Maximilien de Robespierre
|
Feb. 9: Censer & Hunt, chap. 1
What were the causes of tension in French society?
Was French society troubled in ways that might have been peculiar to France, explaining why revolution broke out there?
Did the French Revolution start out to be 'revolutionarty'?
Read "What is the Third Estate?" by Abbé Sieyès (on CD-ROM p.10 icon labelled "The Third Estate Makes a Claim"). What is new about the claims in this text? How threatening is it to the status quo?
Feb. 11: Censer & Hunt, chaps. 2-3
Why did constitutional monarchy fail? Was its failure inevitable under the circumstances, or was it due to actions/choices of individuals that might have gone differently?
Look at the images of Louis XVI printed in chap. 2 of the book. The caption to Image 5 notes that such disrespect "could scarcely have been anticipated in 1789 or even in 1790." What happened to cause the change? Did the king have to die? On the CD-ROM, read the two speeches by Saint-Just (linked on p. 100). What do you think of his arguments?
What different and even conflicting priorities divided 'the people'? Did gender influence their priorities and actions? On the CD-ROM, look at some of the documents concerning women's activities, especially "The Declaration of the Rights of Woman" (linked on p. 74), for evidence of this.
Why was Terror instituted? Was it reasonable under the circumstances? Were there any positive aspects of it? Why did Terror end? How would you assess Robespierre? On the CD-ROM, read his speech "On Political Morality" (linked on p. 65) and assess his arguments in defense of Terror.
|
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat
|
Jean-Baptiste Belley
|
Feb. 14: Censer & Hunt, chaps. 4 & 6
Reread "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" (doc. 1.16, pp. 45-7 of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity -- i.e., the book, not the CD-ROM) and think about it in the context of chap. 4. How could the same people who supported the Declaration in 1789 also oppose the end of slavery and political rights for free blacks? What does that suggest about the revolutionaries?
Throughout the book and the CD-ROM, there are examples of important revolutionary symbols, such as the Phrygian cap and the red, white and blue cockade. What are some ways in which revolutionary symbols were used? (The images on the CD-ROM are a good source for these.) Why were symbols and their frequent use so important in the French Revolution?
|
| Feb. 16: Censer & Hunt, chap. 5
Napoleon has been and remains an extremely controversial figure, difficult to assess. Why?
Be prepared to make the case that he was a positive influence in his time, as well as that he was a negative one.
|
Elizabeth Gaskell, author of Mary Barton
|
Feb. 21: Mary Barton, au. pref. & chaps. 1-14
What is domestic life like for the working class?
How does Mrs. Gaskell feel about the way her working class characters behave?
How does she feel about the way her factory owners behave?
How do you think a factory worker and a factory owner would have felt about the way they were depicted in this book?
|
Feb. 25: Mary Barton, chaps. 15-38
How does Mrs. Gaskell feel about unions and strikes?
In her view, are the workers' actions justified?
What does she believe is the solution to the misfortunes caused by industrialization?
How do you think workers and owners would have reacted to her solution?
How can historians use fiction (novels) as historical sources?
|
Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein
|
Mar. 4/7: Frankenstein
For Friday: author's introduction and volume one (= pp. 1-90)
Horror stories were essentially a new genre, developed by the Romantics. (Frankenstein is one of the earliest.) Why is the horror story or ghost story a type that would appeal to the Romantic ethos?
Is Victor Frankenstein a Romantic hero? What evidence could you use to argue both for and against that?
What roles do emotion, sensation, and imagination play in this part of the book?
How does Shelley present Nature?
For Monday: finish the book (i.e., volumes two and three)
Is the Creature a Romantic hero?
How is the Creature educated? Does that fit in with Romantic views?
Does Shelley approve of the Creature's decision to seek revenge?
In what ways is this an excellent example of Romantic values in novel form?
|
Marx's grave Highgate Cemetery, London
|
Mar. 11: Karl Marx
The assignment is to read the first two chapters (through p. 21) of The Manifesto of the Communist Party. The complete text is available as a PDF file here or you can download the same text in other formats (including a Word file) on: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/
For discussion:
How does The Manifesto define history? How is that different from how the Romantics would have understood history?
Is history coherent or is it random and contingent? Are historical events predictable/inevitable?
Who are the Communists? What is their role in history? How are they different from traditional political parties?
Why did Marx & Engels reject the political realm as the proper site for realizing revolutionary ideals and goals? What is the significance of their critique of political emancipation and political community?
Is The Manifesto a proclamation of emancipation? What kind of emancipation does it propose? Who is to be liberated?
Note: some of these questions are taken from the edition of The Manifesto edited by J. Toews.
|
J.S. Mill: a caricature from 1873
|
Mar. 16: On Liberty
What does JSM mean by "liberty"?
What are the limits of liberty? In particular, when can government intervene to limit or constrain liberty?
Does JSM believe that liberty should be an end in itself? Can liberty be dangerous?
Why does JSM prefer having people do things for themselves (self-help) even if they do so less efficiently and effectively than government would?
How would you assess Mill's vision of liberty and of human nature?
What are the differences in approach between Mill's classical liberalism and 21st century liberalism in the USA? What do they have in common?
|
Shopping on Oxford Street, London c. 1900
|
Mar. 23: Rappaport, chaps. 1-2
Chapter 1:
What was new about William Whiteley's business? Why did it cause so much anxiety and anger at the time?
What role did gender play in reactions to Whiteley's store?
In what ways did Whiteley cater to women in his plans? Were all women affected by these changes, or only some types?
Chapter 2:
How did changes in shopping create issues concerning the legal status of women's property and women's debt?
What does this conflict reveal about the interplay of class, gender, and economic/political beliefs?
How did the conflict change retailing? How did it change women's rights? What are the ironies involved in this? |
April 6: Rappaport, chaps. 3-5, conclusion
Chapter 3:
What important needs did women's clubs meet?
In what ways were the women's clubs conservative and in what ways were they subversive?
Chapter 4:
What was the importance of the magazines and other publications for women in the 1880s and 1890s?
What was a flâneuse? What important function does she serve for women shoppers?
What roles did the Lady Guide Association play? How did they help to redefine shopping?
Chapter 5:
What was new about Selfridge's? What is its importance in this historical development?
Overall:
What interesting insights did you get into the development of modern culture from reading this book?
What role did gender ideology at the time play in the historical development of shopping and shoppers? Did these changes emancipate women? If so, to what extent?
How would you describe Rappaport's work as a historian? How is her work different from others that you might have read? What kinds of sources does she use? |
Edvard Munch, Vampire (1893)
|
April 11: Island of Dr Moreau
Read the novel as a metaphor.
Who do the characters (human and non-human) represent?
What does the story reveal about the mood of society at the end of the 19th century?
What are European society's anxieties? |
Wilfred Owen
|
April 18: Wilfred Owen poems
Information on the specific poems that you should read, as well as some editorial commentary to help with obscure references, Latin phrases, etc. is available through the e-syllabus or you can click here.
What impact does war have on a soldier's humanity?
How does the soldier in the trenches see the home front?
How does he think the people at home see him?
How does the soldier in the trenches see death?
How do Owen's poems challenge traditional or expected views of soldiers?
What, for you, was the most powerful image in the poems? |
April 22: Defying Hitler, chaps. 1-15
How did the young Haffner experience World War I? What does he mean when he says it left a "dangerous mark" on Germans? What role did it play in forming "the truly Nazi generation"?
How does Haffner describe the army? What is the importance of the Kapp putsch?
What was the significance of 1923? What does Haffner mean when he writes that the Germans "had a spiritual organ removed" in 1923?
Who was Stresemann? What is his importance?
What was the significance of the 1930 Reichstag elections?
|
Aspidistra
|
April 29/May 2: Keep the Aspidistra Flying
What social class does Gordon belong to? What is the situation of that class in Britain in the 1930s?
Why didn't Gordon become a socialist?
What are the motives that drive Gordon? Is he an idealist? stupid? out of his mind?
What is the importance of the aspidistra? What does it represent?
What do you make of the ending? Was Gordon's decision [I don't want to spoil it by being more specific] inevitable?
Some helpful explanations:
A three-penny coin is called a "Joey" after the economist and member of Parliament Joseph Hume, who was responsible for the issuance of a four-penny coin from 1836-55; when it was abolished, the name "Joey" was transferred to the 3d. coin.
A "bob' is a shilling (or 12 pence); a "crown" is five shillings (a substantial amount of money then).
It was a publishing convention to insert blank lines in the text where obscene words were spoken by characters; printing obscene words could result in prosecution. |
Nazi poster featuring Julius Streicher and antisemitic slogan
|
May 6: Defying Hitler, chaps. 16-25
How did Haffner feel about the beginning of the Nazi era?
Does he consider it the beginning of a revolution?
What happened to the (potential) opponents of Nazism in those early stages?
How does Haffner assess the nature of the German people as part of his explanation for Hitler's rise to power?
|
May 9: Defying Hitler, chaps. 26-40, Afterword
How does Haffner explain his behavior in 1933? Why did he cooperate with the regime?
What did the Nazis do to coopt men like Haffner?
Why does Haffner consider what he has written "real history"?
How would you assess the strengths and weaknesses of this memoir as a source for understanding the behavior of German people in the 1930s? Is it a credible source? Has Haffner persuaded you with his interpretation of the Germans? |
