German 111: German Life and Civilization: Part I

Instructor: Dr. Bozena Tieszen Office: 887 Curtin Hall ph. 229-3239 (shared line) e-mail: [email protected]

Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30-12:30 And by appointment.

Required text: available at the University Book Store or online

Schulze, Hagen. 1998. Germany: A New History. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 0-674-00545

Articles posted on D2L

Technology Requirements

Access to computer and Internet UWM- e-mail account

Time Commitment expectations

Class week Our week starts at 12:01am on Monday, and ends on Sunday at 11:59pm

Course work expectations

This is a 3-credit course which means that you should spend, according to the UWM estimate, 144 study hours per semester. To do well in this course I’d project you’ll spend 36 hrs preparing for assignments 30 for participation, 36hrs for Exam 1 and 36 for the final exam.

It means that you should spend approximately 9 hours on this course: Preparation 3hrs Reading guides 1hr Learning activities 3hrs Posts and written assignments 2hrs

Of course, each of you has his/her own studying strategies and the above numbers are general, average estimates. Don’t procrastinate, pace yourself and work steadily throughout the semester.

1 Course Description In this class we will examine early history of the lands and people whose ultimate goal was to establish a national identity within a geographical region that was to be known as Germany. Students will discover political and cultural connections that Germanic tribes had with the Roman Empire and what part of its laws and political structures became a foundation for judicial and political structure of Germany. In this class students will get a comprehensive overview of not only the history but also culture, art and customs of the people who lived in the areas became Germany. Students will examine and analyze the role and influence Germany had on European political scene from 450 until 1933. We’ll study about great German writers, composers, scientists and philosophers whose discoveries made an invaluable impact on world’s cultural heritage.

Course objectives:

 Identify Germanic tribes that played a crucial role in establishing a country that that later was to be known as Germany

 Recognize political and cultural connections with the Roman Empire

 Have a clear perspective of the role and impact that German cultural, literary, scientific and philosophical thought had on cultural life of Europe from 450 – 1933

 Think critically, make connection between historical facts and events that shaped Europe

 Construct clear logical arguments that show insight and thoughtfulness  Reflect on and respond to others’ arguments, and consider multiple viewpoints

 Synthesize original thought with primary (and secondary) sources

 Present your analysis in clear and comprehensive way

Course Evaluation

Participation (discussion posts, response to weekly reading questions) 30% Homework Assignments 20% Midterm 25% Final Exam 25%

Course Outline Detailed instructions for each week will be available under content in D2L. Date Theme Texts Assignments 2 Week Introduction Administration Personal 9/5-9/10 to the Welcome presentation website Introduction Practice discussion Getting posting acquainted.

Week 2 Read: Introduction. Roman Empire and German 9/11- Lands (to 1400). Chapter 1. pp. 1-15. 9/17

Week 3 Read: Roman Empire and German Lands (to Homework 1 9/18-9/24 1400). Chapter 1, pp 15-29. assigned

Read: Transitions (1400-1648). Chapter 2, pp. Homework 1 due Week 4 31-48, pp. 49-67. 9/25-10/1

Week 5 Read: Twilight of the Empire (1648-1806). 10/2-10/8 Chapter 3, pp. 69- 83,Chapter 3. pp. 84-99.

Week 6 Read: The Birth of the German Nation (1806- 10/9- 1848). Chapter 4, pp. 101-123. 10/15 Week 7 Midterm Exam 10/16- 10/22 Week 8 Read: Blood and Iron (1848-1871). Chapter 5, Homework 2 10/23- pp. 123-136 assigned 10/29 Week 9 Read: German Possibilities. A Digression. Homework 2 due 10/30- Chapter 6. 11/5 Read: A Nation State in the Center of Europe. (1871-1890).Chapter 7, pp. 155-169.

Week 10 Read: Internal Unification and the Dream of Homework 3 11/6- World Power. Chapter 8. 169-190 assigned 11/12 Week 11 Read: The Great War and Its Aftermath. 11/13- Chapter 9, pp. 191--215 11/21 Week 12 Thanksgiving Recess 11/22 11/26 Week 13 Weimar Brief Glory and Decline. Chapter 10 Homework 3 due 11/27- 12/3 3 Week 14 Roaring Twenties” D2L Handout 11/4- 12/14

12/14 Study session

Final Final exam is to be taken during the Final Exams Exams Week ( The exam will be posted Dec. Week 16 and will be due in the dropbox on D2L by midnight Dec. 23.

HUMANITIES GER RATIONALE AND UW-SYSTEM SHARED LEARNING GOALS

a.1) Identify the formation, traditions and ideas essential to major bodies of historical, cultural, literary, or philosophical knowledge; (Criterion1)

In this course you will examine and explore early history of the lands and the people who throughout centuries forged their national identity and established the country that was later known as Germany. You will also analyze what were the conditions; historical sociological, cultural for Germany to form its national identity and how they have been perceived by other nation of Europe. Students will examine German literary, artistic, aesthetic and philosophical thought and influence it had on humanities. By writing papers students will use their analytical skills and critical thinking and ability to conduct textual analysis and provide appropriate arguments to refute or to support his/her hypothesis. Learning outcomes will be assessed through discussion participation, papers, and tests. You will find the rubrics on D2L under content. (here in appendix)

a.2) Respond coherently and persuasively to the materials of humanities study; this may be through logical, textual, historical analysis argument and/or interpretation.

In this course you are expected to study the early history, life, society and culture of the area that became Germany. You’ll analyze the political, economic, and cultural ties and relations early Germany had with the Roman Empire and later with most powerful countries of Europe. You will show your analytical and critical skills in your reading guides, discussion posts and in your written assignments 1, 2 and 3. Rubrics that outline the assessment criteria are available under content in D2L (writing, communication and critical thinking). In addition, the following UW System Shared Learning Goal applies to German 111; Part I

2) Critical and Creative Thinking Skills including inquiry, problem solving, and higher order qualitative and quantitative reasoning.

Through exploring the history, culture, people’s ways of life, political conditions, culture and people of early Germany you’ll be exploring the history of one of the most powerful countries in Europe. This class analyzes different areas of life and culture, literature, music, and art of Germany, thus it is an ideal complement course students of all areas, who want to broaden their view and knowledge of the world. You will reconstruct the 4 thought processes of people living in different eras, and develop critical and creative thinking skills, inquiry and reasoning. This goal will be assessed by writing 3 papers with topics of your choice, but related to a particular time frame of German history. You can write about historical figures, famous battles, kings- but also architecture, music, poetry and fashion. Reading guides and written assignments are evaluated based on writing rubrics that are posted on D2l