HIS 212 Index Page

Course outline: Second semester, 2009 - 2010.

HIS 212: Catastrophe and survival in twentieth-century Europe

Lecturer: Dr B. S. Bennett, email bennett@mopipi... [Click here for full email address]

Part 1: In the first part of the course, we will review the main events and data of twentieth-century European history. Since the second part of the course will assume this knowledge, you must familiarize yourself with this information as soon as possible. Lectures will provide an overview but reading will be essential.

Part 2: In the second part of the course, which will occupy most of the semester, we will discuss some major themes, which will include the following:

War, Cold War and international politics

• The causes, nature and effects of the two World Wars
• The post-1945 settlement; the Cold War
• The collapse of the Soviet Union; Balkan and other troubles

Economic and political collapse; political extremism; post-war reconstruction, social change

• The collapse of the pre-1st WW system
• The Russian Revolution
• The failure of inter-war democracy; the rise of Dictatorship and Fascism
• The post-war reconstruction of West and East and the post-war period
• The growth of the European Union

Violence, coercion, and mass murder

• Political violence, political repression; terror; genocide
• Responses

The world context

• especially the decline of Europe from world dominance

Assessment: CA (40%) and exam (60%).

Click here for the HIS212 reserve list

Material online

See the H202 Index Page which links to various useful pages. (The semester courses HIS211 and HIS212 replace the old year-long course H202.) In particular, see

• the old H202 reading list
• the HIS211 short guide to footnotes, and the more detailed footnote guide (PDF)
• How to take notes in lectures
• Guide to essay-writing

Books on reserve

To access the on-line catalogue of the UB Library, go to
http://medupe.ub.bw
(from within the UB network you can just enter "medupe"). This will open a list of options like the following:

To find reserve books, click on "By Course" and then enter "HIS212" or whatever course you are working on). (NB: do not type a space after "HIS".) You will then be shown a list of all books on reserve for HIS212. You can also search by the name of the course lecturer ("Professor" in the OPAC, which for some reason follows the American usage in which "professor" is a general title for all academics).

When you have found the book you want, note the shelf mark, which is the number such as "900 AAA" written on the backs of books used to locate them on the shelves. Then go to the Circulation Desk and ask for the book, telling them the author, title and shelf mark. The reserve books are kept just behind the Circulation Desk. They will issue it for two hours and keep your Library card while you have the book: this ensures that no-one can monopolize these books, and that any really important books are made available to the whole class.

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Copyright © 2002 B. S. Bennett