History 581.01

19th Century European International History, 1789-1914

Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30-12:18, Mendenhall Laboratory, Room 185

The Ohio State University

Fall Quarter 2004

 

Professor Jennifer Siegel

220 Dulles Hall

2-0314

siegel.83@osu.edu

http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/siegel83/

Office Hours:  Thursdays, 12:30-2:00 p.m., or by appointment

 

 

This course will examine the political, economic, diplomatic and military relations between and among the Great Powers from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of the First World War.  Starting from the destruction of the eighteenth century ÒOld RegimeÓ in the aftermath of the French Revolution, we will trace the development of the Great Power system within the context of the foundations of State power.  Over the course of the quarter, we will examine a number of broad topics, including:  (1) the diplomacy of the individual Great Powers; (2) the rise of non-European powers; (3) the military strategies of the Great Powers in peacetime and war; (4) the relationship between continental commitments and world power; (5) the significance of technological advance upon both warfare and the strategic balance; (6) and the relationship between economic stability and diplomacy in the international system.  We will end the quarter by exploring the collapse of the nineteenth century international system and the origins and outbreak of the First World War.

 

 

 

Course Requirements:

 

 

Late work will not be accepted without prior agreement of instructor.

 

Attendance.  You are required to attend the weekly lectures and be responsible for the material covered in them.  Please come to class on time so that you do not cause unnecessary disruption for your fellow classmates.  Please also do not leave class before the class is dismissed. Attendance will be taken.  If you miss more than two sessions over the course of the quarter, your final grade will be dropped 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional day missed.  More than five total absences will result in automatic failure of the course.  The only exceptions to this policy will be made for medical or legal emergencies.  In accordance with departmental policy, the student will be expected to present proof of the emergency, such as an official statement from the University Medical Center. 

Active participation in in-class discussions covering the readings and lectures.  Readings are expected to be completed by the Thursday of each week.

Three map quizzes.  (30 September, 12 October, 28 October)

One paper, approximately 5-7 pages in length, due no later than 16 November, at beginning of class.  Complete instructions are attached at end of syllabus. Papers may be submitted on any date before 16 November.  You are encouraged to write your paper when your overall schedule will allow you to devote the greatest amount of time to the assignment.

One in-class midterm exam, covering through the Crimean War.  (21 October)

One final examination. (Thursday, 9 December, 9:30-11:18 AM).

[The midterm and the final will follow the same format.  There will be a section of identifications, a short answer question drawing upon your understanding of the reading, and one longer, comprehensive essay question.]

 

Midterm:  35%;  Final:  40%;  Paper:  20%;  Map Quizzes and Discussions:  5%

 

Policies:

 

(1)  Examinations and Quizzes: You must take the exams and quizzes at the scheduled time.  Students will be allowed to take a make-up exam only for urgent reasons, such as a medical or legal emergency. In accordance with departmental policy, the student will be expected to present proof of the emergency, such as an official statement from the University Medical Center.  If you need to take a make-up exam, you must submit your proof of emergency to me within 9 days of the scheduled exam.

(2)  Grade complaints must be made in writing and only after 24 hours have passed after grades are distributed.

(3)  Academic dishonesty:  Papers and exams must represent the work of the student alone.  Plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing grade on the assignment and other penalties determined by university regulations.  Plagiarism cases will be referred to the appropriate University committee on academic misconduct without exception.  Information on plagiarism can be found at http://cstw.osu.edu/, particularly at http://cstw.osu.edu/writing_center/handouts/index.htm. See also the paper assignment at end of syllabus.  Students are encouraged to consult with me if they are uncertain about the proper use of sources.

(4)  In accordance with departmental policy, all students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the second full week of the quarter.  No requests to add the course will be approved by the department chair after that time.  Enrolling officially and on time is solely the responsibility of each student.

(5)  Please turn of cell-phones at the beginning of class.

 

*All students with disabilities who need accommodations should see me privately during my office hours to make arrangements.  Please do so by the third week of class.*

 

 

Readings available for Purchase:

All readings for purchase available at SBX and on reserve in the Main Library

 

Achebe, Chinua.  Things Fall Apart.

Lafore, Laurence.  The Long Fuse: An Interpretation of the Origins of World War I.

Nicolson, Harold.  The Congress of Vienna.

Taylor, A.J.P.  Bismarck, The Man and the Statesman.

Tolstoy, Leo.  Sebastopol Sketches.

 

 

 

Course Sessions and Readings:

 

Week I:

23 SeptemberÑThe Diplomacy of the French Revolution

 

Readings for Week I:

Harold Nicolson, Congress of Vienna, chapters 1-3

 

 

Week II:

28 SeptemberÑThe Diplomacy of the Napoleonic Wars

30 SeptemberÑMap Quiz I (Europe);  Peacemaking and PeacebreakingÑThe Congress of Vienna and NapoleonÕs Hundred Days

 

Readings for Week II:

Harold Nicolson, Congress of Vienna, chapters 4-9

Documents upon the Continental System: http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/diplomatic/continental.cfm

Treaty of Peace between France and Russia.  July 7, 1807: http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/diplomatic/tilsit.cfm#russia

Napoleon Bonaparte: Farewell to the Old Guard, April 29, 1814 : http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1814napoleon.html

The Return of Napoleon from Elba, 1815: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1815napoleon100days.html

 

 

Week III:

5 OctoberÑPeacemaking and PeacekeepingÑThe Second Treaty of Paris, the Holy Alliance and the Concert of Europe

7 OctoberÑPeacekeeping Continued and the Rise of the Eastern Question

 

Readings for Week III:

Harold Nicolson, Congress of Vienna, chapters 10-16

Treaty of Paris, May 30, 1814: http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/diplomatic/paris1.cfm

Treaty of Paris, November 20, 1815:  http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/diplomatic/paris2.cfm

The Holy Alliance Treaty, September 26, 1815: http://www.napoleonseries.org/reference/diplomatic/alliance.cfm

 

Week IV:

12 OctoberÑMap Quiz II (Middle East and Asia); Nationalism and Revolutions, 1830 and 1848

14 OctoberÑCollapse of the ConcertÑThe Crimean War and the Unification of Italy

 

Readings for Week IV:

Tolstoy, Leo.  Sebastopol Sketches, pp. 39-184.

Documents on the Revolution of 1848 in France: http://history.hanover.edu/texts/fr1848.htm

The Treaty of London for Greek Independence, July 6, 1827, excerpts: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1827gktreaty.html

 

 

Week V:

19 OctoberÑThe Unification of Germany

21 OctoberÑ Midterm Exam (covering through Crimea)

 

Readings for Week V:

A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck, chapters 1-4.

Documents of Italian Unification, 1846-61: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1861italianunif.html

Documents of German Unification, 1848-1871: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/germanunification.html

The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred Lord Tennyson: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/britpo/tennyson/TenChar.html

 

 

Week VI:

26 OctoberÑ The Search for a New International Stability, 1871-1882

28 OctoberÑMap Quiz III (Africa); Rise of the New Imperialism and Case Study I:  The Scramble for Africa

 

Readings for Week VI:

A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck, chapters 5-6.

Achebe, Chinua.  Things Fall Apart, chapters 1-5.

The Dual Alliance Between Austria-Hungary and Germany - October 7, 1879: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/dualalli.htm

The Three Emperors League - June 18, 1881: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/empleagu.htm

20 May, 1882, The Triple Alliance (First 8 Articles): http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914m/tripally.html

 

 

Week VII:

2 NovemberÑELECTION DAY!  DONÕT FORGET TO VOTE!!!

            Case Study II: The Great Power Competition over China

4 NovemberÑCase Study III:  The Great Game

 

Readings for Week VII:

Achebe, Chinua.  Things Fall Apart, chapters 6-end.

The Siege of Khartoum. Major-General Charles Gordon : http://www.hillsdale.edu/oldacademics/history/war/19e/Empire/1884-Khartoum-Gordon.htm

Pierre Loti: When the Allies Entered Peking, 1900: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1900Loti-peking.html

Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html

 

 

 

Week VIII:

9 NovemberÑThe Breakdown of BismarckÕs Alliance System

11 NovemberÑNo Classes, VeteransÕ Day

 

Readings for Week VIII:

Hans Ulrich Wehler, ÒBismarckÕs Imperialism, 1862-1890,Ó in Past & Present, No. 48, pp. 119-155.  [online reserve]       

A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck, chapter 7.

John Hobson: Imperialism, 1902: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1902hobson.html

The March to Lhasa, C. G. Rawlings: http://www.hillsdale.edu/oldacademics/history/war/19e/Empire/1904-Lhasa.htm

18 June, 1887, The Reinsurance Treaty : http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914m/reinsure.html

 

 

Week IX:

16 NovemberÑLast Day to Submit Papers, The Reemergence of the Eastern Question

18 NovemberÑ How War Came:  The Triple Alliance, the Triple Entente, and the Anglo-German Antagonism

 

Readings for Week IX:

 A.J.P. Taylor, Bismarck, chapters 8-10.

The Treaty of Berlin, 1878, Excerpts on the Balkans: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1878berlin.html

 

 

Week X:

23 NovemberÑ How War Came:  The Austro-Russian Rivalry, The Second Morocco Crisis

25 NovemberÑNo Classes, Thanksgiving Day

 

Readings for Week X:

Lafore, Laurence.  The Long Fuse, pp. 13-140.

18 August, 1892, The Franco-Russian Alliance Military Convention: http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914m/franruss.html

Entente Cordiale, 8 April 1904: http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/ententecordiale1904.htm

1907 Anglo-Russian Agreement Concerning Persia: http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914m/anglruss.html

 

 

 

Week XI:

30 NovemberÑ How War Came:  The Collapse of the Sick Man of Europe and the Coming of War

2 DecemberÑWhy War Came

 

Readings for Week XI:

Lafore, Laurence.  The Long Fuse, pp. 141-268.

23 July, 1914:  The Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia: http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914/austro-hungarian-ultimatum.html

The German Request for Free Passage Through Belgium , 2 August 1914: http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914/germpassbelg.html

The Belgian Refusal of Free Passage, 3 August 1914: http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1914/belgsayno.html

 

 

 

Thursday, 9 December, 9:30-11:18 AM:  Final Exam

 


History 581.01

19th Century European International History, 1789-1914

PAPER INSTRUCTIONS

Fall 2004

 

 

Write an interpretive essay of approximately 1500 words (5 to 7 pages) on any one or more of the assigned primary source documents, for which there are internet addresses in the syllabi.  (If you are not sure which of the reading assignments is a primary source, please check with the professor.)

 

Your essay should consist of three parts.  First, place your document in its larger context by discussing the historic influences and events within which it was produced.  The next part should be based on a close, careful reading and analysis of your document. The third should discuss the immediate international consequences of the document.  You should consult your lecture notes and assigned texts.  While you are not expected to use any other sources or secondary materials for this discussion, you are always allowed to do so, provided all of your references are properly cited.

 

Papers may be submitted on any date before 16 November.  You are encouraged to write your paper when your overall schedule will allow you to devote the greatest amount of time to the assignment.  Your papers will be graded and returned to you as quickly as possible after their submission.  The last possible date to submit papers will be on Tuesday, 16 November, at THE BEGINNING OF CLASS.  Papers that are submitted after the professor has begun lecturing will be considered late, with no exceptions.  Late papers will be penalized one-third of a letter-grade per day.  Electronic submissions will not be allowed without the prior agreement of the professor.

 

You will be graded on your writing style and grammar as well as the content of your paper.  Be sure to proofread and edit thoroughly before turning in your paper.  Margins should not be smaller than one-inch.  Fonts should be serif and 12 point.  Lines must be double-spaced.  Your pages must be numbered (no number on the first page of text) and there must be a title page.  Your paper must have a bibliography and footnotes, (not parenthetical citations) and your citations must follow either the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Handbook,  or Kate TurabianÕs A Guide for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Guidelines for the use of the Chicago style, including online sources, can be seen at the addresses below. The first is for footnotes, the second is for bibliographic entries.

http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/Port7c.intextChHu.html

http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/Port7c.bibliographicChSS.html

(If you do not know what serif fonts are, or parenthtetical citations, please ask the professor!  There is no penalty for asking questions.  There is a penalty for ignoring the instructions.)

 

I urge you to always be extremely vigilant in crediting your sources.  As The Ohio State University Code of Student Conduct outlines:  ÒPlagiarism is the representation of another's work or ideas as one's own; it includes the unacknowledged word-for-word use and/or paraphrasing of another person's work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person's ideas.Ó  Plagiarism is considered to be academic misconduct, which will result in disciplinary action.  Anything that is not an original idea, the product of original research, or common knowledge (such as ÒWorld War I began in 1914Ó) needs documentation, including information that you have gleaned from your class notes.

 

The University Committee on Academic Misconduct has provided the following page, which contains numerous websites dealing with plagiarism and how to avoid it:

http://oaa.osu.edu/coam/prevention.html