300-400 level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels. The department is trying to insure that some 400 level courses, although substantially more difficult, are also small in size; they thus may be suitable for graduate students.
HIST 330 German History, 1815-Present
Gassert
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
This course provides an in-depth look at two hundred years of German history. It begins with the reconstruction of the German states after the end the Napoleonic wars. After liberal constitutionalism failed in 1848, the second empire was founded under strong conservative auspices in 1870/71. Soon eclipsing other European countries with its economic, cultural, and political dynamism, the rapidly modernizing Germany was led into two disastrous wars. World Wars I and II destroyed Germany 's hegemony over Europe and undermined European civilization. A much reduced Germany remained at the core of the Cold War conflict that began after 1945. West German reconstruction took place within the process of Western European integration and the unprecedented prosperity of the postwar boom. West German democracy also developed against the backdrop of the "coming to terms" with the Nazi past and in competition with the Communist East German alternative. The latter was strongly influenced by the Soviet model and developed its own distinct identity. The divided nation reunified during the collapse of the Soviet Empire in 1990. The course ends with a discussion of the current state of unified Germany within a unifying European community. Equal weight is given to political developments, social, and cultural history. Internal as well as external factors in the rise and fall of Germany and its ultimate democratization and Europeanization are also discussed.
Course Syllabus (PDF)
