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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "HS 379i"
COURSE NAME: "Modern European Intellectual History"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2024
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Luca De Caprariis
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 3:00-4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Co-requisites: EN 110; Recommended: Junior Standing, One previous history course
OFFICE HOURS:
Tuesday, Thursday 10:00 to 11 and by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will examine the European cultural and intellectual experience from the 1870s. Positivism, Liberalism, Idealism, Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, and Existentialism will be discussed, focusing on the relation between ideas and arts, politics, and economics. We will pursue a number of themes, including the emergence of distinct class identities, religion, and morality, new forms of nationalism, and the changing nature of selfhood. Special attention will be given to the "crisis of the end of the century," the transformation of political and social thought, and the rise of authoritarian and totalitarian idelogies.
Satisfies "Modern History" core course requirement for History majors.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
There will be two class meetings per week. Lectures will be followed by questions and discussion. Students should come to class prepared, completing the assigned readings before each class meeting.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students should develop a firm grasp of the main ideas and currents which determined European intellectual life from the end of the 1800's to the post World War II period.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| Schnitzler Century | Peter Gay | Norton | 9780393323634 | | | Ebook | | |
| Death in Venice | Thomas Mann | Norton | 9780393960136 | | | | | |
| The Sorrows of Young Werther | Wolfgang Goethe | Norton | 978-0393935561 | | | | | |
| The Captive Mind | Czeslaw Milosz | Penguin | 9780141186764 | | | Hard Copy | | |
| The Culture of Western Europe | George Mosse | University of Wisconsin Press | 9780299339449 | | | Hard Copy | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Midterm: essay exam (take home) | essay exam: students will answer two essay questions | 25% |
| Final exam: take home | essay exam: students will answer two essay questions | 30% |
| paper | students will submit one 12 page paper | 35% |
| in class participation, paper discussion | | 10% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is mandatory. Students should keep their mobile phones turned off during lecture. You may use your laptop, but you are not allowed to surf the web during class. Should you fail to follow these rules I will ban laptop from classroom altogether.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Schedule of Topics
Part I: The Intellectual foundation of the 1800's
The Enlightenment. I.
The Enlightenment II.
Romanticism. I
The primacy of feelings. MC: 13-74,
Romanticism. II
The primacy of feelings. MC: 13-74
Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther.
Romanticism and Politics. Nationalism. MC 75-96
Racism. MC 97-112.
Liberalism and Conservatism. MC: 113-161.
Hegel and Idealism. MC: 174-218
Socialism and Marxism. MC 174-218.
Positivism: the idea of progress and the Science of Society. MC: 219-234.
The century of the bourgeoisie: The making of Middle Class Culture.
Gay, Schnitzler’s Century
Part II: From the Nineteenth to the Twentieth Century: The Crisis of the Fin de siècle.
I. Literature and Art. MC: 237-263.
II. Nietzsche. MC 237-263.
III: Racism and the Emergence of Volkish culture.
MC: 263-276.
III. Dissolving Certainties. Freud.
MC 295-308
Mann, Death in Venice
Part III: The Age of the Masses, World War I, and the Rise of New Totalitarian Views.
I. Elitism and the Rejection of Liberalism. Pareto and Jünger.
MC 325-362.
II The culture of Italian Fascism
MC: 373-308.
III Nazi Culture: Intellectual Life in the Third Reich
MC: 389-409.
IV. Soviet Communism from Lenin to Stalin
MC: 410-428..
Part IV: After World War II: the End of European Culture?
Existentialism. MC: 363-372.
Intellectual life in Soviet controlled Eastern Europe. Milosz, The Captive Mind
Paper Presentation
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