HIST 1511 - The Making of Modern Europe, from 1500 to the Present

(HB) (HA-AS)

Spring. 4 credits.

R. Weil.

This course surveys major developments since 1500, including the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, Imperialism, Fascism and Communism, Word Wars I & II, the Cold War, decolonization, the welfare state and the emergence of a “new world order.” Prominent themes are the changing experience of violence, the relationship of Europe to the rest of the world, and the tensions within and among national, ethnic and “Western” identities. This course fulfills some of the traditional goals of a “great books” course through exposure to major thinkers like Luther, Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx, but it also introduces other kinds of historical sources, such as personal memoirs, parliamentary debates, and film.