Introductory description

This module introduces students to the tumultuous years of revolution and counter-revolution in Europe in the wake of World War I, and to the radical political movements that emerged out of these conflicts. The module will address (counter-)revolutionary development in Russia, Germany and Italy, and will study movements such as fascism, socialism, communism, and anti-colonialism.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Winter Term

Week 1: Europe before and during World War One

Part 1: Post-War Revolutions and Counter-Revolutions
Week 2: The Russian Revolution
Week 3: Revolutions in Germany and Central Europe
Week 4: Counter-Revolutionary Movements and the Radical Right in Germany and Central Europe
Week 5: The Rise of Fascism in Italy
Week 6: Reading Week

Week 7: European Fascism
Week 8: From Revolution to Reform: Socialism
Week 9: International Communism
Week 10: Anti-Colonial Movements

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of historical and theoretical interpretations of modern Europe.
• Communicate ideas and findings, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
• Generate ideas through the analysis of a broad range of primary source material for the study of modern Europe, including electronic resources.
• Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship.
• Act with limited supervision and direction within defined guidelines, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.

Indicative reading list

• Berghahn, Volker. Europe in the Era of Two World Wars. From Militarism and Genocide to Civil Society, 1900-1950. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2006.
• Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. 3 ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
• Read, Christopher. War and Revolution in Russia, 1914-22. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
• Jones, Mark. Founding Weimar: Violence and the German Revolution of 1918-1919. Cambrdige: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
• Gerwarth, Robert, and John Horn, eds. War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe After the Great War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Morgan, Philip. Italian Fascism, 1915-1945. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
• Lyttelton, Adrian. The Seizure of Power: Fascism in Italy, 1919-1929. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
• Morgan, Philip. Fascism in Europe, 1919-1945. London: Routledge, 1995.
• Eley, Geoff. Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000 Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Manela, Erez. The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes.

Transferable skills

See learning outcomes.