Poster mid-1930s: "Germany is Free"
(http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm)
BACKING HITLER,
DEFYING HITLER
Course meeting:
MTWF 11:30-12:20
Social Science Center 202
Instructor:
Dr. Eric J. Carlson
Office: SSC 117
Office Hours: MW 2:00-3:30
and by appointment at other times
Phone: 7692
Click here
to e-mail Prof. Carlson
--General Erich von Ludendorff to President Paul von Hindenburg, 31 January 1933
[quoted in Ian Kershaw, Hitler. 1889-1936: Hubris (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999), p. 427]
"How many look to him in touching faith as the helper, the savior, the redeemer from our great distress -- to him, who rescues the Prussian prince, the scholar, the clergyman, the peasant, the worker, the unemployed."
"Hitler is Reich Chancellor! ... It is so unimaginably wonderful. ... What an achievement by Hindenburg!"
--Hamburg schoolteacher Luise Schultz, April 1932 & January 1933
[quoted in Kershaw, Hitler, pp. 313, 431]
The reactions of these two Germans set up the central question of this course: why and how did people support or oppose the rise of Adolf Hitler? What disposed some to know the danger that he represented while others could welcome him as a savior? This course is part of the First Term Seminar (FTS) curriculum, and is one of your three designated writing course requirements.
This is a course on a series of historical events centering on the rise of Adolf Hitler. It is also a course that introduces you to the process of thinking as an historian. It is my belief as a professional historian that historical events are not inevitable; they don't occur because of 'forces' but rather due to choices made by human beings in particular historical circumstances. Human choices are shaped by many motives, from the pure and selfless to the vicious and selfish. Those choices may be studied and analyzed by historians using historical sources. We may not agree on our explanations for these human choices, but explanations are possible. Adolf Hitler was the most malignant figure of the 20th century and perhaps of all time. Why did some Germans in the late 1920s and early 1930s back Hitler? Why did some oppose and resist him (actively or passively)? How do historians go about seeking answers to these questions? How convincing are their explanations?
The First Term Seminar program
Each FTS is designed with five goals in mind, which should determine your expectations of the course and allow you to assess your own progress during and at the end of the semester:
Poster: "National Socialism: The Organized Will of the Nation" http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters1.htm
FTS provides significant opportunities for you to improve your writing skills. Writing, much like playing a musical instrument or a sport, improves with a lot of practice. You will do a lot of writing, formal and informal, in FTS. Especially with the formal essays, you will receive extensive feedback from me and be given the opportunity to revise and resubmit the essays. Feedback will focus on the quality and clarity of your thought more than mechanics, and successful revision will require you to revisit your argument and express it in a more effective way rather than simply to fix technical mistakes. By the end of the semester, your ability to write a clear, effective essay should have improved. Even if your writing still needs some polish, you should understand how to construct a well-focused and organized essay.
In addition, FTS is structured to encourage you to develop your speaking skills, primarily through participation in class discussions. Discussion allows all of us to expand our thinking by sharing the perspectives and experiences that we each have--each uniquely ours. It also helps us, for example, to formulate new ideas, to clarify those that we have, and to see our buried assumptions and beliefs. Don't hesitate to disagree with each other, but do so respectfully. You will also make more formal oral presentations. Students come to college with very different levels of comfort speaking in class. For those already at ease doing so, by the end of the term you will at least have developed and sharpened those skills and hopefully learned new skills for effective speaking. For those less comfortable, it is my hope that you will start to be comfortable participating in class discussions and make progress in presenting material clearly in an oral report.
The topic and readings were chosen with the hope and expectation that you will explore your own personal values in this course. Helping you to develop a mature understanding of your values is a major goal of the FTS program. That may mean changing some of the values with which you have come to college, or it may simply mean having a more mature and self-conscious reason for holding your current values. Your attention to this will be evaluated through discussion and papers. This is not a task which will be completed in one semester--or even in four years--but by the end of the semester, you should have begun that process.
Finally, as the person responsible for advising you in your first college year, I will be using FTS to help with your transition to college life. I will be attentive to your academic progress and available to help you deal with any issue (not just academic) when you think I may be helpful. Since FTS allows us to be together four hours each week, I hope this will make advising as immediate and effective as possible. Remember that, as an adult, you are responsible for being your own advocate; if you need help, ask for it! By the semester's end, you should feel as if you know your way around Gustavus fairly well, that you are aware of what is expected of you, and that you know what resources are available to help you. Most of all, you should feel as if someone is there to help you when you need it and to answer your questions.
Poster from April 1932 presidential election run-off between Hitler and Hindenburg. The top reads: One man against the party cadavers and special interests!" To the left is a picture of a huge Hitler head towering over the 11 million who voted for him in the first round of the election in March 1932. To the left are the various parties that together made up Hindenburg's supporters. At the bottom the caption reads: "Give your vote to the man of strength : Hitler."
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters1.htm
1. Discussion participation. The details of my attendance policy appear below, but in brief: you will attend all class meetings, and do so actively. That means that you will be prepared for and participate in the day's activities--not just be a warm body taking up space in the room. You are responsible for being a part of your own education in this class and, in doing so, the education of everyone else in the class, including the instructor. In addition to participating in daily discussions, you will also help to lead the class discussion once during the semester. Participation is worth 20% of your final grade.
2. Reader/Audience Response Papers. One of the purposes of this class is to encourage you to learn to analyze your reading and to explore the issues raised in what you read and hear. In the course calendar below, you will find several days when you are asked to writer a 'reader response' or 'audience response' paper. These papers need not be long, but they are still important. They are required and they must be turned in on the day indicated; late papers will not be accepted. These papers will not be letter graded. You can receive full credit (10% of your final grade) simply by submitting all of the required response papers on time with appropriate content. For further explanation of the response papers, see "Reflecting on Paper: Writing Reader/Audience Responses" (last page of the paper syllabus).
3. Essays. Writing essays requires you to clarify and develop your ideas in a more organized and focused way than in discussions or response papers. You will write three informal papers and four formal graded essays, which will vary in length from 2 to 6 pages. The informal papers will be collectively worth 10% and the formal essays 40% of your final grade. Detailed assignments will be distributed for each essay.
4. Library Exercises. You will complete two exercise sheets to demonstrate mastery of essential library skils. Those will collectively be worth 5% of your grade.
5. Oral presentations. You will also give a formal oral presentation based on your third essay and participate in two group oral presentations. Those will collectively be worth 15 % of your grade.
6. Campus activities. Not all learning takes place in classrooms and labs! Gustavus offers you a number of opportunities to grow through cultural activities, and lectures and presentations by people within and outside of the campus community. To get the most out of your time, you should get in the habit of sampling some of those each semester. By way of helping you to develop that habit, you will be required to attend the following:
· one Nobel Conference lecture;
· one lecture by a major campus visitor (e.g., the Lefler Lecture);
· three other campus cultural events (art exhibits, plays, music recitals) presented by Gustavus students, faculty and/or staff.
[I will provide additional information on all of these in due time.] These activities are all free, though you may need to get tickets in advance for some events. You will write a brief 'audience response' paper for each event and turn it in at the next class meeting after the event. (These will be graded as part of #2 above.) I will provide occasional suggestions for appropriate events and welcome your suggestions as well. Click here for a calendar of campus fine arts events.
You must save all of your papers, including informal and response papers. They will form a portfolio, which you will need as part of your final self-evaluation at the end of the semester. Submitting the portfolio with your final self-evaluation is required in order to pass the course. Without it, I will not consider your semester work complete.
Failure to submit all assignments in satisfactory form or a pattern of failure to complete readings, attend class, and/or engage in informed class participation will result in an F for the course. If you have a problem, see me before it becomes a crisis!
Attendance Policy
Everyone is allowed three absences without any negative consequences. You do not have to explain the reason for your absences to me, though I do expect the courtesy of advance warning by phone or e-mail (if reasonably possible) so that I won't wait for you before beginning the day's activities. If you will miss more than three classes, your course grade will be lowered unless you document to my satisfaction that the absences are required by illness or personal/family emergency, or participation in a college-sponsored activity. (The supervising faculty member is required by college policy to provide you with a letter for your instructors spelling out the dates, times and details of necessary absences for such activities.) You also must find a satisfactory way of making up for missed work.
Additional Policies
· The college's expectations concerning academic honesty, printed in the current academic catalog, are enforced in this class. Violations will result in my filing a report with the Dean's office and may result in a failing grade.
· If you have a diagnosed learning disability or any health situation (physical or mental) that might affect your ability to complete assignments, it is your responsibility to let me know about it at the beginning of the semester. You will need a letter from Laurie Bickett in the Academic Advising office to support requests for reasonable accommodation of disabilities.
· Cell phones must be turned off during class. In the rare case that you are expecting an urgent call, set the phone to alert you silently, let me know that you may have to leave during class to take the call, and sit by the door for an inconspicuous departure.
· If you borrow course materials from me or the library, you are expected to return them unmarked and undamaged. You will not receive a grade for FTS until all borrowed materials have been returned, or until damaged materials have been replaced.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center is located in Confer 232. Hours are: Mon.-Thurs. 2:30-10:00 PM and Sun. 7:00-10:00 PM. You may drop in, but making an appointment in advance is strongly recommended. Call 6027 for an appointment.
Be sure to take a copy of your assignment sheet ("prompt") with you when you meet with the tutor.
