UCSB Hist 133C, Fall 1998 Prof. Marcuse
GERMANY SINCE 1945
HSSB 1174, T-Th 2:00-3:15
http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/133c
HSSB 4221, 893-2635, Office hours: Wed. 1-3 & by appt.

GERMANY SINCE 1945:
THE PERSONAL AND THE POLITICAL

MY GOALS FOR THIS COURSE

Studies have shown that, on average, 4 months after a college course students retain 5-10% of the factual material they learned. Thus I try to emphasize themes and skills in my courses. Drawing on the history of Germany since World War II, we will examine how "high politics" and "grass-roots" personal behaviors have interacted to shape individual lives, and to create, continue, or modify political culture. The emphasis will be less on "great (wo-)men who made history" than on 1) actions of "little people" who have (or have not) influenced the course of events, and 2) how high politics shapes the lives of individuals. In addition to following these themes, we will practice how to find and analyze evidence to draw conclusions about the causes and effects of historical events.

REQUIREMENTS

  1. I expect you to attend all classes and the two film screenings. Why take a course if you don't make the effort to learn what it teaches? Lectures include slides, videos, and information not available elsewhere in the course. I will call roll so that I can learn your names.
  2. There will NOT be a midterm examination. Instead, you will be asked to write a short paragraph on a simple question about the assigned readings or films, roughly once every two weeks. These five questions will be announced one lecture in advance. They are worth 10% of the final grade.
  3. You must keep a journal with two typed entries per week. Each entry, averaging 450 words, will be based on a) your thoughts about newspaper or magazine articles which you relate to the course, and
    b) the lectures, readings or films.
    For further details, see the blue "Journal and Term Paper Assignment" handout.
    These journals will be collected four times during the quarter (weeks 3, 5, 7 and 9). They must be turned in before class on the Tuesdays noted on the back of this page.
    This course fulfills the General Education writing requirement. If you do not submit this journal and the term paper based on it, you will not receive credit for this course (i.e., you will fail).
  4. A term paper (1000 words, ca. 4 pages). This paper will draw on the entries in your journal and the course materials. It is due on Tuesday, 17 November, at 2pm. It counts for 30% of your final grade.
  5. A two-hour final examination will have 3 IDs chosen from 5, one source interpretation, and one essay question. A study guide will be distributed in early December. It counts for 40% of your final grade.

COMPONENTS OF GRADE: questions: 5x2=10%; journal: 4x5=20%; term paper: 30%; final exam: 40%.

REQUIRED COURSE BOOKS (also on 2 hour reserve at the library)

Reader available Sept. 28 at Graphikart on Pardall Rd. in Isla Vista, opposite the Foot Patrol, 90pp., ca. $8.

Textbook: Mary Fulbrook, The Divided Nation: A History of Germany, 1918-1990 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1992), $29.25/$21.95/$16.45. Textbook focusing on the post-1945 period. DD240.F85 1992

Heinrich Böll, Billiards at Half-past Nine (1959), $12.95/9.70. This novel examines how three generations of a German family confronted the Nazi period and its aftermath. PT2603.O394 B513 1994

Peter Schneider, The Wall Jumper (1982), $12.00. This novel sympathetically evokes the situation in divided Berlin. It describes people who did not accept the choice between East or West. PT2680.N37 M313

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES AND READINGS

Date#/Day Lecture TopicAssignment .
29 Sept.1t.Introduction: A Personal Odyssey through German History none
1 Oct.2r.Symbols and Silences of National Memory: The Neue Wache Böll: Billiards, start
6 Oct.3t.Did Germany follow a "special path" through history? Fulbrook, 1-14, Rdr #1; Fulbr. 92-125
8 Oct.4r.Nazism, World War II, and their Legacies Fulbrook, 129-167
13 Oct.5t.Coming to Terms with the Past Journals due Böll: Billiards, finish
15 Oct.6r.Establishing a "Democratic" State in the West Fulbr. 168-88; Rdr #2, 3
20 Oct.7t.Establishing a "Socialist" State in the East Fulbrook, 188-196
20+21t+w 7pm: Film "The Promise" (1995; 1 hr, 55 mins., room TBA) evening film
22 Oct.8r.The Berlin Wall: Symbol and Reality Rdr #4-8; Wall Jumper
27 Oct.9t.The 60s: Old & New Politics Journals due Fulbrook 197-207, 278-90; Reader #9, Wall Jumper
29 Oct.10r.The 1970s: Old and New Approaches Fulbr. 207-20;
3 Nov.11t.Life in the Stasi State Fulbr. 265-78; Rdr. #10
3+4t+w 7pm: Film "The Nasty Girl," (1989; 1 hr, 34 mins., room TBA) evening film
5 Nov.12r.The 1980s: Legacies of the Past Fulbr. 303-8; Rdr #11-12
10 Nov.13t.Breaching the Berlin Wall Journals due Fulbr. 318-32; Rdr. #13
12 Nov.14r."Wrapping up" East Germany Fulbrook 332-345
17 Nov.15t.Historical Legacies and Political Culture Term paper due Fulbrook, 221-243
19 Nov.16r.Comparing Ends and Beginnings: 1945-1989, 1871-1990 Fulbrook, 332-345
24 Nov.17t.McDonald's und Das Volk Journals due Fulbr.291-317; Rdr.14,15
26 Nov.rNo class, Thanksgiving recess relax!
1 Dec.18t.A New Germany and Lessons from History Fulbr. 349-369; Rdr. #16
3 Dec.19r.Final remarks and discussion study questions
8 Dec.Tue. 4-6pm: Final Examination bring a blue book