HIST 205 syllabus Fall 2018 SU 1

Sabancı University

HIST 205: History of the Twentieth Century

Instructor: Ayşe Ozil Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Fall 2018

Mondays 12:40-15.30, FASS G049

Course content:

This course offers an introduction to twentieth century history. The focus is on Europe from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Cold War (1914- 1991). Particularly, the course deals with the two world wars, the inter-war period, and the Golden Age, and ends with references to the Cold War. Students are expected to learn the main events and major developments of the period and have a grasp of the characteristics and workings of politics and society, particularly around the epochal changes of the first half of the last century.

Assessment and evaluation:

% 40 mid-term examination

% 60 final examination

Both examinations are composed of 5 short and 2 longer essay questions. The final exam covers the entire course work.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend every class. Attendance will be taken. Students who make absences will have points subtracted from their final grade.

Students are expected to check sucourse on a regular basis for weekly pacing and announcements.

Course outline:

Week 1, Sep 24 Introduction and background and basic factography of the twentieth century; an overview of politics, ideology, technology, society, and culture in the nineteenth century Week 2, Oct 1 The run-up to World War I Europe at the threshold of the ; politics of the Great Powers of Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia Week 3, Oct 8 World War I, 1914-1918 A general overlook on the war; how war began; the opposing blocs, scope, coverage and participation; the available technology; why and how hopes for a short war came to nothing; the Schlieffen Plan HIST 205 syllabus Fall 2018 SU 2

Week 4, Oct 15 World War I, 1914-1918 The main theatres and fronts; trench warfare; casualties; the end of the war and peace treaties Week 5, Oct 22 The Bolshevik Revolution (1917) and the birth of the Soviet Union; the background, emergence, and the early development of the revolution in Russia; transformation into the USSR Week 6, Oct 29 National Holiday. No class. Week 7, Nov 5 Looking at the twentieth century through Soviet history Politics, economy, and society under Stalin and the aftermath

Nov 12: Mid-term examination

Week 8, Nov 19 The inter-war years, 1918-39 The search for collective security; the League of Nations; the Weimar Republic; the rise and fall of democracy; the Great Depression and the crisis of capitalism Week 9, Nov 26 The inter-war years, 1918-39 The rise of Fascism and Nazism Week 10, Dec 3 World War II, 1939-45 A general overlook on the war; how war began; the opposing blocs, scope, coverage and participation; the available technology; Axis ascendancy (1939-42); main theatres and fronts Week 11, Dec 10 World War II, 1939-45 From Axis ascendancy to Allied victory (1942-45); main theatres and fronts; casualties; the Holocaust; the end of the war; comparisons with World War I Week 12, Dec 17 Post-war Eastern Europe at the end of World War II; the onset of the Cold War; the two superpowers, USA and USSR; Divided Europe Week 13, Dec 24 Post-war Political and social recovery; a “Golden Age”; the welfare state; origins of the European Union

Course books, required readings, and useful websites:

The main books of this course are:

Textbooks:

* Kishlansky, M., Geary, P. and O’Brien, P., Civilization in the West, vol. C: since 1789, Pearson Publishing, 2000. * Perry, M., et.al., Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society, Wadsworth Learning, 2009.

Books:

* Evans, Richard, The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, London: Allen Lane, 2016. * Hobsbawm, Eric, The Short Twentieth Century, London: Michael Joseph, 1994. HIST 205 syllabus Fall 2018 SU 3

* Macmillan, Margaret, Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, NY: Random House, 2001. * Figes, Orlando, Revolutionary Russia, London: Penguin, 2014. * Lieven, Dominic, Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia, London: Penguin, 2015. * Mazower, Mark, The Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century, London: Penguin, 1998. * Evans, Richard, The Coming of the Third Reich, London: Penguin, 2004. * Judt, Tony, Post-War: A since 1945, London: Heinemann, 2005.

Chapters and excerpts from the above books will be available on sucourse as required readings. Additional reading and visual material will also be uploaded. Students will be responsible for anything uploaded on sucource.

Useful websites:

International online encyclopedia of the First World War: http://www.1914-1918-online.net/index.html Twitter: @19141918online Facebook: www.facebook.com/19141918online

“Twitter account” of the Russian Revolution: https://project1917.com

US Library of Congress, World War II: https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ww2/ww2bib.html

UK National Archives, World War II: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/worldwar2/