The Taint of Hubris: Napoleon (1769-1821)
"Ambition is never content, even on the summit of greatness."
Hegel’s Great Man Theory:
“They may be called Heroes,” says Hegel, “inasmuch as they have derived their purposes and their vocation, not from the calm, regular course of things, sanctioned by the existing order; but...from that inner Spirit, still hidden beneath the surface, which, impinging on the outer world as on a shell, bursts it in pieces, because it is another kernel than that which belonged to the shell in question.”
“They attained no calm enjoyment,” Hegel writes, “their whole life was labor and trouble; their whole nature was naught else but their master-passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel.”
HERE’S A QUESTION FROM A PREVIOUS FINAL EXAM:
Is historical change inevitable or the result of leaders imposing their will upon the world? To answer this question, refer to at least FOUR of the following: Louis the 14th, Peter the Great, Robespierre, Napoleon, Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II (WWI), Hitler, and/or Churchill.
I. Introduction and Early Life
II. Political Life in Napoleonic France
“The Revolution is over; I am the Revolution.”
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution"
A. Civic Code
B. Merit in Promotion
C. Continental System
III. Napoleon's True Love:
Napoleon and Josephine
Letter to Josephine Dec. 29, 1795
I awake all filled with you. Your image and the intoxicating pleasures of last night, allow my senses no rest. Sweet and matchless Josephine, how strangely you work upon my heart. Are you angry with me? Are you unhappy? Are you upset? My soul is broken with grief and my love for you forbids repose. But how can I rest any more, when I yield to the feeling that masters my inmost self, when I quaff from your lips and from your heart a scorching flame? Yes! One night has taught me how far your portrait falls short of yourself! You start at midday: in three hours I shall see you again. Till then, a thousand kisses, mio dolce amor! but give me none back for they set my blood on fire.
--and then--
Napoleon and Marie Louise
IV. Napoleon's Real True Love: War
“Retreats cost far more in men and materiel than the most bloody engagements, except that in a battle the enemy loses nearly as much as you, while in retreat the loss is all on your side.”
“In planning a campaign I purposely exaggerate all the dangers and all the calamities that the circumstances make possible.”
A. Major Victories:
Italian Campaign (1796)
Egyptian Campaign (1798)
Napoleonic Wars
B. Defeat:
"Battle" of Moscow: 1812-1814
(banishment to Elba)
Another soldier: “Napoleon has discovered a new way to make war; he makes us use our legs instead of our bayonets.”
Jakob Walter:
On the Grande Armee’s Problems:
“…often still living, the pig would be cut and torn to pieces. Several times I succeeded in cutting off something but I had to chew it and eat it uncooked since my hunger could not wait for the chance to boil the meat.”
“In order to obtain water for drinking and cooking, holes were dug into the swamps three feet deep in which the water was collected. The water was very warm, however, and was reddish-brown with million of little red worms so that it had to be bound in linen and sucked through with the mouth.”
Battle of Waterloo: 1815
Facing the Duke of Wellington
(Arthur Wellesley)
Napoleon on Waterloo:
“Ce sera l’affaire d’un dejeuner.”
(loosely translated, it’ll be over by lunch)
V. Exit Napoleon/Enter a New Europe
A. Congress of Vienna
B. Other Definitions of Europe
J.G. Herder "Das Volk"
Romanticism
Carbonari
"Decembrist Revolt"
Napoleon on, hmmm, life, honor, death…
“Death is nothing, but to live defeated everyday is to die everyday.”
Ernst Arndt
What is the German’s Fatherland?
As far as the German tongue sounds
And God in Heaven sings songs
That is what it should be!
It should all of Germany!
Ernst Arndt: (1769-1860)
Was ist Deutschen Vaterland?
So weit die deutsche Zunge klingt
Und Gott im Himmel Lieder singt
Das sol les sein!
Das ganze Deutschland soll es sein.
Tyger ! Tyger ! (1794) by William Blake ( 1757-1827)
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the nightWhat immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skiesBurnt the fire of thine eyes?On what wings dare he aspire?What the hand dare seize thy fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,Could twist the sinews of thy heart?And why thy heart began to beat,What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?In what furnace was thy brain?What the anvil? what dread graspDare its deadly terrors grasp?
When the stars threw down their spearsAnd water'd heaven with their tears,Did he smile his work to see?Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning brightIn the forests of the night,What immortal hand or eyeDare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
COUNTRY STUDY ASSIGNMENT
Dr. Schmoll/History 102/Winter 2009 DUE DATE: 1/30
COUNTRY STUDY
History 102 focuses heavily on certain countries to the exclusion of many others (see below). Hence, as part of History 102 you now have the opportunity to learn about some country other than France, Germany, or England.
Your project should have three parts:
ü Part 1: BASIC HISTORY: briefly discuss the creation of the modern nation and/or your nation’s role in any of the events discussed in this course;
ü Part 2: FASCINATING FACTS: amazing events, people, foods, language, festivals, jokes, movies about, your country;
ü Part 3: ROLE IN THE MODERN WORLD: why is this country important in the modern world? What modern conflicts involve your country? What economic, social, or military issues impact your country?
This will be written as a 2 page, double-spaced essay. That’s not long, so get right to the point. Cite your sources in whatever format you would like to use. Also, feel free to bring me a draft beforehand. I will revise it thoroughly with you. This must be done face to face.
This project is worth 10% of your grade.
You may choose any country from the following list:
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Vatican City
Here are some sources for this study:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
http://www.worldinfozone.com/newslink.php?section=Europe
Here’s another idea: talk to a reference librarian. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Remember, do not steal words that are not your own. When you get information from a source, site it.
TURNITIN.COM Class ID: 2555883
Password: history
1. Printed Essay due in class 1/30.
2. Electronic version due online: midnight of 1/30
You do not need to print out a receipt from turnitin.
COUNTRY STUDY
History 102 focuses heavily on certain countries to the exclusion of many others (see below). Hence, as part of History 102 you now have the opportunity to learn about some country other than France, Germany, or England.
Your project should have three parts:
ü Part 1: BASIC HISTORY: briefly discuss the creation of the modern nation and/or your nation’s role in any of the events discussed in this course;
ü Part 2: FASCINATING FACTS: amazing events, people, foods, language, festivals, jokes, movies about, your country;
ü Part 3: ROLE IN THE MODERN WORLD: why is this country important in the modern world? What modern conflicts involve your country? What economic, social, or military issues impact your country?
This will be written as a 2 page, double-spaced essay. That’s not long, so get right to the point. Cite your sources in whatever format you would like to use. Also, feel free to bring me a draft beforehand. I will revise it thoroughly with you. This must be done face to face.
This project is worth 10% of your grade.
You may choose any country from the following list:
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
Vatican City
Here are some sources for this study:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
http://www.worldinfozone.com/newslink.php?section=Europe
Here’s another idea: talk to a reference librarian. They are a wealth of knowledge.
Remember, do not steal words that are not your own. When you get information from a source, site it.
TURNITIN.COM Class ID: 2555883
Password: history
1. Printed Essay due in class 1/30.
2. Electronic version due online: midnight of 1/30
You do not need to print out a receipt from turnitin.
FRENCH REVOLUTION OUTLIN
The French Revolution: 1789-1799
I. Introduction:
II. Origins:
A. Poor Leadership
B. American Revolution
C. Economic Problems
D. Problems with the Three Estates
III. The First Revolution:
A. The Oath of the Tennis Court
B. Storming the Bastille
C. The Great Fear
D. Dec. of Rights of Man
E. Women Respond to Poverty and Revolution
IV. New Government:
Constitutional Monarchy
V. Wars Abroad: 1792-1802
(“levee en masse”=draft)
VI. The Second Revolution Begins (1792)
A. Maximilian Robespierre
B. The Terror
January 21, 1793:
Louis le Dernier
(Louis the Last)
VII. Thermidorean Reaction: 1794-1799
The Directory: 1795-1799
VIII. Significance
I. Introduction:
II. Origins:
A. Poor Leadership
B. American Revolution
C. Economic Problems
D. Problems with the Three Estates
III. The First Revolution:
A. The Oath of the Tennis Court
B. Storming the Bastille
C. The Great Fear
D. Dec. of Rights of Man
E. Women Respond to Poverty and Revolution
IV. New Government:
Constitutional Monarchy
V. Wars Abroad: 1792-1802
(“levee en masse”=draft)
VI. The Second Revolution Begins (1792)
A. Maximilian Robespierre
B. The Terror
January 21, 1793:
Louis le Dernier
(Louis the Last)
VII. Thermidorean Reaction: 1794-1799
The Directory: 1795-1799
VIII. Significance
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Cesare Beccaria
Cesare Beccaria, 1738-1794
Of Torture.
The torture of a criminal during the course of his trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations. It is used with an intent either to make him confess his crime, or to explain some contradictions into which he had been led during his examination, or discover his accomplices, or for
some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensible purgation of infamy, or, finally, in order to discover other crimes of which he is not accused, but of which he may be guilty.
No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection until it have been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of power, can authorise the punishment of a citizen so long as there remains
any doubt of his guilt? This dilemma is frequent. Either he is guilty, or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary, if he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for, in the eye of the law, every man is innocent whose crime has not been proved. Besides, it is confounding all relations to expect that a man should be both the accuser and accused; and that pain should be the test of truth, as if truth resided in the muscles and fibres of a wretch in torture. By this method the robust will escape, and the feeble be condemned. These are the inconveniences of this pretended test of truth, worthy only of a cannibal, and which the Romans, in many respects barbarous, and whose savage virtue has been too much admired, reserved for the slaves alone.
Of the Intent of Punishments.
From the foregoing considerations it is evident that the intent of punishments is not to torment a sensible being, nor to undo a crime already committed. Is it possible that torments and useless cruelty, the instrument of furious fanaticism or the impotency of tyrants, can be authorised by a political body, which, so far from being influenced by passion, should be the cool moderator of the passions of individuals? Can the groans of a tortured wretch recall the time past, or reverse the crime he has committed? The end of punishment, therefore, is no other than to prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society, and to prevent others from committing the like offence. Such punishments, therefore, and such a mode of inflicting them, ought to be chosen, as will make the strongest and most lasting impressions on the minds of others, with the least torment to the body of the criminal.
Of the Punishment of Death.
The useless profusion of punishments, which has never made men better induces me to inquire, whether the punishment of death be really just or useful in a well governed state? What right, I ask, have men to cut the throats of their fellow-creatures? Certainly not that on which the sovereignty and laws are founded. The laws, as I have said before, are only the sum of the smallest portions of the private liberty of each individual, and represent the general will, which is the aggregate of that of each individual. Did any one ever give to others the right of taking away his life? Is it possible that, in the smallest portions of the liberty of each, sacrificed to the good of the public, can be contained the greatest of all good, life? If it were so, how shall it be reconciled to the maxim which tells us, that a man has no right to kill himself, which he certainly must have, if he could give it away to another?
But the punishment of death is not authorised by any right; for I have demonstrated that no such right exists. It is therefore a war of a whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider as necessary or useful to the general good. But if I can further demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor useful, I shall have gained the cause of humanity. The death of a citizen cannot be necessary but in one case: when, though deprived of his liberty, he has such power and connections as may endanger the security of the nation; when his existence may produce a dangerous revolution in the established form of government.
Of Torture.
The torture of a criminal during the course of his trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations. It is used with an intent either to make him confess his crime, or to explain some contradictions into which he had been led during his examination, or discover his accomplices, or for
some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensible purgation of infamy, or, finally, in order to discover other crimes of which he is not accused, but of which he may be guilty.
No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection until it have been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of power, can authorise the punishment of a citizen so long as there remains
any doubt of his guilt? This dilemma is frequent. Either he is guilty, or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary, if he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for, in the eye of the law, every man is innocent whose crime has not been proved. Besides, it is confounding all relations to expect that a man should be both the accuser and accused; and that pain should be the test of truth, as if truth resided in the muscles and fibres of a wretch in torture. By this method the robust will escape, and the feeble be condemned. These are the inconveniences of this pretended test of truth, worthy only of a cannibal, and which the Romans, in many respects barbarous, and whose savage virtue has been too much admired, reserved for the slaves alone.
Of the Intent of Punishments.
From the foregoing considerations it is evident that the intent of punishments is not to torment a sensible being, nor to undo a crime already committed. Is it possible that torments and useless cruelty, the instrument of furious fanaticism or the impotency of tyrants, can be authorised by a political body, which, so far from being influenced by passion, should be the cool moderator of the passions of individuals? Can the groans of a tortured wretch recall the time past, or reverse the crime he has committed? The end of punishment, therefore, is no other than to prevent the criminal from doing further injury to society, and to prevent others from committing the like offence. Such punishments, therefore, and such a mode of inflicting them, ought to be chosen, as will make the strongest and most lasting impressions on the minds of others, with the least torment to the body of the criminal.
Of the Punishment of Death.
The useless profusion of punishments, which has never made men better induces me to inquire, whether the punishment of death be really just or useful in a well governed state? What right, I ask, have men to cut the throats of their fellow-creatures? Certainly not that on which the sovereignty and laws are founded. The laws, as I have said before, are only the sum of the smallest portions of the private liberty of each individual, and represent the general will, which is the aggregate of that of each individual. Did any one ever give to others the right of taking away his life? Is it possible that, in the smallest portions of the liberty of each, sacrificed to the good of the public, can be contained the greatest of all good, life? If it were so, how shall it be reconciled to the maxim which tells us, that a man has no right to kill himself, which he certainly must have, if he could give it away to another?
But the punishment of death is not authorised by any right; for I have demonstrated that no such right exists. It is therefore a war of a whole nation against a citizen whose destruction they consider as necessary or useful to the general good. But if I can further demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor useful, I shall have gained the cause of humanity. The death of a citizen cannot be necessary but in one case: when, though deprived of his liberty, he has such power and connections as may endanger the security of the nation; when his existence may produce a dangerous revolution in the established form of government.
Monday, January 12, 2009
CANDIDE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Dr. Schmoll History 102
Candide Discussion Questions
HOW TO READ CANDIDE:
Ø For fun…you will not be tested on the specifics from this book. It will appear on the midterm, but the question will be driven by the themes we discuss in class.
Ø Look for signs of historical worth(such as in question 2 below);
Ø Finally, keep an eye out for answers to the following questions:
1. Describe the philosophy of Pangloss?
2. Why is Candide kicked out of the castle? What point do you think Voltaire
is trying to make here?
3. Describe the land of Eldorado. What do you think it represented for
Voltaire?
4. Why are there so many different settings in the novel? Describe the ones
that stand out most to you.
5. What are Candide's living conditions at the conclusion of the story? Has his
philosophy changed?
6. Based on this story, how happy and contented a place was Europe in the
18th century?
7. What do the "noble savages" of the new world represent?
8. Voltaire’s Candide ends in the following way: "we must cultivate our
garden." Interpret this statement. How do the many events in this book—both good and bad—support or refute the concept of cultivating one’s garden?
Candide Discussion Questions
HOW TO READ CANDIDE:
Ø For fun…you will not be tested on the specifics from this book. It will appear on the midterm, but the question will be driven by the themes we discuss in class.
Ø Look for signs of historical worth(such as in question 2 below);
Ø Finally, keep an eye out for answers to the following questions:
1. Describe the philosophy of Pangloss?
2. Why is Candide kicked out of the castle? What point do you think Voltaire
is trying to make here?
3. Describe the land of Eldorado. What do you think it represented for
Voltaire?
4. Why are there so many different settings in the novel? Describe the ones
that stand out most to you.
5. What are Candide's living conditions at the conclusion of the story? Has his
philosophy changed?
6. Based on this story, how happy and contented a place was Europe in the
18th century?
7. What do the "noble savages" of the new world represent?
8. Voltaire’s Candide ends in the following way: "we must cultivate our
garden." Interpret this statement. How do the many events in this book—both good and bad—support or refute the concept of cultivating one’s garden?
Sci Rev and Enlightenment Outline
The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
I. Defining the Scientific Rev:
II. Discovering the World:
A. Galileo
B. Isaac Newton
III. Disseminating the Info:
A. The Salon Movement
B. Baloon Men: Montgolfier
B. Franz Anton Mesmer (an anti-example)
IV. Defining the Enlightenment:
A. Main Principles:
1. reason
2. Sci. Method
3. Utilitarianism
4. Education
5. Legal reform (Beccaria)
6. Constitutionalism
B. Philosophes
(Locke, Smith, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu)
1. Progress
2. Deism
3. Optimism
C. Age of Faith over Reason?
D. Enlightened Absolutism
Ø Frederick the Great (Frederick II) of Prussia (ruled 1740-1785).
Ø Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (ruled 1740-1780)
Ø Emperor Joseph II of Austria (ruled 1765-1790)
Ø Catherine the Great of Russia (ruled 1762-1796)
V. Results?
I. Defining the Scientific Rev:
II. Discovering the World:
A. Galileo
B. Isaac Newton
III. Disseminating the Info:
A. The Salon Movement
B. Baloon Men: Montgolfier
B. Franz Anton Mesmer (an anti-example)
IV. Defining the Enlightenment:
A. Main Principles:
1. reason
2. Sci. Method
3. Utilitarianism
4. Education
5. Legal reform (Beccaria)
6. Constitutionalism
B. Philosophes
(Locke, Smith, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu)
1. Progress
2. Deism
3. Optimism
C. Age of Faith over Reason?
D. Enlightened Absolutism
Ø Frederick the Great (Frederick II) of Prussia (ruled 1740-1785).
Ø Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (ruled 1740-1780)
Ø Emperor Joseph II of Austria (ruled 1765-1790)
Ø Catherine the Great of Russia (ruled 1762-1796)
V. Results?
Are these quotes ENLIGHTENED?
Galileo Galilei
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means given us knowledge which we can attain by them."
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Sir Isaac Newton
"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."
Rene Descartes
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
"Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one
thinks he needs more of it than he already has."
Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!"
"I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about."
Ben Franklin
"He was so intelligent, that he could name a horse in nine Languages. So ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on."
"He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas."
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use and by some other means given us knowledge which we can attain by them."
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Sir Isaac Newton
"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."
"We build too many walls and not enough bridges."
Rene Descartes
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."
"Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one
thinks he needs more of it than he already has."
Jean Jacques Rousseau
"Man is born free, but is everywhere in chains!"
"I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about."
Ben Franklin
"He was so intelligent, that he could name a horse in nine Languages. So ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on."
"He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas."
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
READING ONE: Two Accounts of a Witchcraft Trial
A Trial at Bamberg Court Transcripts:
On Wednesday, June 28, 1628, was examined without torture Johannes Junius, Burgomaster at Bamberg, on the charge of witchcraft: how and in what fashion he had fallen into that vice. Is fifty-five years old, and was born at Niederwaysich in the Wetterau. Says he is wholly innocent, knows nothing of the crime, has never in his life renounced God; says that he is wronged before God and the world, would like to hear of a single human being who has seen him at such gatherings [as the witch-sabbaths].
Confrontation of Dr. Georg Adam Haan. Tells him to his face he will stake his life on it, that he saw him, Junius, a year and a half ago at a witch-gathering in the electoral council-room, where they ate and drank. Accused denies the same wholly.
Confronted with Hopffens Elsse. Tells him likewise that he was on Haupts-moor at a witch-dance; but first the holy wafer was desecrated. Junius denies. Hereupon he was told that his accomplices had confessed against him and was given time for thought.
On Friday, June 30, 1628, the aforesaid Junius was again without torture exhorted to confess, but again confessed nothing, whereupon, . . . since he would confess nothing, he was put to the torture, and first the Thumb screws were applied. Says he has never denied God his Saviour nor suffered himself to be otherwise baptized; will again stake his life on it, feels no pain with the thumb-screws.
Leg-screws. Will confess absolutely nothing; knows nothing about it. He has never renounced God; will never do such a thing; has never been guilty of this vice; feels likewise no pain.Is stripped and examined; on his right side is found a bluish mark, like a clover leaf, is thrice pricked therein, but feels no pain and no blood flows out.
He has never renounced God; God will not forsake him; if he were such a wretch he would not let himself be so tortured; God must show some token of his innocence. He knows nothing about witchcraft. . . .
On July 5, the above Junius is without torture, but with urgent persuasions; exhorted to confess, and at last begins and confesses:
When in the year 1624 his law-suit at Tothweil cost him some six hundred florins, he had gone out, in the month of August, into his orchard at Friedrichsbronnen; and, as he sat there in thought, there had come to him a woman like a grass-maid, who had asked him why he sat there so sorrowful; he had anwered that he was not despondent, but she had led him by seductive speeches to yield him to her will. . . . And thereafter this wench had changed into the form of a goat, which bleated and said, "Now you see with whom you have had to do. You must be mine or I will forthwith break your neck." Thereupon he had been frightened, and tembled all over for fear. Then the transformed spirit had seized him by the throat and demanded that he should renounce God Almighty, whereupon Junius said, "God forbid," and thereupon the spirit vanished through the power of these words. Yet it came straightway back, brought more people with it, and persistently demanded of him that he renounce God in Heaven and all the heavenly host, by which terrible threatening he was obliged to speak this formula: "I renounce God in Heaven and his host, and will henceforward recognize the Devil as my God."
After the renunciation he was so far persuaded by those present and by the evil spirit that he suffered himself to be otherwise baptized in the evil spirit's name. The Morhauptin had given him a ducat as dower-gold, which afterward became only a potsherd.
He was then named Krix. His paramour he had to call Vixen. Those present had congratulated him in Beelzebub's name and said that they were now all alike. At this baptism of his there were among others the aforesaid Christiana Morhauptin, the young Geiserlin, Paul Glasers, [and others]. After this they had dispersed.
At this time his paramour had promised to provide him with money, and from time to time to take him to other witch-gatherings. . . .
Whenever he wished to ride forth [to the witch-sabbath] a black dog had come before his bed, which said to him that he must go with him, whereupon he had seated himself upon the dog and the dog had raised himself in the Devil's name and so had fared forth.
About two years ago he was taken to the electoral council-room, at the left hand as one goes in. Above at a table were seated the Chancellor, the Burgomaster Neydekher, Dr. Georg Haan, [and many others]. Since his eyes were not good, he could not recognize more persons.
More time for consideration was now given him. On July 7, the aforesaid Junius was again examined, to know what further had occurred to him to confess. He confesses that about two months ago, on the day after an execution was held, he was at a witch-dance at the Black Cross, where Beelzebub had shown himself to them all and said expressly to their faces that they must all be burned together on this spot, and had ridiculed and taunted those present. . . .
Of crimes. His paramour had immediately after his seduction demanded that he should make away with his younger son Hans Georg, and had given him for this purpose a gray powder; this, however, being too hard for him, he had made away with his horse, a brown, instead.
His paramour had also often spurred him on to kill his daughter, ... and because he would not do this he had been maltreated with blows by the evil spirit.
Once at the suggestion of his paramour he had taken the holy wafer out of his mouth and given it to her. . . .
A week before his arrest as he was going to St. Martin's church the Devil met him on the way, in the form of a goat, and told him that he would soon be imprisoned, but that he should not trouble himself--he would soon set him free. Besides this, by his soul's salvation, he knew nothing further; but what he had spoken was the pure truth; on that he would stake his life. On August 6, 1628, there was read to the aforesaid Junius this his confession, which he then wholly ratified and confirmed, and was willing to stake his life upon it. And afterward he voluntarily confirmed the same before the court.
Johannes Junius’ Account
I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it--God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also--God in highest Heaven have mercy--the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing. . . . Thereafter they first stipped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I though heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terible agony. . . .
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. . . . When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, where it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture you will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another. . . ."
On Wednesday, June 28, 1628, was examined without torture Johannes Junius, Burgomaster at Bamberg, on the charge of witchcraft: how and in what fashion he had fallen into that vice. Is fifty-five years old, and was born at Niederwaysich in the Wetterau. Says he is wholly innocent, knows nothing of the crime, has never in his life renounced God; says that he is wronged before God and the world, would like to hear of a single human being who has seen him at such gatherings [as the witch-sabbaths].
Confrontation of Dr. Georg Adam Haan. Tells him to his face he will stake his life on it, that he saw him, Junius, a year and a half ago at a witch-gathering in the electoral council-room, where they ate and drank. Accused denies the same wholly.
Confronted with Hopffens Elsse. Tells him likewise that he was on Haupts-moor at a witch-dance; but first the holy wafer was desecrated. Junius denies. Hereupon he was told that his accomplices had confessed against him and was given time for thought.
On Friday, June 30, 1628, the aforesaid Junius was again without torture exhorted to confess, but again confessed nothing, whereupon, . . . since he would confess nothing, he was put to the torture, and first the Thumb screws were applied. Says he has never denied God his Saviour nor suffered himself to be otherwise baptized; will again stake his life on it, feels no pain with the thumb-screws.
Leg-screws. Will confess absolutely nothing; knows nothing about it. He has never renounced God; will never do such a thing; has never been guilty of this vice; feels likewise no pain.Is stripped and examined; on his right side is found a bluish mark, like a clover leaf, is thrice pricked therein, but feels no pain and no blood flows out.
He has never renounced God; God will not forsake him; if he were such a wretch he would not let himself be so tortured; God must show some token of his innocence. He knows nothing about witchcraft. . . .
On July 5, the above Junius is without torture, but with urgent persuasions; exhorted to confess, and at last begins and confesses:
When in the year 1624 his law-suit at Tothweil cost him some six hundred florins, he had gone out, in the month of August, into his orchard at Friedrichsbronnen; and, as he sat there in thought, there had come to him a woman like a grass-maid, who had asked him why he sat there so sorrowful; he had anwered that he was not despondent, but she had led him by seductive speeches to yield him to her will. . . . And thereafter this wench had changed into the form of a goat, which bleated and said, "Now you see with whom you have had to do. You must be mine or I will forthwith break your neck." Thereupon he had been frightened, and tembled all over for fear. Then the transformed spirit had seized him by the throat and demanded that he should renounce God Almighty, whereupon Junius said, "God forbid," and thereupon the spirit vanished through the power of these words. Yet it came straightway back, brought more people with it, and persistently demanded of him that he renounce God in Heaven and all the heavenly host, by which terrible threatening he was obliged to speak this formula: "I renounce God in Heaven and his host, and will henceforward recognize the Devil as my God."
After the renunciation he was so far persuaded by those present and by the evil spirit that he suffered himself to be otherwise baptized in the evil spirit's name. The Morhauptin had given him a ducat as dower-gold, which afterward became only a potsherd.
He was then named Krix. His paramour he had to call Vixen. Those present had congratulated him in Beelzebub's name and said that they were now all alike. At this baptism of his there were among others the aforesaid Christiana Morhauptin, the young Geiserlin, Paul Glasers, [and others]. After this they had dispersed.
At this time his paramour had promised to provide him with money, and from time to time to take him to other witch-gatherings. . . .
Whenever he wished to ride forth [to the witch-sabbath] a black dog had come before his bed, which said to him that he must go with him, whereupon he had seated himself upon the dog and the dog had raised himself in the Devil's name and so had fared forth.
About two years ago he was taken to the electoral council-room, at the left hand as one goes in. Above at a table were seated the Chancellor, the Burgomaster Neydekher, Dr. Georg Haan, [and many others]. Since his eyes were not good, he could not recognize more persons.
More time for consideration was now given him. On July 7, the aforesaid Junius was again examined, to know what further had occurred to him to confess. He confesses that about two months ago, on the day after an execution was held, he was at a witch-dance at the Black Cross, where Beelzebub had shown himself to them all and said expressly to their faces that they must all be burned together on this spot, and had ridiculed and taunted those present. . . .
Of crimes. His paramour had immediately after his seduction demanded that he should make away with his younger son Hans Georg, and had given him for this purpose a gray powder; this, however, being too hard for him, he had made away with his horse, a brown, instead.
His paramour had also often spurred him on to kill his daughter, ... and because he would not do this he had been maltreated with blows by the evil spirit.
Once at the suggestion of his paramour he had taken the holy wafer out of his mouth and given it to her. . . .
A week before his arrest as he was going to St. Martin's church the Devil met him on the way, in the form of a goat, and told him that he would soon be imprisoned, but that he should not trouble himself--he would soon set him free. Besides this, by his soul's salvation, he knew nothing further; but what he had spoken was the pure truth; on that he would stake his life. On August 6, 1628, there was read to the aforesaid Junius this his confession, which he then wholly ratified and confirmed, and was willing to stake his life upon it. And afterward he voluntarily confirmed the same before the court.
Johannes Junius’ Account
I answered: "I have never renounced God, and will never do it--God graciously keep me from it. I'll rather bear whatever I must." And then came also--God in highest Heaven have mercy--the executioner, and put the thumb-screws on me, both hands bound together, so that the blood ran out at the nails and everywhere, so that for four weeks I could not use my hands, as you can see from the writing. . . . Thereafter they first stipped me, bound my hands behind me, and drew me up in the torture. Then I though heaven and earth were at an end; eight times did they draw me up and let me fall again, so that I suffered terible agony. . . .
And this happened on Friday, June 30, and with God's help I had to bear the torture. . . . When at last the executioner led me back into the prison, he said to me: "Sir, I beg you, for God's sake confess something, where it be true or not. Invent something, for you cannot endure the torture you will be put to; and, even if you bear it all, yet you will not escape, not even if you were an earl, but one torture will follow after another until you say you are a witch. Not before that," he said, "will they let you go, as you may see by all their trials, for one is just like another. . . ."
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
TURNITIN.COM INFO
For the essays in this course, we will use turnitin.com.You need to sign in to this site and have your essay in some electronic format.
Go to turnitin.com and follow the instructions to sign in.
The enrollment code for this class 2555883.
The password is history.
Do you feel we have been "corporatized" by employing turnitin?
As with everything in here, if you have any questions at all, by all means contact me, and we'll solve them together!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Course Syllabus
History 102 (1)
Winter 2009
10:55-12:15 MWF
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Office Phone: 654-6549
Office Hours: MWF
Email: bschmoll@csub.eduMUSIC BUILDING 112
Required Texts:
Voltaire, Candide
Ernst Junger, Storm of Steel
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
Course Description:
The following is from the CSUB History Dept. website: “An introduction to the major historical events in Western culture which contributed to the shaping of the modern world, 1750 to present. Emphasis is placed on the process of modernization in the transformation of Europe, the United States, and the Third World. Pre-requisite: English 100 or its equivalent.”
( http://www.csub.edu/history/westciv.htx)
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmolleuropeanhistory.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Dear Class,
I am so pleased to welcome you to this course. This quarter, we will enjoy numerous experiences together, traveling on countless mental journeys. To start things off, I have constructed a syllabus that will guide the class, hopefully answer many of your questions, and become the official constitution and law of this course.
Why is this syllabus so long, you may ask? As a student, you realize what you must do to succeed in college, right? Some students, rather than doing what is necessary and accepting the consequences of their decisions, would rather abuse the system by searching for loopholes in each professor’s syllabus. One of the best professors to ever teach at this institution never even gave students a syllabus; how would he fare in our overly legalistic climate today? I’ll let you ponder that, but for now, it’s important to say that this ridiculously long syllabus represents my desire to state all rules and regulations and to clarify what this course is all about.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much high literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Grading Scale
Class Participation 10%=100 points
Midterm Exam 30%=250 points
Final Exam 30%=300 points
Country Study 10%=100 points
Primo Levi Essay 20%=250 points
Waiting List Policy:
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class if you come to every class and if you turn in the work while you are there. Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you so desire. If no one drops out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
Course Schedule:
Wed 1/7 Introduction/Europe at 1750
Fri 1/9 Scientific Revolution/Assign Candide Reading Guide
Mon 1/12 Absolutism and the Old Order
Wed 1/14 Absolutism and the Old Order
Fri 1/16 Candide READING DUE
Mon 1/19 French Revolution/Assign Country Study
Wed 1/21 French Revolution
Fri 1/23 Library and Reading Day/No class
Mon 1/26 Napoleon
Wed 1/28 Congress of Vienna
Fri 1/30 Industrialism/Country Study Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Mon 2/2 Industrialism/Midterm Review
Wed 2/4 Industrialism/New Nationalism
Fri 2/6 Midterm
Mon 2/9 European Imperialism: Scramble for Africa
Wed 2/11 World War I
Fri 2/13 World War I
Mon 2/16 STORM OF STEEL READING DUE
Wed 2/18 Russian Revolution and Stalin
Fri 2/20 Influenza, Weimar, and the World Depression
Mon 2/23 Hitler’s Germany
Wed 2/25 WW II
Fri 2/27 The Holocaust
Mon 3/2 Primo Levi Discussion
Wed 3/4 The Cold War
Fri 3/6 Revolutions of 1968
Mon 3/9 E. Europe before the Fall/Levi Essay Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Wed 3/11 Collapse of the Soviet Union
Fri 3/13 The European Union/Review for Final Exam
Mon 3/16 Last Day of Class
Wed 3/18 FINAL EXAM 11-1:30
Winter 2009
10:55-12:15 MWF
Instructor: Dr. Schmoll
Office: Faculty Towers 201A
Office Phone: 654-6549
Office Hours: MWF
Email: bschmoll@csub.eduMUSIC BUILDING 112
Required Texts:
Voltaire, Candide
Ernst Junger, Storm of Steel
Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
Course Description:
The following is from the CSUB History Dept. website: “An introduction to the major historical events in Western culture which contributed to the shaping of the modern world, 1750 to present. Emphasis is placed on the process of modernization in the transformation of Europe, the United States, and the Third World. Pre-requisite: English 100 or its equivalent.”
( http://www.csub.edu/history/westciv.htx)
The Blog: If you have questions or comments about this class, or if you want to see the course reader or the syllabus online, just go to http://schmolleuropeanhistory.blogspot.com/.
You will also have short readings on the blog. I will announce these in class.
Dear Class,
I am so pleased to welcome you to this course. This quarter, we will enjoy numerous experiences together, traveling on countless mental journeys. To start things off, I have constructed a syllabus that will guide the class, hopefully answer many of your questions, and become the official constitution and law of this course.
Why is this syllabus so long, you may ask? As a student, you realize what you must do to succeed in college, right? Some students, rather than doing what is necessary and accepting the consequences of their decisions, would rather abuse the system by searching for loopholes in each professor’s syllabus. One of the best professors to ever teach at this institution never even gave students a syllabus; how would he fare in our overly legalistic climate today? I’ll let you ponder that, but for now, it’s important to say that this ridiculously long syllabus represents my desire to state all rules and regulations and to clarify what this course is all about.
Attendance:
Just to be clear, to succeed on tests and papers you really should be in class. That’s just common sense, right? To pass this class, you may not miss more than two classes. If you miss that third class meeting, you are missing 10% of the quarter. You cannot do that and pass. So, here’s what we do. Do your best to not miss any class unnecessarily. Let’s say your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife calls and wants to take you to Tahiti this weekend, but you won’t be back until late Tuesday night. Here’s what you say: “Honey, I love you, but Dr. Schmoll seems to value my education more than you do, so we are breaking up.” Ok, that may be harsh, so don’t do that, but just make sure that you do not miss any class until the 8th week. What I’ve found is that it seems inevitable that those who miss two classes early for pathetic reasons like doctor’s appointments that should have been more carefully scheduled get to the 8th week and then have to miss for a legitimate reason (like a surprise meeting at work, a sick child to take care of, or a flat tire). If you get to that 8th week and then have to miss your third class, it’ll be bad. By that point, I’ll be kind, compassionate, a real shoulder to cry on, if you want, when telling you that you’ve now failed the course. Now, if you make it to the 8th or 9th week and you have not missed those two classes, then you have some wiggle room, so that if, heaven forbid, your cat Poopsie gets pneumonia and you have to sit up all night bottle-feeding her liquid antibiotics, you and I don’t have to have that ugly conversation where I tell you that Poopsie gets blamed for you failing the course. Let’s put this another way; do you like movies? No way, me too! When you go to the movies do you usually get up and walk around the theatre for 15% of the movie? Let’s say you do decide to do that, out of a love of popcorn and movie posters, perhaps. If you did that, would you expect to understand the whole story? Okay, maybe if you are watching Harold and Kumar, but for anything else, you’ll be lost. So, please, get to class.
Being Prompt:
Get to class on time. Why does that matter? First, it sends the wrong message to your principal grader(that’s me). As much as we in the humanities would like you to believe that these courses are objective (at what time of day did the Battle of the Marne begin?), that is not entirely the case. If you send your principal grader the message that you don’t mind missing the first few minutes and disturbing others in the class, don’t expect to be given the benefit of the doubt when the tests and papers roll around. Does that sound mean? It’s not meant to, but just remember, your actions send signals. Being late also means that someone who already has everything out and is ready and is involved in the discussion has to stop, move everything over, get out of the chair to let you by, pick up the pencil you drop, let you borrow paper, run to the bathroom because you spilled the coffee, and so on. It’s rude. There’s an old saying: better two hours early than two minutes late. Old sayings are good.
So, what are the consequences of persistent tardiness? What do you think they should be? Remember that 10% participation? You are eligible for that grade if you are on time. Get here on time. And no, I’m not the jackass who watches for you to be late that one time and stands at the door and points in your face. One time tardiness is not a problem precisely because it is not persistent. It’s an accident; maybe Poopsie turned off your alarm.
The Unforgivable Curse:
Speaking of one time issues, there is something that is so severe, so awful, that if it happens one time, just one time, no warning, no “oh hey I noticed this and if you could stop it that’d be super,” you will automatically lose all 10 percent of the Participation grade. Any guesses? C’mon, you must have some idea. No, it’s not your telephone ringing. If that happens, it’ll just be slightly funny and we’ll move on. It’s a mistake and not intentional, and the increased heart rate and extra sweat on your brow from you diving headfirst into an overstuffed book bag to find a buried phone that is now playing that new Cristina Aguilera ringtone is punishment enough for you. So, what is it, this unforgivable crime? Texting. If you take out your phone one time to send or receive messages you will automatically lose 10% of your course grade. That means, if you receive a final grade of 85%, it will drop to 75%. If you receive a final grade of 75%, it will become a 65%. Why is that? The phone ringing is an accident. Texting is on purpose and is rude. It, in fact, is beyond rude. It wreaks of the worst of our current society. It bespeaks the absolutely vile desire we all have to never separate from our technological tether for even a moment. It sends your fellow classmates and your teacher the signal that you have better things to do. Checking your phone during class is like listening to a friend’s story and right in the middle turning away and talking to someone else. Plus, the way our brains work, you need to fully immerse yourself, to tune your brain into an optimal, flowing machine (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s incredible book Flow) that can grasp and can let itself go. Students now tend to see school as a stopover on their way to a career. Brothers and sisters, that’s deadly! I wish that I could pay for you all to quit your jobs and just focus on the mind. I can’t yet do that, but if I could I would, because it’d be worth every penny. Devoting time to the mind and to thinking deeply about your world will change who you are and how you approach your future, your family, your job, and your everything. Is that overstated? I believe it to be true. So, until my stock choices really take off so that I can pay all of your bills, promise me one thing. When you are in class or preparing for class, you have to be fully here. Oh crap, now it’s going to sound like a hippy professor from the 1960s: “I mean, like, be here man, just be here.” Maybe the hippies were on to something. Devote yourself fully to your classes by unplugging from the outside world for awhile.
Class Climate:
No, I don’t mean whether it’s going to rain in here or not. Sometimes I’ll lecture at you, but even then, your participation is vital. How can you participate when someone is lecturing? Any ideas? Turn to a neighbor and tell them the story of your first day at school in kindergarten. Now, if you are the one listening to the story, right in the middle look away, look at your watch, sneer at them, roll your eyes, yawn, wave to someone across the room, nudge a person next to you and tell them a joke, all while the other person is telling about his or her first day of kindergarten. If this happens in social setting we call it rude, and we call the people who listen in that way jackasses. They are not our friends precisely because we deeply value listening and do not put up with those who do not listen well. Right? So, there will be lecturing, and if you abhor what we are doing, then fake it. I used to do that sometimes too: “oh no, professor, I love hearing you talk about President Reagan’s policies of supply side economics.” If we listen to psychologists, by faking interest you’ll be learning much more than if you show your disinterest. The next time you are sad force yourself to smile and you’ll see what I mean. So, sometimes there will be lecture. At other times there will be discussion of short readings that we do in class. During these times, it’s crucial that you do the silly little exercises: turn to a neighbor; find someone you don’t know and discuss this or that; explain to your friend what we just went over in lecture; pick something from the reading to disagree with; find two people on the other side of the room; throw cash at your professor…ok, maybe not that last one. This class is a bit unique in that it violates the normally accepted activity systems of college history classrooms. What we do in discussion will help solidify the concepts of each section of this course in your brain. If you are active in class, you will have to study less, and you’ll find yourself remembering much more.
Reading:
How many of you love reading? I did not read a book until I was 18, so if you have not yet started your journey on this ever widening path, it’s never too late. In any course, there’s no substitute for reading. Theorist Jim Moffett says that “all real writing happens from plentitude,” meaning that you can only really write well about someone once you know about it. Reading is one way to know—not the only, by any means! I want you to have experiences with great texts. I can show you voluminous research proving why you nee to read more, but then if I assign a stupid, long, expensive textbook you probably will end up not reading, or only reading to have the reading done, something we have all done, right? The economy now requires much high literacy rates (see The World is Flat), and even though reading levels have not gone down in the last 40 years, it is crucial that you start to push your own reading so that your own literacy level goes up. For these ten weeks, diving wholeheartedly into the course reading is vital. Remember to read in a particular way. As reading expert and UCSB professor Sheridan Blau has argued, “reading is as much a process of text production as writing is.” Reading involves revision? Does that sound silly? As you read, think about the different ways that you understand what you read. Most importantly, when you read, think about the words of E.D. Hirsch, who says that we look at what a text says (reading), what it means (interpretation), and why it matters (criticism). Hey, but if you are in a history course, aren’t you supposed to be reading for exactly the number of miles of trenches that were dug in World War One, how many railroad workers died from 1890 to 1917, or what the causes of the Great Depression were? Anyway, the answer is yes and no. There are two types of reading that you’ll do in college. As the literary goddess theorist Louise Rosenblatt explains, there is aesthetic reading, where you are reading to have an experience with the text, and there is efferent reading, where you are reading to take away information from the text. You do both types all the time. Think about a phone book. You have probably never heard someone say of a phone book, “don’t tell me about it, I want to read it for myself.” Reading a phone book is purely efferent. In this course you will practice both types of reading. I have chosen texts that you can enjoy (aesthetic) and that you can learn from(efferent). I want to see and appreciate the detail in our reading, but in this course I’ll give you that detail in class lectures. In the reading, it’s much more important that you read texts that will live with you forever and to inspire you to think more thoroughly about your world. As you read, you should be working hard to create meaning for yourself. As Rosenblatt asserts, “taking someone else’s interpretation as your own is like having someone else eat your dinner for you.” Please, don’t let the numbskulls as wikipedia or sparknotes eat your dinner for you.
Grading Scale
Class Participation 10%=100 points
Midterm Exam 30%=250 points
Final Exam 30%=300 points
Country Study 10%=100 points
Primo Levi Essay 20%=250 points
Waiting List Policy:
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class if you come to every class and if you turn in the work while you are there. Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you so desire. If no one drops out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
Course Schedule:
Wed 1/7 Introduction/Europe at 1750
Fri 1/9 Scientific Revolution/Assign Candide Reading Guide
Mon 1/12 Absolutism and the Old Order
Wed 1/14 Absolutism and the Old Order
Fri 1/16 Candide READING DUE
Mon 1/19 French Revolution/Assign Country Study
Wed 1/21 French Revolution
Fri 1/23 Library and Reading Day/No class
Mon 1/26 Napoleon
Wed 1/28 Congress of Vienna
Fri 1/30 Industrialism/Country Study Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Mon 2/2 Industrialism/Midterm Review
Wed 2/4 Industrialism/New Nationalism
Fri 2/6 Midterm
Mon 2/9 European Imperialism: Scramble for Africa
Wed 2/11 World War I
Fri 2/13 World War I
Mon 2/16 STORM OF STEEL READING DUE
Wed 2/18 Russian Revolution and Stalin
Fri 2/20 Influenza, Weimar, and the World Depression
Mon 2/23 Hitler’s Germany
Wed 2/25 WW II
Fri 2/27 The Holocaust
Mon 3/2 Primo Levi Discussion
Wed 3/4 The Cold War
Fri 3/6 Revolutions of 1968
Mon 3/9 E. Europe before the Fall/Levi Essay Due (due to turnitin by midnight tonight)
Wed 3/11 Collapse of the Soviet Union
Fri 3/13 The European Union/Review for Final Exam
Mon 3/16 Last Day of Class
Wed 3/18 FINAL EXAM 11-1:30
OLD WORLD? NEW WORLD?
What about this photo (from Cantalapiedra, Spain) shows signs of being from an older, lost world? What historical changes have resulted in this sort of thing not happening anymore?(and yes, that is me in the back on the right)
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