic is "do-able," I will ask you to present me with a reading/source list.  If not, I will ask you to pick a different topic. 
• Locate scholarly historical works on that topic; these must be monographic studies (not text books, not popular histories, and not primary sources) written by historians and published by university presses or by commercial presses known for serious historical monographs.  (If you do not know how to use the library's data bases and other tools to locate books on your topic, ask me for a tutorial! 
• Type a list of at least four potential readings on your topic that fit the criteria above.  Give me your list by the end of Week V.  Your list must indicate the author's full name (last name first), the book's full title, the pace of publication, publisher, and year of publication.   (Example:  Sewell, William H., Jr.  Work and Revolution in France:  The Language of Labor from the Old Regime to 1848.  Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1981.)   I will indicate which readings are acceptable.
• Read at least one of the books on your list that I have marked as acceptable for this assignment.
• Write a 7-10 page term paper (double spaced, 1 inch margins, with correct endnote form for citations) that analyzes your approved reading, compares it to what we encountered in our common readings, and fits what you have learned about your topic into the broader context of 19th century European history. 

Your paper must include the following elements: 

• a clear and very detailed explanation of the thesis of the book (or books) that you read on your topic;
• a brief discussion that explains that author's (or those authors') methodology and interpretative framework;
• a brief discussion that compares and contrasts the arguments in your individualized reading to what (if anything) the Gildea book had to say about your topic regarding "your" country;
• a brief discussion that compares and contrasts the methodology and interpretive framework of your individualized reading to the methodologies and frameworks employed in our other common readings (Hobsbawm and Ranger, Sewell, Weber, and Blackbourn);
• a detailed discussion that places what you learned about your topic into the broader context of events and developments elsewhere in Europe in the 19th century.

You must provide proper endnotes for all quoted, paraphrased or summarized sentences or passages.    

The paper will be due at our final exam session and will account for 30 percent of your grade. 

I will base your term paper grade on the paper's accuracy, clarity, logic, use of sources, and use of proper citation form.  Remember, clarity includes proper use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Weekly schedule of assignments:  This is a provisional schedule--I may find it necessary to change the dates of some assignments during the semester.

Week I:  1 September.  Basic Housekeeping. 

Discussion of Syllabus and Assignments. 

Course Overview.

Week II:  8 September.

Overview of 19th Century European History, Part 1:  1800-1850

Reading for discussion this week:  Gildea, Part 1  (chapters 1-5)  Link to study questions.

"Verification" document due to me by the end of the work day on Thursday

This is the link to the Verification document form

Week III:  15 September. 

Overview of 19th Century European History, Part 2:  1850-1880

Reading for discussion this week:  Gildea, Part 2 (chapters 6-9)  Link to study questions.

Deadline for Term Paper Topic Approval 

Week IV:  22 September. 

Overview of 19th Century European History, Part 3:  1880-1914

Reading for discussion this week:  Gildea, Part 3 (chapters 10-15)    You should write out a practice précis for each chapter.  We will use those to start our discussion.

Précis #1 (on a specifically assigned chapter from Gildea) due by 6 pm on Friday. 

Either put your paper in my mailbox in the History Department office (not in or under my door!), or send it to me as an email attachment in MS Word (I will not accept papers that require using other programs). The file name must include YOUR LAST NAME.  Your name must be on the paper, also.                                                       

Week V:  29 September.  

Historians and the notion of "invented traditions"  (focus on Great Britain)

Reading for discussion this week:  Hobsbawm and Ranger, chapters 1-4  

Be ready to discuss chapter 1; write a practice précis for chapter 2 and chapter 3; be  prepared to answer linked questions on Cannadine (chapter 4)

Deadline for approval of term paper reading list.

Week VI:   6 October.

The 1789 Revolution in France and the analysis of language to understand urban social and political history

Reading for discussion this week:  Sewell, Preface and chapters 1-6.  See linked study questions.

Précis #2 (on a specifically assigned chapter from Hobsbawm and Ranger) due by 6 pm on Friday. 

Either put your paper in my mailbox in the History Department office (not in or under my door!), or send it to me as an email attachment in MS Word (I will not accept papers that require using other programs). The file name must include YOUR LAST NAME.  Your name must be on the paper, also.

Week VII:  13 October.

The analysis of language to understand urban social and political history in France circa 1800-1850

Reading for discussion this week:  Sewell, chapters 7-12.  See linked study questions.

Précis #3 (on the entire Sewell book) due by 6 pm on Friday. 

Either put your paper in my mailbox in the History Department office (not in or under my door!), or send it to me as an email attachment in MS Word (I will not accept papers that require using other programs). The file name must include YOUR LAST NAME.  Your name must be on the paper, also.

Week VIII:  20 October.    

Rural Society and Nation Building in France:  using anthropological methods to assist historical research, part 1

Reading for discussion this week:  Weber, Introduction and Part 1 (chapters 1-11)  

You should write a practice précis for each chapter.

Week IX: 27 October. 

Rural Society and Nation Building in France:  using anthropological methods to assist historical research, part 2

Reading for discussion this week:  Weber, Part II (chapters 12-20)

You should write a practice précis for each chapter.

Week X:  3 November.  

Rural Society and Nation Building in France:  using anthropological methods to assist historical research, part 3

Reading for discussion this week:  Weber, Part III (chapters 21-29)

You should write a practice précis for each chapter.

Précis #4 (on the entire Weber book) due by 6 pm on Friday. 

Either put your paper in my mailbox in the History Department office (not in or under my door!), or send it to me as an email attachment in MS Word (I will not accept papers that require using other programs). The file name must include YOUR LAST NAME.  Your name must be on the paper, also.

Week XI: 10 November. 

Approaching the "big picture" of national history:  Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century, part 1

Reading for discussion this week:  Blackbourn, both Prefaces and Part I (chapters 1-3)

By now, you should have enough practice with answering study questions and writing précis papers that you begin to focus n the author's main points right away.

Week XII:  17 November.   No class this week.  I will be presenting a paper at a historians' conference in California.  Use the time to catch up (or get ahead) on your reading for your term paper!

Week XIII:  24 November.  NO CLASS THIS WEEK (THANKSGIVING BREAK)

Week XIV:  1 December.

Approaching the "big picture" of national history:  Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century, part 2

Reading for discussion this week:  Blackbourn, Part II (chapters 4-6)

Week XV:  8 December. 

Approaching the "big picture" of national history:  Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century, part 3

Reading for discussion this week:  Blackbourn, Part III (chapters 7-9)

Précis #5 (on either Part I, Part II, or Part III of the Blackbourn book) due by 6 pm on Friday. 

Either put your paper in my mailbox in the History Department office (not in or under my door!), or send it to me as an email attachment in MS Word (I will not accept papers that require using other programs). The file name must include YOUR LAST NAME.  Your name must be on the paper, also.

TERM PAPER DUE AT FINAL EXAM SESSION