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Department of History  

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Instructor:  Dr. Richard Bidlack
Office:  Newcomb 36B (tel:  463-8912)
Office hours:  Mondays and Wednesdays, 10-11 a..m.; Tuesdays, 2-3 p.m.;   Thursdays, 2-4 p.m. and by appointment

  This course surveys major developments in European Civilization from the time of the French Revolution to the present.  Most attention will be focused on major developments in the political thought and activity of the period; however, we will also survey fundamental social, economic, technological, intellectual, cultural, and spiritual changes.

  Among the specific topics we will consider are the following:  the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the Industrial Revolution, reforms and revolts of the early nineteenth century, the development of liberal and socialist ideologies, the increase in national rivalry and imperialism in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Versailles peace settlement, the “age of anxiety” following the “Great War,” the rise of totalitarian ideologies, the emergence of existential thought, the revival of Christianity, the Second World War, the Cold War, the collapse of communist hegemony in East-Central Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the origins of the revolution in information technologies.

Books:  The following books are required reading for the course.  All are available in the university's bookstore.

J. McKay, B. Hill, and J. Buckler, A History of Western Society, sixth edition, volume C 
J. Walter, The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier
K. Marx and F. Engels, The Communist Manifesto
J.S. Mill, On Liberty
E. Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
V. Shalamov, Kolyma Tales
A. Camus, The Stranger
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
S. McCartney, ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World’s First Computer

Course Requirements and Grading Policy:

10% - Map quiz 
20% - Quizzes on readings 
20% - Midterm test 
20% - Participation in discussions 
30% - Final exam 

Class schedule:

1/6:   Introduction to Modern Europe and History 102
          Distribution of maps and identification list

1/11: What is History?

1/13: The French Revolution
           Read:  M/H/B, pp. 690-712, 722-723

1/18: The Napoleonic Era
           Read:  M/H/B, pp. 712-720

1/20: Read and discuss:  Walter, The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier
           Map quiz

1/25: The Revolts of 1848-49 in the Austrian Empire
           Read:  M/H/B, chaps. 22 and 23

1/27: Review:  M/H/B, pp. 764-766
           Read and discuss:  Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto

2/1:   Read and discuss:  Mill, On Liberty

2/3:   The Connection between War and Political Change in the Latter Half of the Nineteenth Century
           Read:  M/H/B, chaps. 24-25

2/8:   The First World War
           Read:  M/H/B, chap. 26 and pp. 890-908, 916-917, 924-925 

2/10:  MIDTERM TEST

Washington Holiday Recess 2/22:   Read and discuss:  Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front
           Recommended film: Gallipoli (available at the circulation desk of the Leyburn Library)

2/24:  The Russian Revolution
           Read:  M/H/B, pp. 908-916

2/29:  The Versailles Peace Settlement
           Read:  M/H/B, pp. 917-925 and chap. 28

3/2:   The Rise of Totalitarianism
           Read:  M/H/B, pp. 956-975

3/7:   View and discuss the documentary film, The Triumph of the Will

3/9:    Stalin, Stalinism, and the Great Terror

3/14:  Kolyma:  A Case Study in Stalinist Terror 
           Read and discuss:  Shalamov, Kolyma Tales (pages to be announced)

3/16:  Origins of the Second World War
           Read:  M/H/B, 975-991

3/21:  Read and discuss:  Camus, The Stranger and Lewis, Mere Christianity (pages to be announced)
           Review:  M/H/B, 926-935

3/23:  The Cold War
           Read:  M/H/B, chap. 30

3/28:  Discussion:  The Revolutions of East-Central Europe and the Collapse of the Soviet Union 
           Read:  M/H/B, chap. 31

3/30:  Read and discuss: McCartney, ENIAC
           Student evaluation of History 102