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Academic Year 2004/2005

The Social Question and the Rise of the Welfare State in Germany 1780-1914
HIST 347 SP

This seminar analyzes the history of the social question and the rise of the welfare state in nineteenth-century Germany, focusing mainly on Prussia. Drawing on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, the course begins by investigating the poor relief and agricultural reform policies of the German ancien regime, the Stein-Hardenberg reforms in Prussia, and the problem of pauperism before and during the 1848 Revolution. Most of the seminar analyzes the transformation of the social question between 1850 and 1900 through rapid agricultural change, industrial growth, and urbanization, exploring the impact of these processes on workers, the middle classes, public opinion, political parties, academia, and government officials. We will focus especially on the passage of Bismarck's social insurance legislation in the 1880s, allowing a critical assessment of the conditions, opinions, and interests that enabled the creation of the German welfare state. Finally, we will assess the social question and welfare state as they are relevant to the question of the "special path" of German history, by drawing the Bismarckian welfare state into comparative perspective.

MAJOR READINGS

David Blackbourn, THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY
Hermann Beck, THE ORIGINS OF THE AUTHORITARIAN WELFARE STATE IN PRUSSIA
Sheilagh Ogilvie, ed., GERMANY: A NEW SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY
George Steinmetz, REGULATING THE SOCIAL
Gerhard A. Ritter, SOCIAL WELFARE IN GERMANY AND BRITAIN

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

The primary objective of this course is to develop the interpretive and critical skills needed to write a research paper of 20-30 pages. Your grade in this seminar will be calculated on the basis of six components:

1. Critical source exercise 10%
2. Midterm exam 20%
3. Prospectus 10%
4. Literature survey 10%
5. Seminar presentation 10%
6. Research paper 40%

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

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