Dr.
David Imhoof
HS:132:01
MWF 3.00-4.05pm in STL 007
Spring
2008
Office:
Steele Hall 307
Phone
372-4191
Office
Hours MW 2-3pm, F 9-10am, or by appointment
Course Description
and Objectives
We need history for life and action, not as
a pleasant diversion from life and action or as a gloss over a selfish life and
a weak, cowardly action.
– Friedrich Nietzsche,
from On the Use and Disadvantages of History,
1873
This course is set up chronologically and,
like all study of history, is about change over time. But don’t expect some standard march-in-step,
“if it’s Wednesday this must be the 1848 Revolution”-type deal. Yes, we will learn about some of the usual
“big events” that often occupy historians – war and peace, revolutions,
intellectual breakthroughs, the parade of kings, presidents, and dictators, and
all that. But, equally important, we
study the impact of larger events and ideas on daily life and average people. You are taking a history course but also one
that constitutes part of Susquehanna’s Core Curriculum, the nucleus of your
liberal arts experience here. A Core
class teaches more than content: it also prepares you for other classes and
helps you become a broad thinker.
Simply put, this class aims to:
1.
Familiarize
you with the era of modern European history and its meaning to us today
2.
Teach
you how to analyze texts of all kinds (written, musical, visual) within the
context in which they were created
3.
Help
you think more analytically and critically
4.
Improve
your written and verbal communication
As you surely know, introductory history
courses have to cover a lot of ground (in this case, over three
centuries). Don’t let the details
overwhelm you. Read with an eye for the
big picture; try to fit specifics into a larger framework. The Perry textbook assignments and my
lectures lay out the major contours of the course. The other texts and films and music will
comprise much of our discussions in this class. You should do all the readings before the class period so we can
discuss them in detail.
1.
Marvin
Perry, et. al. Western Civilization:
Ideas, Politics and Society, vol. II:
From the 1600s, 7th edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2004).
2.
Franz
Kafka, The Metamorphosis and Other Stories, trans. Donna Freed (Barnes
and Noble Classics, 2003).
3.
Art
Spiegelman, Maus, vol. II (New York:
Pantheon, 1991)
4.
Electronic
Reserve Readings (http://www.susqu.edu/library/eres/)
and some online (URLs listed below)
Course Requirements
20% Paper
1 on Enlightenment Philosophy
·
Analyze
one of the four documents assigned for Fri.Feb.1 and due that day.
·
You
will be assigned one document to analyze and will be asked to craft an argument
that explains what this document tells us about the era in which it was
written.
·
Specs:
3-5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, titled, paginated.
·
Your
Perry textbook will serve as enough background; you need not do any further
research.
·
Citations:
You should make clear the document you are analyzing and may cite it however
you choose, as long as you are clear and consistent about citations.
·
Papers
are due in person or by email (either pasted in the message or as a Word
attachment) by the start of class.
·
For
Paper 1 you will turn in a first paragraph and thesis statement on Mon.Jan.28,
which you will get that back from me with comments on Wed.Jan.30, so you will
have two days to finish the paper.
·
Follow-up
meetings after you get this first paper back will ensure that you understand my
feedback and how to improve (if necessary).
20% Paper
2 on Modernist Thought
·
Analyze
either the Nietzsche or Freud reading for Wed.Mar.19.
·
You
will again be assigned one of these
two longer documents to read and analyze.
·
Same
specs and details as Paper 1.
20% Paper
3 on any document of your choice during the “short 20th century”
·
You
select the document that you wish to analyze.
·
Again,
the aim is to use the document to say something about the era in which it was
written.
·
The
day the document you select is assigned is the day the paper is due.
·
Everyone
must turn in a third paper by Fri.Apr.25
– but earlier is better!
·
Same
specs as above
NB: After
you have written three papers, you may write additional ones to replace low
grades. This
opportunity means
that it behooves you to write your third paper earlier rather than at the last
minute.
20% Cumulative
Take-Home Final Exam (5-7 pp, same specs as above)
10% Class
Participation
10% Assignments
and Quizzes
·
Due
by start of class, no exceptions, cannot be made up
·
I
encourage electronic submission, ideally just pasted into an email
*** EXTRA
CREDIT: One paragraph (non-graded) write-up of campus events:
·
Describe
briefly the event and mention something
you found interesting about it.
·
Below
on the schedule I have noted some and will mention others in class.
A number of events
are listed at http://www.susqu.edu/pr/Calendar2.htm
and http://www.susqu.edu/Artists/
Attendance
and Participation:
You are expected to attend class each day. If you don’t, you are responsible
for whatever material you have missed. 20% of your final grade will be
determined by activities in class (assignments, quizzes, and participation)
that cannot be made up. You will not do well in this class if you fail to
attend. I try to encourage/force people to speak in class, but please talk to
me if you feel you are not able to do that.
Scholastic
(Dis)Honesty Policy:
I have a very simple and very harsh policy: if you plagiarize, as broadly
defined in the Student Handbook, I will fail you for the class. Period. If
you’ve been caught before, the penalty will be worse. I don’t care about your
motivations or how busy you were or how bad you feel or anything else. Should
you ever consider making such a mistake, please weigh its benefits against the
certainty of obtaining an “F” for this course and a permanent record of your
blunder in your university record.
Contacting
Me:
Outside office hours, you may email or call me, but do not expect an answer in
less than 24 hours, nor over the weekend.
Email correspondence should be used primarily for short queries; longer
questions and discussions should be addressed in person. That’s why you came here, after all.
Special
Accommodation:
If you require an accommodation based on disability, please see me as soon as
possible to work out arrangements.
|
Date |
Topic |
|
Assignment |
|
Part 1 – Birth of the Modern |
|||
|
Mon.Jan.14 |
Introduction
to History: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly |
||
|
Wed.Jan.16 |
Politics,
Philosophy, Papers |
Machiavelli,
“Constitutional Theory of a Realist” |
|
|
Fri.Jan.18 |
States,
Individuals, and Society in Early Modern |
·
Perry, xxviii-xxxi ·
Hobbes, State of |
Different
Tellings of Hobbes |
|
Mon.Jan.21 |
Martin
Luther King Day – NO CLASS |
||
|
(Tue.Jan.22 |
Add/drop period
ends) |
||
|
Wed.Jan.23 |
The
|
·
Perry, chpt. 16 ·
Baroque Art at http://www.susqu.edu/history/faculty/imhoof/images/ |
Artwork
Analysis |
|
Fri.Jan.25 |
Galileo
vs. The Church |
·
Perry, chpt. 17 ·
Galileo, “Science and Scriptures” |
|
|
Mon.Jan.28 |
A
Secular and Scientific Society |
·
Perry, 409-13 ·
Descartes, “Cogito ergo sum” |
First
Paragraph and Thesis for Paper 1
on one of four Enlightenment document readings |
|
Wed.Jan.30 |
The
Enlightenment |
Perry,
chpt. 18 |
|
|
Fri.Feb.1 |
Enlightenment:
Property, Rights, Law (last day to withdraw) |
·
Locke, “On Property” from Second Treatise of Civil Government: http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtr05.htm ·
Rousseau, Book I of The Social Contract: http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon_01.htm ·
Montesquieu, Book II of The Spirit of Laws: http://www.constitution.org/cm/sol_02.htm ·
Smith, The
Wealth of Nations, Volume I “Introduction and Plan of Work” and Book I,
1,7 “Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities”: access table of
contents at http://www.econlib.org/LIBRARY/Smith/smWNtoc.html |
PAPER 1 on one of
four document readings (as assigned) |
|
Mon.Feb.4 |
Enlightenment
in Power |
·
Maria Teresa, “Testament” ·
Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence” at http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html |
|
|
Feb.6-11 |
Individual
meetings in lieu of class to discuss Paper 1 |
||
|
Sun.Feb.10 |
Screening
of The Magic Flute, STL 106, 7pm |
||
|
Wed.Feb.13 |
Enlightenment
and a Night at the Opera |
Magic Flute (view Sun night
or in library) |
Magic Flute Analysis |
|
Part 2 – The “Long Nineteenth Century” |
|||
|
Fri.Feb.15 |
The (French)
Revolution |
Perry,
chpt. 19 |
|
|
Mon.Feb.18 |
Women
& Rights in the French Revolution |
·
de Sieyès, “What is the Third Estate?” ·
“Declaration of the Rights of Man” ·
de Gouges, “Declaration of the Rights of Woman” ·
Wollstonecraft, “False System of Education” |
|
|
Wed.Feb.20 |
Napoleon
and the Effects of the Revolution |
·
Perry, chpt. 20 ·
de Tocqueville, “Old Regime and the French
Revolution” |
|
|
Fri.Feb.22 |
The
Trial of Napoleon |
||
|
Mon.Feb.25 |
19th-Century
Nationalism |
·
Perry, 527-29, chpts. 23 and 25, 562-66 ·
|
|
|
Wed.Feb.27 |
The
Industrial Revolution |
·
Perry, chpt. 21 ·
Engles, “The Conditions of the Working Class in ·
Industrial Revolution Images at http://www.susqu.edu/history/faculty/imhoof/default.htm |
Photo
Analysis |
|
Fri.Feb.29 |
A
Meeting of the Socialist International |
·
Perry, 525-27 and 568-73 ·
Marx & Engles, “Nothing to Lose but Their Chains” |
|
|
Mar.3-7 |
Spring
Break – NO CLASS |
||
|
Mon.Mar.10 |
Western
Imperialism |
·
Perry, chpt. 27 ·
Kipling, “The White Man’s Burden” ·
Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant” |
Imperialism
Assignment |
|
Wed.Mar.12 |
Feminism
vs. Socialism |
·
Perry, 614-18 ·
Pankhurst, “History of the Suffrage Movement” ·
Webb, “Women and the Factory Acts |
|
|
Part 3 – Modernity, Modern Life, Modernism |
|||
|
Fri.Mar.14 |
Unsettled |
||
|
Mon.Mar.17 |
Modern
Art |
||
|
Wed.Mar.19 |
Modern
Ideas: A Dialogue between Nietzsche and Freud |
·
Perry, chpt. 28 ·
Nietzsche, Beyond
Good & Evil ·
Freud, On
Dreams |
PAPER 2 on either
Nietzsche or Freud (as assigned) |
|
Mar.21-24 |
Easter
Break – NO CLASS |
||
|
Part 4 – The “Short Twentieth Century” |
|||
|
Wed.Mar.26 |
WWI
between the “Long 19th” and “Short 20th” Centuries |
·
Perry, 690-716 and 721-25 ·
Jünger, “Storm of Steel” |
|
|
Fri.Mar.28 |
Introduction
to the 20th Century |
||
|
Mon.Mar.31 |
Kafkaesque |
From
Kafka, The Metamorphosis and Other
Stories:
|
|
|
Wed.Apr.2 |
Revolution
SU |
||
|
Fri.Apr.4 |
The
|
·
Perry, 716-21 ·
Lenin, “Making a Revolution” |
|
|
Mon.Apr.7 |
|
Perry,
783-99 – correct pp? |
|
|
Wed.Apr.9 |
Interwar
German Film |
View
one of the films on reserve at library (Metropolis,
Blue Angel, M, or Münchhausen) |
Film
Analysis |
|
Fri.Apr.11 |
Communism vs. Fascism vs. Nazism |
·
Perry, 727-46, 764-67, and 778-79 ·
Mussolini, “Fascist Doctrine” ·
Hitler, “Mein Kampf” |
|
|
Mon.Apr.14 |
Total
War and Holocaust |
Perry,
chpt. 32 |
|