History 3421E: History of European International Relations:  Communities and Conflicts

Course Description

This course examines the evolution of European international relations in the 19th and 20th centuries.  This is not a survey course.  Rather, it focuses on key moments, subjects and themes - including major conflicts, leaders, alliances, institutions, the norms and mechanisms of international relations, as well as relations with the world beyond Europe - to understand the workings and evolution of European international relations as well as Europe’s role in and impact on the international community. 

            The seminar is structured as a bridge between broad surveys at the 2000 level and 4000 level seminars.  I will lead roughly half of the meetings, providing content, context and explanation of broader periods and subjects.  The other half of the meetings will be student-led presentations that delve deeply into a specific subject.  You are expected to contribute to weekly meetings in a spirited and thoughtful way.  You must prepare for each class.  There are weekly readings from the assigned textbooks, as well as additional secondary and primary source materials.  There are also several writing assignments to prepare throughout the year.  If you are organized and apply yourself consistently then the workload is entirely manageable.

Required Texts

Roy Bridge and Roger Bullen, The Great Powers and the European States System, 1814-1914, 2nd edition (Longman & Pearson, 2005)

Sally Marks, The Ebbing of European Ascendency: An International History of the World 1914-1945 (Arnold, 2002)

William I. Hitchcock, The Struggle for Europe: the Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945 to the Present (Anchor Books, 2004)

Evaluation

2 Seminar Reports (5% each)

10%

Major research paper:

(40% total)

-historiographical review

10%

-primary source analysis

10%

-final paper

20 %

Group Project

10%

Final Exam

25%

Participation

15%

Total

100%

 

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