HI290-30 History of Germany, from Bismarck to the Berlin Republic
Introductory description
Today we are used to thinking of Germany as a peaceful, prosperous and stable democracy, at the heart of Europe politically and economically as well as geographically. But for much of its modern history the picture was very different. A comparative latecomer to statehood, in the 170 years of its existence as a nation-state Germany experienced a dramatic transformation from a maverick to a model state which took in war, dictatorship, occupation and division, as well as rapid industrial development (twice), a dynamic civil society and intense cultural and intellectual experimentation.
Module aims
This 30 CATS optional second year undergraduate module examines the history of Germany from Unification in 1871 to the Berlin Republic of Angela Merkel. Students will consider the political, social and cultural history of modern Germany from a variety of historical perspectives in order to understand why in Germany the past is so important to an understanding of the present. We will look at the rise and fall of political ideas and regimes, economic developments, issues of citizenship and ethnicity, attitudes towards gender and sexuality, and how all these affected the lives of ordinary Germans. Along the way, students will have the opportunity to conduct their own research and write a piece of Germany's history.
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.
Autumn Term
- Introduction and Themes
- Bismarck and Germany
- Wilhelmine Germany
- Foreign Policy and Empire
- Total War, 1914-1918
- Reading Week
- Doomed Experiment or Militant Democracy? Politics in the Weimar Republic
- Modernity and its Discontents: Society and Culture in the Weimar Republic
- Weimar and the Wider World
- The Rise of Extremism and the Collapse of Weimar Democracy
Spring Term
- Gleichschaltung: The Making of the Third Reich
- Folk Community
- Conformity and Resistance
- War and Genocide
- Defeat, Occupation, and Division
- Reading Week
- West Germany: The 'Miracle Years', 1949-63
- East Germany: The Antifascist state?
- From the Frankfurt Trial to Reunification: The Two Germanies 1963-89
- 1989, Reunification, and the Berlin Republic
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Act with limited supervision and direction within defined guidelines, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.
- Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the trajectory of modern German history.
- 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 relating to modern German history.
- Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship.
Indicative reading list
http://readinglists.warwick.ac.uk/modules/hi290.html
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
See learning outcomes.
Transferable skills
See learning outcomes.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 sessions of 1 hour (7%) |
| Seminars | 20 sessions of 1 hour (7%) |
| Tutorials | 2 sessions of 1 hour (1%) |
| Other activity | 2 hours (1%) |
| Private study | 256 hours (85%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
History modules require students to undertake extensive independent research and reading to prepare for seminars and assessments. As a rough guide, students will be expected to read and prepare to comment on three substantial texts (articles or book chapters) for each seminar taking approximately 3 hours. Each assessment requires independent research, reading around 6-10 texts and writing and presenting the outcomes of this preparation in an essay, review, presentation or other related task.
Other activity description
Revision seminar
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
|||
| Seminar contribution | 10% | No | |
Reassessment component |
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| 1000 word reflection | Yes (extension) | ||
Assessment component |
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| 1500 word essay | 10% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Assessment component |
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| 3000 word essay | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
|||
Assessment component |
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| 7 day take-home assessment | 40% | No | |
|
7 day take-home essay with citations and a bibliography |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
written feedback on essay and exam cover sheets; student/tutor dialogues in one-to-one tutorials.
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History
- Year 2 of UHIA-V100 Undergraduate History
- Year 2 of UHIA-V102 Undergraduate History (Renaissance and Modern History Stream)
- Year 2 of UHIA-V1V5 Undergraduate History and Philosophy
- Year 2 of UHIA-VM11 Undergraduate History and Politics
- Year 2 of UHIA-VM13 Undergraduate History and Politics (with a term in Venice)
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL13 Undergraduate History and Sociology
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL15 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with a term in Venice)
This module is Option list A for:
- Year 2 of UHIA-V1V5 Undergraduate History and Philosophy
- Year 2 of UHIA-VM13 Undergraduate History and Politics (with a term in Venice)
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL15 Undergraduate History and Sociology (with a term in Venice)
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 2 of UHIA-V100 Undergraduate History
- Year 2 of UHIA-V102 Undergraduate History (Renaissance and Modern History Stream)
- Year 2 of UHIA-VM11 Undergraduate History and Politics
This module is Option list C for:
- Year 2 of UHIA-VL13 Undergraduate History and Sociology