HIST263

[WesMaps Home Page] [Course Search] [Course Search by CID]

HIST263

Sophomore Seminar: Appeasement and the Origins of the Second World War HIST263 SP

Next Offered in 9900 SP

A study of Europe's crisis, 1933-1939, from Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany to the outbreak of the Second World War. Attention will focus upon the reassertion of German power and its effects upon the diplomacy and politics of Great Britain and France. Specific topics will include: Hitler's aims and actions; critical events concerning the Rhineland, Spain, Czechoslovakia, and Poland; pacifism and the French Left; Neville Chamberlain and British conservatism; and the debate over the immediate origins of the war in 1939. Readings will include memoirs and contemporary diplomatic documents, newspapers and journals.

MAJOR READINGS

Gerhard Weinberg, THE FOREIGN POLICY OF
HITLER'S GERMANY: STARTING WORLD WAR II, 1937-1939
A.J.P. Taylor, THE ORIGINS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Telford Taylor, MUNICH: THE PRICE OF PEACE
Martin Kitchen, EUROPE BETWEEN THE WARS
Graham Ross, THE GREAT POWERS AND THE DECLINE OF THE
EUROPEAN STATE SYSTEM, 1914-1945
Andreas Hillgruber, GERMANY AND THE TWO WORLD WARS
Donald Cameron Watt, HOW WAR CAME: THE IMMEDIATE ORIGINS OF
THE SECOND WORLD WAR

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Four short papers (5-6 pages) on a subject assigned by the instructor plus a major research paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS HIST

Prerequisites: None

Last Updated on MAR-03-1998

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.