HIST. 115: French Revolution to the Present: Europe 1789-Present

This course surveys modern European history from 1789 to the present. We begin with the outbreak of French and Haitian Revolutions, which radically transformed the existing social order and produced new conceptions of nation and citizenship. The course then tracks how empires, emerging nation states, and ordinary people contested these concepts over the course of the nineteenth century as Europe industrialized and extended imperial control over the global south. The second half of the course traces the themes of nation and citizenship into the twentieth century, examining the World Wars, the Holocaust, the rise and fall of totalitarian regimes, the Cold War, decolonization, and European unification. We will conclude with a discussion of contemporary issues including immigration, globalization, and national identity.

Instruction will include a mix of lectures, discussions, films, readings and in-class activities with a particular emphasis on critically evaluating primary sources from diverse perspectives. By the end of the semester, students will be able to write an original primary source analysis and synthesize multiple primary sources in an analytical essay.