SOCS 638
Europe from the French Revolution to the Great War, 1789-1914

Nathanael Greene

Texts

Broad Street Books will have copies of the following:

John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, Second Edition, Vol 2
Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution
Priscilla Robertson, Revolutions of 1848 *
Geoff Eley, Forging Democracy: The Left in Europe, 1850-2000*
D. G. Williamson, Bismarck and Germany
James Joll, The Origins of World War I

Course Schedule

Note: Readings listed below are intended to offer both introduction and arguments about the course of European history in the 19th century. Students are urged to make use of Olin Library's excellent collection, and to supplement the listed readings with choices of their own.  Suggestions for supplementary reading will be offered in class. The “Documents,” are available in two installments, on line under “Blackboard,” accessible through your Wesleyan portfolio.

June 25 Introduction
June 27

The French Revolution and Napoleon. 

          1. Models of revolution
          2. Ideologies of change and counter-revolution
          3. Radicalization and Export of Revolution
          4. Napoleon and Europe 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapters 12 and 13
          Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution, chapters 1, 3, and 4

Documents:

  • “The Marseillaise”

  • “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”

  • “Robespierre’s Last Speech”

* Recommended titles.

July 2

The Industrial Revolution. 

          1. Definitions of industrialization
          2. England's example: economic, political, and social
          3. France's skepticism: resistance to industrialization
          4. Changing societies 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 14 or
          Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution, chapter 2, or
and

Documents:
“The Philosophy of Manufacturers”
“The 1834 Poor Law Report”
“Child Labor in the Factories”
“The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population”
“Self Help”
“England in 1819”
“Tory Opposition to Reform”
“The 1832 Reform Bill”
“Repeal of the Corn Laws”

July 9

Reaction and Revolution. 

          1. The Vienna settlement, 1815
          2. France: Restoration, revolution, and the "bourgeois" monarchy
          3. German disunity: Prussia and Austria
          4. Plans for Italian unity
          5. Utopian Socialism 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 15, or
          Eric  Hobsbawn, The Age of Revolution, chapters 6,7,12,13, or
Geoff Eley, Forging Democracy: The Left in Europe, 1850-2000, chapters 1-3
and
Documents:
“Chartism in Halifax”
“Proudhon and Saint-Simon”

July 11

Russia: Autocracy, Rebellion, and Repression. Europe: Revolutions of 1848. 

A. Russia

          1. The abortive reforms of Tsar Alexander I
          2. The first Russian revolutionaries: the Decembrist revolt of 1825
          3. Tsar Nicholas I: Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and Nationality

B. Revolutions of 1848

          1. France, Germany, and Italy in 1848
          2. The brief collapse of the old order
          3. Political and social strife 

4. Nationalism and the collapse of the revolutions 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 16, or
          Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution, chapter 16, or
Priscilla Robertson, Revolutions of 1848

July 16

Victorian Order 

          1. The confidence of the 19th century
          2. Family, morality, religion, and authority
          3. Political agreement: parliament, parties, and power
          4. Political disagreement: Disraeli vs. Gladstone
          5. The Queen and the royal family 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, pages 747-770

Documents:
“The English Constitution”
“The Great Exhibition, 1851”
“Winston Churchill on Progress”

July 18

First take-home examination due         
The examination will be handed out in class on July 11.  Your paper should be no longer than 6 printed pages, exclusive of endnotes. It is due at the beginning of class on July 18.

German and Italian Unification 

          1. Prussia vs. Austria
          2. Bismarck's Prussia: old and new power
          3. Bismarck's Empire: Blood and Iron
          4. Bismarck's alliances and alignments
          5. Italy: Accident or Design? 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 17,
and

D. G. Williamson, Bismarck and Germany
July 23

France: Empire, Paris Commune, and Republic 

          1. The Second Empire of Napoleon III
          2. The Paris Commune of 1871
          3. The Third Republic
          4. Political and Social struggles
          5. The Dreyfus Affair and the New Right 

John Merriman, History of Modern Europe,  794-813
Robin Winks and J. Neuberger, Europe and the Making of Modernity, 1815-1914, Chapter 7, pages 188-192, 205-206, 328-335

Documents:
“The Paris Commune, 1871”
“Manifesto of the Comte de Chambord 1871”
“Clericalism, There is the Enemy”
“Jules Ferry on Education”
“General Boulanger’s Campaign”
“Dictator and King by Charles Maurras”
“Dreyfus After His Pardon”

July 25

Marxian Socialism and Anarchism 

          1. The Manifesto
          2. The Development of Marxian Socialism
          3. Bakunin and Anarchism
          4. Socialist Paths 

John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapters 19 and 20 to page 875, or
Geoff Eley, Forging Democracy: The Left in Europe, 1850-2000, chapters 4-6, [and chapter 2 if you didn’t read it earlier,] and    

Documents:
“The Communist Manifesto”
“Keir Hardie on Socialism,”
“Jean Jaurès, Discours à la Jeunesse,”
“Syndicalism in France”
“Fernand Pelloutier on the General Strike”

July 30

Nationalism and Imperialism 

          1. Theories of Imperialism
          2. British and French Imperialism
          3. German and Italian Imperialism 

          John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 21 and

Documents:
“The Concept of Empire”
“England’s Mission”
“Jules Ferry and Imperialism”

August 1

Russia: Reform, Reaction, and Revolution,  1855-1905 

          1. Tsar-Liberator: Alexander II
          2. Revolutionary opposition
          3. Reaction again: Alexander III
          4. Industrialization and its consequences
          5. The Revolution of 1905         

John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, pages 770-794, and

Documents:
“Pobedonostev’s Advice to the Tsars”
“A Lenin Sampler”

August 6

Second Take-Home Examination due. The examination will be distributed on July 30.

The Origins of the Great War and Conclusions         

          1. Alliances and Armaments
          2. Planning for War
          3. German Responsibility?
          4. Nationalities and Nationalism
          5. Social Conflicts
          6. Collective responsibility?
          7. Progress, Power, and Promise
          8. The Climax of Enlightenment
          9. An Age of Illusions 

          James Joll, The Origins of World War I
John Merriman, History of Modern Europe, chapter 22 to page 973,

Documents:
“David Lloyd George in 1908,”
“Gabrielle d’Annunzio,”
“Marinetti: The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism”
“Léon Jouhaux at Jaurès’ Grave, 1914”

August 8

Absolute FINAL due date for second take-home examination. Papers should be placed under my office door in the Public Affairs Center, room 215.