History 1040

The Great War

Week #3:

13 September 

We will examine the role of the Arts and the avant-garde in undercutting the established order.  This week we will focus on the challenge to the positivist view of the world that was current in the West. We will also focus on the internal and external crises facing all the European Nations between 1871-1914 and use this as the foundation for analyzing the origins of The Great War.

15 September  

Discussion will focus on the outbreak of the war and the Illusions that all the sides in Europe held about the war.  We will view sections of the Black Adder Episode “Goodbyeee” in class.  We will also deal with the Christmas Truce as this very important to understand the changing nature of warfare and the impact the Great War has on Europe and then World Civilization..  Here is an audio file of a Great War Veteran talking about the Truce.

Helpful sites for Thursday's Class:

Bookmark and/or Print out the following.

READING ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT WEEK:

Readings for Tuesday 20 September

  • Download Powerpoint on Courseweb called "The Spirit of 1914" to use in class for note taking

  • Jeffrey Verhey, The Spirit of 1914: Militarism, Myth and Mobilization in Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000), pp. 12-57 (on e-reserve)

    • 1/2 the class will read this.

  • Adrian Gregory, "British‚ War Enthusiasm in 1914: a Reassessment," Gail Braybon (ed.), in Evidence, History and the Great War: Historians and the Impact of 1914-18 (New York and Oxford: Berghahn, 2003), pp. 67-85 (on e-reserves)

    • 1/2 will read this. I will assign this.

  •  94-112 in Understanding the Great War - Entire Class reads this.

  • 38-43 in Ferro

Required Video Files:

  • Go to Courseweb-Video Files - War Enthusiasm - short video file

  • Go to Courseweb-Video Files - Upstairs Downstairs - The Sudden Storm - short video file

Readings for Thursday 22 September

  • From Courseweb - Download the Powerpoint "The Beginning of War and the Beginning of Total War." Bring it to class with you to follow along in class.  

  • Reread 44-52 in Ferro and read 55-65 in Ferro

  • Read a "New Kind of War." from the BBC.

  • Strachan, First World War, pp. 39-53.

Recommended: