General Information:

(1)  Full Course title:  “The War to End All Wars”:  World War I and the Twentieth Century
(2)  Semester:  First
(3)  Professor:  L. J. Andrew Villalon  (Dr. V; Professor V; Mr. V)
(4)  Course number:  362G
(5)  Section:  Only one
(6)  Days/Time of meeting:  M-W-F  12-1 p. m.
(7)  Classroom:  GAR 1.126
(8)  Campus Office: GAR 4.120
(9)  History Departmental Office, GAR/First Floor
(10)  Office Phone:   (512)475-8004
(11)  Departmental Phone:  471-3261
(12)  Office Hours:  W: 3-5; F: 3-5.   (5-6 by appointment; limited access to the 4th floor at this time requires phoning the professor's office upon arrival).
(13)  Email Address:  avillalon@austin.rr.com
(14)  Website URL for this course: 
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507/c-ww1-index.html
(15)  Website on which this material appears:  Wire Paladin
Current URL:  http://www.geocities.com/wirepaladin/geo
Former URL:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507 

(If you do not have available the URL to my website, you can still find it easily by typing into Google "Andrew Villalon Wire Paladin."  The website should come up as the first entry on the list.  You can then click through to it.)

Contacting the Professor:

There are three very reliable ways to contact this professor:

(1)  Speak with him either before or after class.

(2)  Come to his office during office hours (see above).

No appointment is needed; I am almost always available in my office (or very nearby) during those office hours which will take place on Monday and Wednesday.  If you do not at first find me, try down the hall in the departmental office.  I shall try to leave a note on my door if, for whatever reason, I have to go out for a moment or entirely miss the office hour.  If that ever occurs, let me apologize in advance.  

(3)  Contact him through email.

I  check and respond to my email regularly and I will try to reply to your message as soon as I receive it.  It is best to send messages to my home email address where I look at my email several times a day.

Other means of getting in contact are much less certain.  You can try to reach me at my office by phone (see above), especially during office hours, when I am almost certain to be there.  If I am not there when you call, you can leave a voice-mail message which will get to me.  Ordinarily, however, I do not return student calls.  Consequently, if you do not speak to me directly and the matter involves more than simply leaving a message, it is your responsibility to keep trying until you reach me.  (Again, I suggest that it is better to see me in class or sending an email message).

I have purposely omitted my home telephone number from this syllabus for the simple reason that I will not take student phone calls at home.


Introduction to the Course:

World War I (1914-1918) was a monumental struggle that tore Europe apart and accounted for the death of millions; its echoes continue to reverberate even at the close the twentieth century and opening of the twenty-first.  It was indeed "the Great War," a name by which it was known for many years after its conclusion.

World War I marked the beginning of the end of a domination over world affairs which the European nations had exercised for centuries.  Although only the German colonial empire immediately disappeared, the conflict sewed the seeds of a massive decolonization that would characterize the twentieth century.

World War I destroyed the existing political order and, to a lesser extent, the economic order as well. It swept away four of the ancient monarchies of Europe--the Hapsburgs of  Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia, the Hohenzollerns of Germany and the Ottoman Dynasty which ruled Turkey. It brought Comunism to power in Russia and laid the foundations for the post-war growth of Fascism across much of the continent.  It catapulted the United States into the status of a major world power, the responsibilities of which she would try (unsuccessfully) to abdicate following the struggle.

World War I devastated--both physically and psychologically a generation of European youth.  It fanned the flames of nationalism among the long suppressed peoples of Central Europe and led to the emergence (or re-emergence) of several middle European nations which had formerly been part of one or another of the now defunct empires.  The war radically reshaped the map not only of Europe, but of the Middle East as well, giving rise to Arab nationalism and leading to the birth of Israel. 

World War I spawned the League of Nations, forerunner to the United Nations of our own day.  It also planted the seeds of the Second World War--a war which many historians regard as a "second round" of the same conflict following a twenty-year truce. 

In short, World War I set the stage for the Twentieth Century.


Course Objectives:

This course will examine in detail the origins, progress, and results of the First World.

Military topics:
(1)  Rival war plans and the unprecedented mobilization of armies
(2)  German failure in 1914
(3)  Stalemate and trench warfare on the Western Front
(4)  Failure of the WWI armies to grapple with the new realities of warfare
(5)  Weapons and tactics of military stalemate and new technologies designed to break it
(6)  Role of the opposing navies:  Allied Bockade vrs German submarines
(7)  War on the Eastern Front and in lesser theatres (Italy, Gallipoli, the Near
East, East Africa, the Far East)
(8)  Birth and development of military aviation
(9)  Germany's final (losing) gamble of 1917-1918
(10)  Decisive Allied counter-offensive
(12)  Role of American intervention

Non military topics:
(1)  Social, economic, and diplomatic background to the conflict
(2)  Rise of a peace movement
(3)  Effect of the war upon the homefronts
(4)  Reorganization of society and economy caused by the demands of total war
(5)  Wartime diplomacy and the affect of the war on neutral nations
(6)  Russian Revolution
(7)  Effect of war on women
(8)  American drift from neutrality to involvement
(9)  Literature, poetry, and art of war
(10) Peace settlements issuing from the war
(11)  Question of  responsibility and  the attempt to assign 'war guilt.'
(12)  War and Disease


Required Reading/Viewing:
 
Class Notes:

 There is no text book for the course.  However, extensive notes extracted from lectures are available on my website, Wire Paladin.  These notes supply the basic factual information which the student will need to know in order to do well on exams.  It is strongly recommended that the student bring to class a printout of the notes for material being discussed and annotate them as needed during the lecture. 

There should be no trouble getting to my website using the URLs given in the Introduction.  If, for some reason, you do have trouble, send me an email.  When I respond, go to the email signature on the bottom of my response.

Books (required):
   
E. M. Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (various publishers).  This is the English translation of the the classic World War I  novel, written by a German veteran and titled in German Im Westen, Nichts Neues, which translates literally, "Nothing new in the West."
   
Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That  (Anchor Books).  This is the best-known World War I memoir.

Assorted documents and readings that will be provided on the web.
    
Films (required): 

"Paths of Glory":  This is a classic World War I film starring Kirk Douglas and Adolph Menjou; although it dates to the mid-1950s, it is based on a novel of the 1930s.

Students are expected to view this film as part of their assigned work.  Questions to be considered when viewing the film are posted on the course webpage.  While it is usually available at your neighborhood Blockbuster, you might consider purchasing it (approximate cost:  $10.00) from Amazon.com or Libris.

Other visual material (required):

"The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century":  This superb eight-part series on the First World War was produced jointly by KCET and the BBC in 1996.  There is no need to obtain it; most will be shown in class over the course of the semester (as a rest from my lecturing!)

Optional Reading/Viewing:

Henri Barbusse, Under Fire (Penguin).  This is the first great anti-war novel to come out of the First World War.  It is unique in for several reasons:  first, it was written by a French soldier on active duty; second, it was actually published during the conflict. 

Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth (Penguin).  While not as well-known as Graves' autobiography, it is the finest such work written by a woman who participated actively in the conflict and is (in my opinion) one of the most moving pieces of literature to come out of the Twentieth Century.  Short selections will be posted on the website as required reading, but students might be interested in looking at the entire work.
 
"Gallipoli"  A modern classic concerning the unsuccessful Allied attack on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915; this film helped promote Mel Gibson to international star status.


Course Schedule:
 
Exam dates will be announced in class at least a week in advance of the exam.

1.  Introduction and Background
2.  German Unification
3.  Austria-Hungary and the Nationality Problem
   
Test 1 (based on Sections 1-3)

4.  The Age of Bismarck (1871-1890)
5.  The Kaiser takes the Reins (1890-1905)
6.  A Decade of Crises (1905-1914)
7.  Summer, 1914--Shots are Fired and the Lights Go Out
8.  Who was Responsible?
   
Test 2 (based on Sections 4-8)

9.  The 1914 Campaign--From Liege to Tannenberg and the Marne
10.  Stalemate in the Trenches (1915-1917)
11.  Failing to Breakthrough
12.  1917--Year of Agony, Year of Hope
13.  The Russian Revolutions of 1917
14.  The Blockade, the Submarine, and America's Entry into the War
15.  The 1918 Campaign--Germany's Final Gamble and Allied Victory
16.  Peacemaking-1919
17.  Losing the Peace
   
Test 3 (Final Examination) (based on Sections 9-17)

Course Grades:

Grading in the course will he based upon the following criteria:
(1)  Two tests during the term, both dealing with the lead-up to the war
(2)  A final examination dealing with the war and its aftermath

Tests will be factual, designed mainly to see that the student is absorbing the course material.  Questions, based on the lecture notes and study guides printed on the website, are pretty straight-forward.  Students willing to sit down and put in the work necessary to learn the material have never had trouble with them.

(3)  A brief course essay (at a minimum 10 typed pages) or comparable project dealing with a topic of interest to the student. 

Here is where you can get creative!

All papers must be type-written and proof read, contain a bibliography, and include an appendix made up of photocopies or print-outs of the major sources used in compiling the paper.   If the paper utilizes direct quotations, they should be referenced either in footnotes or endnotes using historical style.

Projects other than a formal paper must be discussed and cleared with the professor.
 
In addition, the student should not ignore active engagement in the class.  This can take various forms:  discussion (either in class or outside of it), producing information the instructor has not mentioned, answering questions, finding and sharing relevant materials, etc.  Such participation can count in the student’s favor, though a failure to participate in this manner will not count against him/her. I am fully aware that there are many good students who prefer to listen rather than talk and, and since I admire good listeners, I will not penalize them.


Attendance:

Attendance in any course is important, but it is particularly important when that course is based heavily upon both in-class lectures and, to a lesser extent, in-class discussion.  Although I provide fairly detailed notes of what is discussed in each class, THE STUDENT IS EXPECTED TO ATTEND ON A REGULAR BASIS.

No habitual failure to attend is acceptable, regardless of the reason.  While this may seem old-fashioned, I am a firm believer that part of a student's responsibility is to attend class.  Gross failure to attend will almost certainly be taken into consideration in the final grade; and the professor reserves the right to deny a student a grade if the attendance is poor enough.

Furthermore, students should never skip a class simply because they feel unprepared.  After all, you might miss something interesting or useful!  Besides, there are no unannounced quizes and I never seek to embarrass unprepared students. 

Cheating or Plagiarism:
 
Everybody knows what cheating is, so there is no need for a definition. 

On the other hand, some of you may not be familiar with the word plagiarism.  It refers to any attempt to pass off as your own work something done by somebody else.  Even when only part of a paper is copied from the work of another person, this is still plagiarism.  While it is perfectly acceptable to quote from another person’s work, such passages must be carefully footnoted.

Both the university and I regard cheating and plagiarism as extremely serious; as a result, I would recommend that you avoid them like the plague throughout your college career and, for that matter, afterwards.  Although I shall treat both cheating and plagiarism on a case-by-case basis, the offender should not expect leniency.  A substantial lowering of the final grade or even expulsion from the course are the normal penalties for such offenses.

Withdrawal from the Course:

As far as I am concerned, a student wishing to withdraw from the course for whatever reason will be allowed to do so without penalty, even if he/she is failing the course at the time of the withdrawal.  It has always been my belief that losing tuition is enough of a penalty to pay for doing poorly in a course.

However, I would strongly recommend to all students that once they have decided to withdraw, they should do so as soon as possible.  It is always best to get this unpleasant task out of the way. 

First of all, it is better to drop a “loser” and concentrate one’s energies where they will they will do the most good, i.e. in courses where one is doing well.

Secondly, in putting off the inevitable, some students wait too long and pass withdrawal dates mandated by the university, after which withdrawing may become far more complicated.

Grading Procedures and Student Complaints:
 
Within any academic discipline, a teacher tries to design a course which will present a body of knowledge, while developing critical thinking and skills in research and writing.  He or she then evaluates carefully each student's performance in order to arrive at a grade, which will count toward college credit.  Factors which a professor may take into consideration when defining student performance include such things as exams (either in-class or take-home), other written work (papers, book reviews, journals), and various forms of classroom participation (discussion, oral presentations, answering questions).  Each instructor will determine which of these factors to employ in arriving at a grade, as well as their relative importance.  The student should also be aware that classroom deportment may be taken into consideration; in other words, anyone who habitually acts in a manner which tends to disrupt the learning process may well find that fact reflected in his or her grade.

In any class worth the name, a grade is earned by the student, for demonstrating the required knowledge and ability and performing the work within the deadlines set by the instructor.  Failure on the part of a student to demonstrate adequate knowledge and/or to meet reasonable academic guidelines (as defined by the instructor) may result in a failing grade and the withholding of academic credit for the course.  Again, let me emphasize:  grades are earned, not given or negotiated!!

On the other hand, for students who believe that they have been unfairly evaluated, the University of Texas.   has established a grievance procedure.  Grade appeals must be made in accordance with that procedure, which mandates as its first step an attempt by the student and professor to resolve the grievance without any outside interference.  At this point in the procedure, intervention by third parties such as parents, boyfriends, attorneys, department heads, administrators or other faculty members is inappropriate.  If, after consultation with the faculty member, the student wishes to pursue the grievance, he or she should contact the department head. [For further information concerning the grievance procedure, see the university handbook which should be available at every college office.]