Course Description
This course examines the paths of modern German history since the first national unification in 1871, up to and including the unification of the postwar western and eastern German states in 1990. Major topics will include:
•the social politics of the German Empire;
•the rise of mass political, social, and cultural movements including nationalism, social democracy and antisemitism;
•the roots of German imperialism and expansionist aims;
•the issue of Germany’s responsibility for the first World War;
•the contentious, brilliant, tragic history of Germany’s first full-fledged republic, the Weimar Republic;
•Nazi Germany: causes and consequences of the Nazis’ rise to power, and the realities of life in Nazi Germany;
•the Holocaust;
•the post-second World War division of Germany in the Cold War, including both the eastern and western German states;
•the fall of the Wall, the reunification of Germany in 1990, and Germany in the twenty-first century.
Throughout the course we will address major controversies raised by modern German history, including issues of historical explanation as well as moral and political responsibility. We will also track the question of whether or not it's helpful to think of German history as following a “special path”--what Germans call the Sonderweg debate.
The course will include a mix of lecture and discussion. We'll have weekly discussion of the supplementary readings. Questions are always welcome during lecture, and I'll provide time for general discussion as well.
For a detailed schedule of class topics and readings, click the link in the navigation bar on the left.