SELCS

Introduction to German History


Course code: GERM1101
Course unit value: 0.5

This course introduces students to German history from the Middle Ages to the Berlin Republic. It covers major events in medieval and early modern times, such as the German Reformation and the Thirty Years War, but the main focus is on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In particular, the module will involve the study of the German Confederation, the formation of the Prusso-German nation-state and the imperial era, the period of the World Wars, and the history of the two Germanies after the end of the Third Reich. On completion of this unit, students will be familiar with fundamental trends and problems in German historiography and have developed an ability to contextualise historically aspects of German politics, literature and culture. 

Course Requirement: One class presentation; one set of practice questions.

Assessment: One take-home exam, sat over 5 days in Term III (100%)

Tutor: Dr Sebastian Gehrig

Preparatory reading and set texts:

  • D. Blackbourn, History of Germany 1780-1918: The Long Nineteenth Century (2003)
  • T.A. Brady Jr., German Histories in the Age of Reformations (2009)
  • J. Breuilly (ed.), Nineteenth-century Germany: Politics, Culture and Society 1780-1918 (2001)
  • J. Caplan (ed.), Nazi Germany (2008)
  • M. Fulbrook, A Concise History of Germany, 2nd ed. (2004)
  • M. Fulbrook (ed.), Twentieth-century Germany: Politics, Culture and Society 1918-1990 (2001)
  • M. Fulbrook, A History of Germany 1918-2008: The Divided Nation, 3rd ed. (2009)
  • M. Hughes, Early Modern Germany 1477-1806 (1992)
  • M. Kitchen, A History of Modern Germany 1800-2000 (2006)
  • A. McElligott (ed.), Weimar Germany (2009)
  • P. O’Dochartaigh, Germany since 1945 (2004)
  • J. Retallack (ed.), Imperial Germany 1871-1918 (2008)
  • J. Sperber (ed.), Germany 1800-1871 (2004)
  • P.H. Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire, 1495-1806 (1999).