HIST 365-01, History of Contemporary Europe, Fall 1998

Abstract

This course will introduce students to some of the leading themes of European history since the 1930s. Topics to be covered include: aftermath of World War One; fascism in Germany; Russian revolution and Stalin; European homefronts during World War Two; the Holocaust; decolonization; Cold War; post-war intellectual life; European economic recovery; collapse of communism and end of Cold War; European unity; the breakup of Yugoslavia; and the revival nationalism. These and other topics will be examined at length largely through discussion of assigned readings and occasional lectures. It is expected that students, through these discussions and the process of writing a major research paper, will leave this course with a solid understanding of the main historical developments of contemporary Europe.