MAT European History Seminar

History Seminar, Europe: Modern European History within the World System

HIST 58100-21; M-Th 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Williams Hall 310

Summer 2009, Department of History

Zenon V. Wasyliw

Muller 427, Phone 274-1587

Office Hours: 12:15-1:30

wasyliw@ithaca.edu

http://faculty.ithaca.edu/wasyliw

Introduction

The history of Modern Europe is a key element in the evolution of contemporary Europe and our present-day world. Modern European history includes all regions of Europe since the French Revolution of 1789. This graduate seminar offers an analytical overview of major themes and issues in Modern European history within a world-system context and a more in-depth appraisal of twentieth century developments with a special focus upon Soviet and East European history, Inter-War Europe, World War II, the Cold War and the fall of communism. Mastery of seminar themes and issues include analytical discussions of assigned readings and the writing of a focused history research paper. The seminar also places a special focus upon the New York State Social Studies curriculum requirements for Global History. Mastery of historical content is matched with these curricular requirements. Social Studies curricular mastery is demonstrated through carefully and thoughtfully designed lesson and unit plans.

Course Requirements

1. “Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any excused absence from class...Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences.” (Ithaca College Catalog) As the seminar meets over an abbreviated five week summer session, perfect attendance is expected of all participants. All seminar participants must complete their assignments in full and make thoughtful contributions in seminar discussions and presentations.

2. Seminar discussions and presentations are a significant percentage of the final grade. Participants must compose a one page outline/summary of the assigned reading for each seminar session. The one page outline/summary serves as a guide for discussion and to assure that an assignment is completed for the session. Participants will carefully read for analysis and assessment assigned books, distributed articles and book chapters. Primary historical documents, internet sites, social studies instructional guides and other related readings will serve to enhance applied learning. The weekly Topics and Assignments section below offers a guideline for assignments.

3. A fifteen to twenty page research paper is required on a specific historical theme or issue related to major topics under study. The research paper thesis, research and content must fit within one of the themes and topics covered in the seminar and related to the New York State Social Studies curriculum. It is very important to select a topic, in consultation with the instructor, early in the summer semester. The research paper must follow the University of Chicago research paper guidelines. The Jules Benjamin link A Student’s Guide to History offers valuable guidance and direction.

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/benjamin

4. A unit plan is also required of all seminar participants and should be in part related to your research paper topic. The unit plan offers a broader and applied overview for a high school global history class through a series of thematically connected lessons plans. Lesson and unit planning guidelines and examples are provided during the seminar.

Modern European themes and topics related to the New York State Social Studies Standards in Global History – ** = topics covered in this seminar

Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment

American and French Revolutions

Revolutions of 1848

Irish Potato Famine

**Russian Absolutism

Nationalism – German and Italian

**Industrialization

**The Modern World and Modernization Ideologies

**Adam Smith, Marx and Engels

British and European Imperialism

**World War I

**The Russian Revolution, USSR, Stalin and the Ukrainian Famine

**Inter-War Europe, the Depression, the Rise of Fascism and the Nazis

**World War II, the Holocaust

**The Cold War and the European Union

The Collapse of European Imperialism

**The Collapse of Communism

*The Status of Women

**Ethnic and Religious Tensions, Human Migrations

*The Environment and Sustainability

Science, Technology and the Future

4. Please note Ithaca College policies regarding Standards of Academic Conduct -

http://www.ithaca.edu/attorney/policies/vol7/Volume_7-70104.htm

Books

The following books are required for the seminar.

Borowski, Tadeusz. This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen.

Dolot, Miron. Execution by Hunger.

Marples, David. The Russian Revolution.

McCauley, Martin. Stalin and Stalinism.

Overy, R. J. The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939.

Additional articles, readings and documents will be distributed throughout the summer seminar.

Coverage of Soviet history will also follow in tandem -

Project Look Sharp, Soviet History Through Posters. A Visual Literacy Curriculum Kit.

http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/USSRweb and

Seventeen Moments in Soviet History http://www.soviethistory.org

Websites

History –

http://www.historians.org American Historical Association

http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/history/RUSA/ Primary Sources on the Web

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/worldhistory/ Bridging World History

http://www.worldhistoryconnected.org World History

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html Historical Sources

http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/tm/europe.html European History

http://www.multcolib.org/homework/eurohist.html European History

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com

http://vlib.iue.it/history/index.html World Wide Web Virtual Library

http://europeanhistory.about.com

http://www.soviethistory.org

http://www.besthistorysites.net

http://legacy.ncsu.edu/classes/hi300001/write.htm How to Write History Essays

http://marxists.org/glossary

Social Studies Education -

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs National Center for History in Schools

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf NYState Social Studies Standards

http://socialstudies.org National Council for the Social Studies

http://www.nyscss.org New York State Council for the Social Studies

http://www.dsharer.org Donna Sharer, Social Studies Teacher

http://www.readingquest.org Social Studies Literacy Strategies

http://www.historyteacher.net Ms. Pojer, Social Studies Teacher

http://www.regentsprep.org

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/

Grading

Research Paper, Unit Plan and Presentation 60%

Seminar preparation and participation, 40%

100%

TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

The following outline and assignments are subject to change.

Week 1 June 29 – Introduction and Overview: Modern Europe within the World-System, Globalization and the Social Studies Global History Curriculum

Nineteenth Century Europe – Industrialization, Modernization and Political Ideologies of the Nineteenth Century

Read and discuss – “Revolution as a Theme in Teaching Twentieth Century World

History,” in http://www.worldhistoryconnected.org/4.2/wasyliw.html

World System Theory http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/wallerstein.html

Globalization Theories http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/theories.html

NY S.S. Standards http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf

Read and discuss – from Weisner, Discovering the Western Past –

“Labor Old and New: The Impact of the Industrial Revolution,” (handout)

“Two Programs for Social and Political Change: Liberalism and Socialism.” (handout)

Weekend assignment for Monday - Review and comment on websites found in this syllabus.

“World War I: Total War.” (handout)

For later next week – Marples. The Russian Revolution

Selection of research and unit plan topics.

Week 2 July 6 - A critical assessment of internet sources – seminar designated websites.

World War I, the Russian Revolutions, Civil War and creation of the USSR.

Read and Discuss – “World War I: Total War,” Marples, The Russian Revolution.

Weekend assignment for Monday – Overy, The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939, pp. 1-47;

For later next week – the rest of the Overy book and McCauley, Stalin and Stalinism

Yekelchyk, “Stalinism: Famine and Terror.” (handout)

Week 3 July 13 Inter-War Europe, 1919-1939, Communism and the rise of Stalinism: human tragedy or industrial miracle? Hitler and the Nazis, A Crisis of Democracy?

Read and Discuss – Overy, The Inter-War Crisis, 1919-1939, and McCauley, Stalin and Stalinism.

Yekelchyk, “Stalinism: Famine and Terror.”

http://www.holodomor.org.uk

http://www.lucorg.com/luc/holodomor.php

Weekend assignment for Monday and next week – Read Borowski, This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen and Dolot, Execution by Hunger

Week 4 July 20 Memory and Human Tragedy. The Cold War.

Read and Discuss – Borowski, This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Holocaust

http://remember.org

Dolot, Execution by Hunger, Political famine as genocide?

http://www.osa.ceu.hu/gulag/index.html

The Cold War

http://cwihp.si.edu

Weekend assignment for Monday and next week –

“The Perils of Prosperity: The Unrest of Youth in the 1960s,” (handout) “The European Nation State and Regional Ethnic Nationalism.” (handout)

Final Draft of Research Paper and Unit Plan.

Week 5 July 27 The Decline and Fall of Communism, The European Union and a New Europe within a Global Context.

Read and Discuss – Handouts on the fall of communism.

History Seminar, Europe: Modern European History within the World System

HIST 58100-01; M-Th 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., Friends Hall 302

Summer 2013, Department of History

Zenon V. Wasyliw

Muller 427, Phone 274-1587

Office Hours: 12:15-1:30 or by appointment

wasyliw@ithaca.edu

http://faculty.ithaca.edu/wasyliw

Introduction

The second portion of this graduate history seminar offers an in-depth appraisal of special twentieth century topics related to historical events found in the New York State Social Studies Core curriculum requirements for Global History and relevant sections of United States history also aligned with National NCSS Standards. Historical themes include developments in Soviet and East European history, the Cold War Era from both Soviet and US perspectives, the fall of communism, the evolution of the European Union and finally, an interdisciplinary teacher workshop “Water: Culture and Geography.” The seminar places a special focus upon a mastery of seminar themes and issues through analytical discussions and assessments of assigned readings, primary sources and existing lesson, unit plans and curricular guides. A special focus is the application of content and planning mastery through contextual essays analyzing unit plans and developing two lesson plans intended for secondary school social studies curricula.

Course Goals and Requirements

I am co-teaching this course with Karin Breuer. She taught the first half and I am teaching the second. The focus of this part of the course is offered in the introduction with the following requirements and expectations -

Attendance and Participation

“Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any excused absence from class...Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences.” (Ithaca College Catalog) As the second half of this seminar meets over an abbreviated two and one half week session, perfect attendance is expected of all participants. All seminar participants must complete their assignments in full and make thoughtful contributions in seminar discussions, workshops and presentations.

Grading

Four interpretive essays 60%

Lesson plan 15%

Seminar participation 30%

100%

The syllabus outline and assignments are subject to change.

Written Assignments

Students must submit four, 4-5 page analytical essays that evaluate four assigned curricula listed below and linked in the Topics section of this syllabus –

The Russian Revolution - AP European History

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/29442.html

The Holodomor in Ukraine - Manitoba School Curriculum in Canada

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/multic/holodomor.html#lessonplans

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/04/08/the-great-hunger-part-1-2/

The Cold War - AP US History

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/28663.html

Water: Culture and Geography - Cornell University International Studies Institute

http://einaudi.cornell.edu/node/11939

Each essay must critically assess:-

Rubric checklist each worth 3 points and each essay is assessed at 15 %

Content objectives
Historical accuracy
Primary sources
Teaching methodologies
Assessment strategies

Four essays = 60%

Students will write one lesson plan on one self-selected subtopic, with the professor’s approval, from topics and themes from Unit Six, Unit Seven or United States History related to European history.

Designing a Lesson Plan

Lesson Design: To maintain a consistent approach to lesson planning across all core education courses, the following components of a lesson plan are required:

Context:

Explain the larger context in which this lesson fits. That is, explain what larger unit would be going on at the time of this lesson and how this lesson fits into the unit.

State/National Standards Addressed:

What NCSS and New York State social studies standards are addressed in this lesson plan? Be able to explain how the instruction/task/activity you have planned fulfills each identified standard.

Learning Objectives:

List both long-range goals and short-range learning objectives. The long-range goals should deal with mastery of knowledge/skills that students will be able to transfer to other learning situations. (In many cases you cannot expect that one short lesson will result in permanent acquisition of skills. Follow-up lessons may be needed.) The short-range learning objectives should be more specific to this particular lesson, more immediately observable, and, perhaps, more easily assessed.

Assessment: (Formative and/or Summative)

Explain your plan for formative and summative assessment. Create assessments (oral and written assignments, activities and projects, tests and quizzes) that will help you evaluate whether your identified learning objectives have been met. Also discuss how you will eventually discover whether the long-range goals have been met. How will you determine student proficiency? excellence?

Procedures:

Describe in detail the steps you would follow in teaching the lesson. Be specific. (Hint: The following procedural terms are too vague: introduce, discuss, review. How will you introduce something new? How will you organize the discussion, and what questions will be asked? How will you conduct a review?) Write lesson plan procedures so that a substitute could pick up your plans and actually accomplish your goals for the class period. Remember that if you are going to ask students to do something, your plan should ideally involve a demonstration by you of how to perform the skills/activities. Also keep in mind that cooperative learning is now highly recommended as a teaching strategy and that keeping the class engaged and interested is the very best way to handle discipline. Be sure to include a plan for motivation and closure procedures in your lesson (see below).

Motivation - (Hook)

Explain how you will arouse student interest in the lesson. Ideally, this would involve holding the lesson at a time when students need the skills – i.e., finding a “teachable moment.” You may invent a hypothetical situation that would provoke a teachable moment. Note: Motivation for lessons should be interesting, age-level appropriate, brief, directly related to, and applied to the day’s lesson

Closure – How will you wrap up your lesson? What will you do/say during the final minutes?

Differentiation:

Explain adaptations in your lesson that are designed to support the strengths and meet the needs of all of your students.

Materials:

List in your plan the materials you need for this lesson. Attach all supplemental materials (e.g. PowerPoint slides, handouts, assessments with scoring guides) or originals of materials you create. Actually trying to complete/create the materials that you intend to include in the procedures is the best way to determine whether your procedures are practical. How much time will the completion/creation of these materials take the students? Can the lesson be accomplished in the allotted class time? If you have trouble completing/creating the materials, your idea is probably not going to be practical to carry out in class.

Lesson Reflection:

After teaching the lesson, discuss any adaptations you made or plan to make if this lesson is repeated. What needs improvement and how will you address it?

Lesson plan examples will be shared during the seminar

The lesson plan includes standards from the following sites -

New York State Social Studies Standards in Global History – topics covered in this seminar

NY S.S. Standards http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/pub/sscore2.pdf

National Social Studies Standards http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands

Additional valuable sources for the required four essays, seminar discussion of assigned readings and lesson planning -

Project Look Sharp, Soviet History Through Posters. A Visual Literacy Curriculum Kit.

http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/USSRweb and

Seventeen Moments in Soviet History http://www.soviethistory.org

National Center for History in the Schools

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs

New York State Social Studies

http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/home.html

National Council for the Social Studies

http://www.socialstudies.org

Teaching History http://teachinghistory.org/

Also refer to

Hacker/Fister, Documenting History Papers

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch10_s1-0001.html

Social Studies History Teaching Resources

http://www.historyteacher.net

How to Write History Essays and do research

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/index.htm

http://www.arts.cornell.edu/prh3/257/classmats/papertip.html

An essay writing guide from our Canadian friends -

http://www.historyandclassics.ualberta.ca/~/media/history/MainPage/GuideEssays.pdf

Literacy in Social Studies (includes very useful charts)

http://www.readingquest.org/strat

Media Literacy

http://www.projectlooksharp.org

WEEK ONE – The Russian Revolution and a History of the USSR

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/29442.html

Analytical and interpretive readings will be distributed for seminar discussion. Primary sources will also be distributed for interpretive assessment and application

UNIT SIX

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook39.html

B. Revolution and Change in Russia – causes and impacts

1. Tsar Nicholas II

2. The Revolution of 1905

3. The March (February) Revolution and provisional government

4. Bolshevik Revolution

5. V. I. Lenin’s rule in Russia (the USSR)

6. Stalin and the rise of a modern totalitarian state: industrialization, command economy, collectivization

7. Russification of ethnic republics

8. Forced famine in Ukraine

9. Reign of Terror

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/multic/holodomor.html#lessonplans

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/04/08/the-great-hunger-part-1-2/

WEEK TWO – The Cold War

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/28663.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook50.html

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook46.html

Analytical and interpretive readings will be distributed for seminar discussion. Primary sources will also be distributed for interpretive assessment and application

UNIT SEVEN

A.Cold War balance of power

4. Emergence of the superpowers

5. Political climate of the Cold War

NATO and Warsaw Pact

Hungarian Revolt

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

Nuclear weapons and space

Role of non-aligned nations – Tito and Yugoslavia

G. Collapse of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union

1. Human and physical geography

2. Background events, 1970-1987

3. Poland’s Solidarity and Lech Walesa

4. Mikhail Gorbachev (perestroika and glasnost)

5. Fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany

6. Ethnic conflict in former satellite states, e.g. Kosovo, Bosnia

7. Changing political boundaries

8. Challenges faced by post-communist Russia – the world of Boris Yeltsin (and Putin)

UNITED STATES HISTORY

Related topics from the 11th grade United States History curriculum

U. N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Expansion and containment: Europe

FDR and Truman - Yalta and Potsdam, Iron Curtain (Winston Churchill), The Marshall Plan, NATO

The Cold War at home (the US)

Eisenhower – domino theory, H-bomb, Polish and Hungarian Uprisings, Sputnik

JFK and LBJ – Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuban Missile crisis, Launching the race to the Moon, Nuclear Treaties, spread of communism

Nixon, Ford, Carter – Détente, Soviet Afghanistan invasion and Olympics

Reagan and Bush – Gorbachev and Soviet relations, “Star Wars” and arms limitation efforts, defense spending, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification, Crisis in Bosnia

Clinton, Bush and Obama – Economic aid to Russia, Intervention in Bosnia and Yugoslavia, U.S. – Russian relations: 1990 to present

WEEK THREE – Cornell University Educational Resources for International Studies

Teacher Workshop – The Cultural Geography of Water

http://einaudi.cornell.edu/node/11939

Evaluate workshop materials and presentations using the assigned rubric checklist

Also for seminar discussion and analysis -

European Union

http://europa.eu/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/

http://www.hum.leiden.edu/history/eu-history