How do we make sense of the fragmented history of Europe’s twentieth century? Focusing on the ideological clash between Fascism, Communism and Liberalism this course will explore the continental wide ‘civil war’ that brought Europe’s dominance in world affairs to a close. Key political and economic factors will be used to explore international relations in the turbulent years from 1914 to 1968. The role of mass politics, economic crisis, revolution and dictatorship will be explored with the two great wars of the century occupying a central place in this discussion. Suitable for those with no previous knowledge of the subject the module will be organised chronologically, designed to both examine and connect the momentous events that helped shaped the Europe of today.  

Knowledge and Understanding:

• Display knowledge and understanding of the main historical events discussed in the course;
• Display knowledge and understanding of the key economic and international relation in the short twentieth century;
• Display knowledge and understanding of how an often fragmented history links together.

Intellectual Skills:

• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with the study of history.
• Initiate, undertake and articulate a basic analysis of historical information.
• Develop explanations and support them with evidence.
• Communicate, in both verbal and written form, the knowledge and understanding acquired on the course, and to be able to distinguish between myth and reality.

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

• Identify strengths, weaknesses, problems, and or peculiarities of alternative historical interpretations.
• Initiate, undertake and articulate a basic analysis of historical information.
• Deepen understanding of the broad themes and developments considered in the course through the analysis of a historical source or sources.
• To research, plan and structure history essays and/or projects.
• To recognise, evaluate and interpret different types of historical evidence.
• To develop, at a basic level, subject-specific and critically-discerning information literacy skills.

This module is taught in 10, two-hour sessions, delivered on a weekly basis.

• Tutor-led sessions: these introduce the basic information to the students, and will form the bulk of provision. Hence there will be basic seminar-style sessions with tutor leading with talk and PowerPoint presentations during the first part of the session as basis for group discussion and questions and answers in the second part. Students will be invited to read up on relevant topics for homework including specific passages.
• Students will be issued with handouts and a reading list, allowing them to read up on relevant topics, as well as allowing them to develop their own interests and identify the key questions which they need to answer in their assessment project.
• Off-site visit – the course has been designed to include an opportunity for the students to visit one of the city’s sporting stadia where they can see at first-hand some of the themes and topics which have been covered in the course.
•  Plenary/presentation sessions – there will be a session towards the end of the course where the students can present the key findings of their research, and to discuss key ideas with their peers and their tutor.

Academic Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have:

• found relevant resources in the library and online;
• assessed the reliability of different sources of information;
• demonstrated a critical approach to academic texts.

Transferable/employability Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have shown that he/she can:

• work effectively as part of a group;
• present an argument, accurately, succinctly and lucidly, and in written or oral form.
• time manage and organise study methods and workload;
• gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information; and familiarity with appropriate means of identifying, finding, retrieving, sorting and exchanging information. 

1) Mass Politics in Europe

2) Shadows of the First World War

3) Russia in Revolution

4) The Rise of Fascism in Italy

5) The Depression and the Death of Liberalism

6) The Spanish Civil War

7) Germany and the Second Word War

8) From the Second World War to Cold War

9) The Prague Spring

10) A Settlement in Europe? 

Essential Texts

Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914-1991(Abacus, 1995)

Tony Judt, Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 (Vintage Books, 2010)

Harold James, EuropeReborn: A History, 1914-2000 (Longman, 2003).

Recommended Reading

P.M.H. Bell, The Origins of the Second World War in Europe 3^rd edn (Longman, 1986)

T.C.W. Blanning, The Oxford History of Modern Europe (Oxford University Press, 2000)

Tom Buchanan, Europe’s Troubled Peace: 1945 to the Present 2^nd edn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)

R.J. Crampton (ed.), Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – and After 2^nd edn. (Routledge, 1997)

Niall Ferguson, The War of the World: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Decent of the West (Penguin, 2006)

Conan Fisher, Europebetween Democracy and Dictatorship (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011)

Mary Fulbrook, Europe Since 1945 (Oxford University Press)

Robert Gerwarth (ed.), Twisted Paths: Europe 1914-1945 (Oxford University Press, 2007)

Felix Gilbert & David Large,The End of the European Era: 1890 to the Present 5^th edn (Norton, 2002)

Paul Hayes (ed.), Themes in Modern European History, 1890-1945 (Routledge, 1992)

Julian Jackson, Europe 1900-1945 (Oxford University Press, 2002)

James Joll with Gordain Martel,The Origins of the First World War 3^rd edn. (Pearson, 2006)

Martin Kitchen, Europe Between the Wars 2^nd edn (Pearson, 2006)

George Lichtheim, Europe in the Twentieth Century (Phoenix Press, 2000)

Arthur Marwick, Clive Emsley & Wendy Simpson (eds.), Total War and Historical Change: Europe 1914-1955 (Open University Press, 2001)

Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (Penguin, 1999)

William Mulligan, The Origins of the First World War (Cambridge University Press, 2010)

Richard Overy with Andrew Wheatcroft, The Road to War 3^rd edn (Vintage Books, 2009)

Robert Paxton & Julie Hessler (eds.), Europe in the Twentieth Century 5^th edn (Wadsworth, 2005)

Marc Trachtenberg, A Constructed Peace: The Making of the European Settlement, 1945-1963 (Princeton University Press, 1999)

Richard Vinen, A History in Fragments: Europe in the Twentieth Century (Abacus, 2002)

J. Robert Wegs & Robert Ladrech, Europe Since 1945: A Concise History 4^th edn (St. Martins Press, 1996)