Paris and Berlin in the Interwar Years Williams College Fall 2005 Tuesday-Thursday 8:30-9:45 A.M
History 136 Before the Deluge: Paris and Berlin in the Interwar Years Williams College Fall 2005 Tuesday-Thursday 8:30-9:45 a.m.
Professor Alexandra Garbarini Phone: 597-2528 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Stetson h20, Thursday 1:30-3:30 and by appointment
Course Description and Goals
Paris and Berlin were the two poles of Europe in the 1920s, rival capital cities of two historically hostile nations that had only just put an end to the carnage of World War I. Paris was the grande dame; Berlin the upstart. In the 1920s, these two pulsating metropolises became the sites of political and cultural movements that would leave a lasting imprint on European society until the present day. This course focuses on the politics, society, and culture of these two cities in their heyday in the 1920s. We will also consider their fate in the 1930s, first as depression set in, and then as the Nazis came to power. Devoting half the semester to Paris and the other half to Berlin, we will examine a range of parallel topics in both contexts, including the impact of World War I, the growing popularity of right-wing political movements and the increase in political violence, shifting gender norms and sexual mores, and new developments in the realms of art, film, theatre, cabaret, and literature.
The primary goals of this course are, one, to acquaint students with a wide array of historical texts and ways of interpreting them, and, two, to introduce students to different approaches to the study of history.
Assigned Readings
The following books are for sale in the bookstore. They are also on reserve in the library.
David Clay Large, Berlin (New York: Basic Books, 2000).
Peter Jelavich, Berlin Cabaret (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993).
Christopher Isherwood, The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin.
Colette, The Last of Chéri.
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast.
1 In addition, a course packet with required readings is available for purchase in the History Department Office (Stetson 310).
Course Requirements
You are expected to abide the Honor Code in executing all course assignments. If you are uncertain about how the Honor Code applies to your work in this class, please come speak to me.
1) Readings and Discussions
History 136 is a discussion course. Thus, you are expected to attend all class meetings and to complete the readings by the date assigned. Participation in the discussions of these readings is an essential part of the course. In addition, we will watch three films outside of class. The films are also part of the course requirements. Attendance at the films is mandatory. Attendance and participation are worth 30% of your final grade.
2) Written Assignments
a) Four papers (5-6 double-spaced typed pages, standard margins, Times 12- point font) based on the readings and films are required. For three of the papers, I will give you questions to write about in advance, or you can write about a topic of your choice if you speak to me about it in advance. For the fourth paper, you will re-write one of the previous papers on the basis of further reflection on the subject, and written and oral comments you receive from me and from a student critic. This paper will be graded anew (i.e., not in reference to the grade you previously received). This means that your grade for the re-written paper could go up, go down, or be the same.
Papers are due at 5 p.m. in my Stetson mailbox on Monday, October 3; Monday, November 7; Monday, November 21; and Monday, December 5. I will not accept late papers. These papers are worth 40% of your final grade. Comments on a fellow student's paper are worth 5% of your final grade.
b) Final paper (10-12 double-spaced typed pages, etc.) is a research paper exploring one aspect of the history of Paris and/or Berlin in the interwar years. You need to meet with me to discuss your plan for the paper before Fall Reading Period. Due date: Wednesday, December 14th at 5 pm in my Stetson mailbox. This paper is worth 25% of your final grade.
2 Weekly Schedule
Thursday, September 8
1. Course Introduction
Assignment: (for next class) Find 2 photos of Paris and/or Berlin from the 1920s-1930s and bring them to class on Tuesday (either make photocopies for everyone in the class or scan and send the JPEG file to me) Be prepared to discuss why you selected those photos and what you see in them. Discuss as well the source of the photos (the book, the website, etc).
Week of September 12
2. Images of Paris and Berlin Discuss Photographs.
Readings: Klaus Tenfelde, "Urbanization and the Spread of an Urban Culture in Germany in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries," in Towards an Urban Nation: Germany since 1780, ed. Friedrich Lenger (Oxford and New York: Berg Publishers, 2002), 24-42 (packet).
William B. Cohen, "The Development of an Urban Society," in The Transformation of Modern France, ed. William B. Cohen (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997), 47-57 (packet).
3. The Culture of Cities Readings: Lewis Mumford, "The Culture of Cities," in Metropolis: Center and Symbol of Our Times, ed. Philip Kasinitz (New York: New York University Press, 1995), 21-29 (packet).
Georg Simmel, "The Metropolis and Mental Life," in Metropolis: Center and Symbol of Our Times, ed. Philip Kasinitz (New York: New York University Press, 1995), 30-45 (packet).
Louis Wirth, "Urbanism as a Way of Life," in Metropolis: Center and Symbol of Our Times, ed. Philip Kasinitz (New York: New York University Press, 1995), 58-82 (packet).
Week of September 19
4. The Impact of the Great War Readings: Joshua Cole, "The Transition to Peace, 1918-1919," in Capital Cities at War: London, Paris, Berlin, 1914-1919, ed. Jay Winter and Jean-
3 Louis Robert (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 196-226 (packet).
Peter Jelavich, "German culture in the Great War," in European culture in the Great War: The arts, entertainment, and propaganda, 1914-1918, ed. Aviel Roshwald and Richard Stites (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 32-58 (packet).
William R. Keylor, "France and the First World War," in The Transformation of Modern France, ed. William B. Cohen (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997), 182-205.
Marc Ferro, "Cultural Life in France, 1914-1918," in European culture in the Great War: The arts, entertainment, and propaganda, 1914-1918, ed. Aviel Roshwald and Richard Stites (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 295-307 (packet).
5. The Weimar Republic Readings: David Clay Large, Berlin (New York: Basic Books, 2000), 157- 253.
***FILM SCREENING: Sunday, September 25*** "Berlin, Symphony of a City" (72 min) in Griffin 5 at 7 p.m.
Week of September 26
***FILM SCREENING: Monday, September 26*** "Berlin, Symphony of a City" (72 min) in Griffin 5 at 9 p.m.
6. Berlin Metropolis Readings: Ludwig Finckh, "The Spirit of Berlin" Matheo Quinz, "The Romanic Café" Kurt Tucholsky, "Berlin and the Provinces" Franz Hessel, "The Suspicious Character" Egon Erwin Kisch, "We Go to a Café Because . . ." Wilhelm Stapel, "The Intellectual and His People" Harold Nicolson, "The Charm of Berlin" Martin Heidegger, "Creative Landscape: Why Do We Stay in the Provinces?" All in: The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994), 414-28 (packet).
Film: "Berlin, Symphony of a City" (72 min.)
4 Readings: "World War I and Its Aftermath: Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz (1867- 1945) and Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970)" in Sharing the Stage: Biography and Gender in Western Civilization, ed. by Jane Slaughter and Melissa K. Bokovoy (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003), 255-89 (packet).
Class meets in the Williams College Museum of Art, Rose Gallery, with Stefanie Spray Jandl, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Associate Curator for Academic Programs
Week of October 3
**FIRST PAPER DUE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 at 12 noon in my Stetson mailbox
8. The Twilight of France's Third Republic Readings: Benjamin F. Martin, France and the Après-Guerre, 1918-1924, 1- 56, 102-17, 226-52 (packet).
9. Research Orientation Assignment: Research Paper Topic (1-2 paragraphs). Print out and bring to class.
Class meets in Sawyer Library with Reference Librarian Lori DuBois.
Week of October 10
10. The "New Woman" in France Readings: Mary Louise Roberts, Civilization Without Sexes (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 1-16; 19-45, 149-217 (packet).
Week of October 17
11. The "New Woman"? Readings: Colette, The Last of Chéri.
12. The "New Woman" in Germany Readings: Marianne Weber, "The Special Cultural Mission of Women" Die Kommunistin, "[Manifesto for International Women's Day]" Manfred Georg, "The Right to Abortion" Gabriele Tergit, "Paragraph 218: A Modern Gretchen Tragedy" Alfred Polgar, "The Defenseless: A Conversation Between Men" Max Brod, "Women and the New Objectivity" Elsa Herrmann, "This is the New Woman" Textile Workers, "My Workday, My Weekend" Hilde Walter, "Twilight for Women?" "Women's Work and the Economic Crisis"
5 Else Kienle, "The Kienle Case" Siegfried Kracauer, "Working Women" Alice Rühle-Gerstel, "Back to the Good Old Days?" All in: The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994), 197-219 (packet).
Week of October 24
13. Berlin Cabaret as Political Expression Readings: Alice Gerstel, "Jazz Band" Frank Warschauer, "Berlin Revues" Maximilian Sladek, "Our Show" Katharina Rathaus, "Charleston: Every Age Has the Dance It Deserves" Ivan Goll, "The Negroes Are Conquering Europe" Erich Kästner, "The Cabaret of the Nameless" Curt Moreck, "We Will Show You Berlin" Siegfried Kracauer, "Girls and Crisis" Friedrich Hollaender, "Cabaret" All in: The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994), 554-56; 558-60; 562-67 (packet).
Peter Jelavich, Berlin Cabaret (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), 1-9; 118-227.
14. Paris Theater Readings: Christopher Thompson, "Bicycling, Class, and the Politics of Leisure in Belle Epoque France," in Histories of Leisure, ed. Rudy Koshar (New York: Berg, 2002), 131-46 (packet).
Guest Speaker: Professor Sally Charnow, Hofstra University, on "Le Theatre du Peuple: Modern Theatre, Regionalism, and the Search for the Authentic in Fin-de-Siècle France"
Week of October 31
15. Race and the City: Berlin Readings: David Clay Large, "'Out with the Ostjuden': The Scheunenviertel Riots in Berlin, November 1923," in Exclusionary Violence: Antisemitic Riots in Modern German History (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2002), 123-40 (packet).
Joseph Roth, What I Saw: Reports From Berlin, 1920-1933 (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2003), 31-50 (packet).
6 Nancy Nenno, "Femininity, the Primitive, and Modern Urban Space: Josephine Baker in Berlin," in Women in the Metropolis: Gender and Modernity in Weimar Culture, ed. Katharina von Ankum (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997), 145-161 (packet).
16. Race and the City: Paris Readings: Tyler Stovall, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996), xi-xvi; 25-81 (packet).
Joseph Roth, "Jews in Paris," in Report from a Parisian Paradise: Essays from France, 1925-1939 (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004), 145-151 (packet).
Patricia A. Morton, "National and Colonial: The Musee des Colonies at the Colonial Exposition, Paris, 1931," The Art Bulletin 80, no. 2 (June 1998): 357- 366; 373-377 (packet).
Week of November 7
*** SECOND PAPER DUE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 at 12 noon in my Stetson mailbox
17. Paris as Expatriate Playground Readings: Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast.
18. Berlin as Expatriate Playground? Readings: Christopher Isherwood, The Berlin Stories: The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin (Read: "A Berlin Diary (Autumn 1930)", "The Nowaks", "The Landauers", "A Berlin Diary (Winter 1932-3)").
***FILM SCREENING: Sunday, November 13*** "M" by Fritz Lang (110 min) in Griffin 5 at 7 p.m.
Week of November 14
***FILM SCREENING: Monday, November 14*** "M" by Fritz Lang (110 min) in Griffin 5 at 9 p.m.
19. Late Weimar Berlin: Depression and Suspicion Readings: Gabriele Tergit, "Fritz Lang's M: Filmed Sadism," in The Weimar Republic Sourcebook, ed. Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, and Edward Dimendberg (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1994), 632-633 (packet).
Siegfried Kracauer, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), 215-222 (packet).
7 Film: "M" by Fritz Lang (110 min.) Assignment: Bring a clean copy of one of your first two papers to class. I will pair students and distribute papers. You should read and comment on your fellow student's paper, using my comments as a model of what you should be doing.
20. Berlin: Capital of the Third Reich Readings: David Clay Large, Berlin (New York: Basic Books, 2000), 255- 317.
Peter Jelavich, Berlin Cabaret (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), 228-257.
In Class: Paper Conferences
Week of November 21
**THIRD PAPER DUE (Re-write of a previous paper): MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 at 12 noon in my Stetson mailbox
21. Culture as Politics in the Third Reich Readings: Editor's Introduction Hermann Burte, "Intellectuals Must Belong to the People" "The Birth of Intellectuals" "Streicher the Intellectual" "A Balance Is Necessary" R. Walther Darré, "The German Peasant Formed German History" Joseph Goebbels, "Freedom and Organization" Adolf Spemann, "On the National Responsibility of Publishers "Goebbels Forbids Art Criticism" Kurt Karl Eberlein, "What Is German in German Art?" Heinrich Zillich, "The Poet Summoned by History" Josefa Berens-Totenohl, "Wulfe's Manor: Two Episodes in a Peasant's Life" Tüdel Weller, "A Rowdy as Hero: From an Anti-Jewish Novel" Eckart von Naso, "Events at the Prussian State Theater" "Playbills of the Herne City Theater, 1936-1940" "The Winter Program of the German Radio, 1936" "Fundamental Features of Radio Programming, 1938" "German Films for Venice, 1938" "The Film Public Is Not So Stupid" All in: George L. Mosse, Nazi Culture: Intellectual, Cultural and Social Life in the Third Reich (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1966), 133-196 (packet).
Week of November 28
8 22. The Hollow Years Readings: Dudley Andrew and Steven Ungar, Popular Front Paris and the Poetics of Culture (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005), 1-5, 9-14, 55-89, 177-227, 277-98 (packet).
23. 1930's Paris Readings: Janet Flanner, Paris Was Yesterday, 1925-1939 (New York: Viking Press, 1972), excerpts (packet).
***FILM SCREENING: Sunday, December 4*** "La Regle du Jeu" (106 min) in Griffin 5 at 7 p.m.
Week of December 5
**FOURTH PAPER DUE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 at 12 noon in my Stetson mailbox**
***FILM SCREENING: Monday, December 5*** "La Règle du Jeu" (106 min) in Griffin 5 at 9 p.m.
24. Decadence Readings: Dudley Andrew and Steven Ungar, Popular Front Paris and the Poetics of Culture (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005), 340-85 (packet).
Film: La Règle du Jeu (106 min.)
25. Final Class Meeting Assignment: Prepare a description of your research paper for your classmates. Include questions you have and problems you are confronting.
**Final Papers Due: Wednesday, December 14th at 5 pm in my Stetson mailbox***
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