A Brief History of Central Europe Winter Term 2000-2001 Christopher Colvin St. Stephen's Episcopal School

Austria-Hungary - individual maps of regions.

Cold War - interactive map at CNN site.

History

WW I - a site devoted to the War.

The Cold War - an interactive CNN site tied to their TV series. Good for sound and picture "bites" and "newsy" information (who, what, when, where).

Cold War Chronology - from the CNN site.

Cold War Document Library- a collection of Cold War documents and reports from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

German Propaganda - collection of materials from Nazi era and from Soviet (East German) era.

Habsburgs

Habsburg - a serious scholarly site about the history of Habsburg rule.

Habsburgs - a readable and illustrated site about the Austrian family and its rule, and it has several historical maps from 1250 AD to present.

Baroque - an exhibit at the National Gallery, mostly non-Central European but still gives an idea.

The Course

Central Europe proved to be at the center of European history in the 20th century. The geography of the century, its wars and politics, its ideologies and horrors, its arts and alienations, all took place here, not in a casual way but because this is "where it was happening." This course is an introduction to Central Europe and to Central Europe in the 20th century. Central Europe, however, is an item like those in physics whose definition fluctuates with distance, time, and observer. This course is not a comprehensive survey of the term and its variations, but will sample the topic under several headings.

• a quick survey of the region's history from the 15th through the 19th century, focusing on the Habsburg crown lands and Poland;
• a more detailed review of 20th century European history;
• a brief consideration of baroque architecture;
• student projects reporting on the four cities of Vienna, Prague, Krakow, and Budapest;
• student reading and reports on political ideologies of fascism and communism;
• a look at the implementation of totalitarianism in party discipline and everyday life;
• dissidents and an "inside" report on the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989;
• a quick review of the various transitions since 1989;
• and, assigned daily reading of reporting from the region.

Given the material, issues of multi-nationalism, ethnic politics and identity, totalitarianism, political ideology and conflict, and government management of economies will be persistent topics of discussion. In addition, the student will acquire an introduction to a very rich and too much neglected region of Europe and European culture. It is hoped that later versions of this course will feed into a summer trip to the region.

Requirements and Grading

Attendance: Attendance is, of course, mandatory, especially as the soul of this class will be the ongoing daily class discussion. The SSS handbook policy on absences will be followed.

Assignments: Assignments are given on the accompanying calendar and should be prepared for the due date. It is essential to the course that every student have read each assignment in full before the day it is due. Frequent quizzes will check for this.

Classroom: The course assumes that the give and take of conversation is the best route to understanding. In order to fully engage with the discussion, preparation of assignments and attendance are essential. That is the reason for the above policies.

Tests: There will be three tests as indicated on the calendar. Tests will have the format of 20% short ID (10 questions), 40% brief explanation (4 out of 6), and 40% essay.

Presentation: Students will be asked to do three presentations:
1) on some aspect of one of the four cities (Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Budapest);
2) on one of the political movements in the region (monarchism, communism, fascism, nationalism, dissident); and
3) on an individual country in the region from 1990 until the present.
The presentation may be from notes. A written version is due no later than one week after the oral presentation.

Texts:

Lonnie R. Johnson. Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. [= LJ]

Mark Mazower. Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century. New York: Random House, 1998. [= MM]

Timothy Garton Ash. The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague.
New York: Random House, 1990. [= TA]

Grades: Your grade will be computed as follows: Quizzes - 10%; Presentations - 30%; Tests - 60%

III. Calendar of Assignments

November 28 - December 1
Central Europe: What is it? Where is it?
MM, ix-xv. LJ, 3-12.

December 4-8
The Nations of Central Europe. Map work and quiz.
MM, 41-51. LJ, 85-103.

December 11-15
The Beginning of the 20th Century: WW I, Fascism and Communism. Cities: Budapest and Krakow.
MM, 6-17. Xerox handout.

December 18-20
The Interwar Years.
LJ, 196-213. MM, 3-6, 78-84, 86-87.

Christmas Vacation

January 8-12
WW II and the Holocaust. City: Vienna. Test.
LJ, 213-222. MM, 166-181.

January 15-19
Yalta and the Results of WW II.
LJ, 223-248. MM, 225-229, 212-221, 234-237.

January 22-26
The New Regime. Readings from Milosz, Havel, Kundera and others.
Film: "Angi Vera".
xerox handout

January 29 - February 2
The Cold War: Confrontation.
LJ, 249-274. MM, 252-265.

Mid-winter Break

February 6-9
The Cold War: Liberalization. City: Prague. Test.
MM, 277-285.

February 12-16
The year 1989.
TA, 78-130.

February 19-23
After 1989; the 90's. Research presentations on individual countries.
xerox handout; MM, 389-395.

February 26 - March 2
The end of the century.
MM, 337-341, 350-357, 395-403.

End of Winter Term

Christopher Colvin St. Stephen's Episcopal School Austin, Texas 78767-1868 USA ccolvin@sss.austin.tx.us