WORLD WAR I

Course Lectures

 

Topic 1 -- Introduction and Background

Introductory Lecture

Reading:  Europe and the World (from:  Theodore von Laue, Why Lenin?  Why Stalin?, Chapter 1)

Essay:  A Brief Introduction to German History by L. J. Andrew Villalon (Background to unification)

Topic 2 -- German Unification (1862-1871)

Topic 3 -- Austria-Hungary and the Nationality Problem

Test 1:  Study Guide

 

Topic 4 -- The Age of Bismarck (1871-1890)

Topic 5 -- The Kaiser takes the Reins (1890-1905)

Topic 6  -- A Decade of Crises (1905-1914)

Topic 7 -- 1914:  Europe on the Brink

Topic 8 -- The Final Crisis (Summer, 1914):  Shots are Fired and the Lights Go Out

Topic 9 -- Who was Responsible?

Test 2 -- Readings

Test 2:  Study Guide

 

Topic 10 -- The Campaign of 1914:  From Liege to Tannenberg and the Marne

Topic 11 -- Stalemate in the Trenches (1915-1917)

Topic 12 -- Attempting to Break the Stalemate

Topic 13 -- 1917:  Year of Agony, Year of Hope

Topic 14 -- The Russian Revolutions of 1917

Topic 15 -- The Blockade, the Submarine, and America's Entry into the War

Topic 16 -- The Campaign of 1918:  Germany's Final Gamble

Topic 17 -- The Peace Settlement and Seeds for the Future

Final Exam -- Readings

Final Exam:  Study Guide


Course Readings

Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (Questions on the Final Exam)

Robert Graves, Goodbye To All That (Questions on the Final Exam)

Vera Britton, Testament of Youth (Optional)

Films

Paths of Glory  (Questions on the Final Exam)

Gallipoli (Recommended)

 

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