Historically, the European continent has constituted an exceedingly cosmopolitan and multi-national region consisting of various cultures, peoples and languages. Only following the devastating impact of war, ethnic cleansing and genocide in the mid-twentieth century did continental Europe become organized into hermetic national enclaves roughly corresponding to the realities of modern nation-states. This course will assess the ways in which European states over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries contended with cultural pluralism and diversity in an age of national identification. Starting with the growth of nationalist ideologies during the French Revolution and Napoleonic period, the module will examine how nationalism impacted continental societies through assessments of identity politics, imperial conquest and understandings of cosmopolitanism in both national and imperial contexts. Throughout the semester, students will be asked to assess a variety of polities spanning from France and Germany to borderland regions in the Ottoman Balkans and Slavic periphery and be expected to analyze processes of identity formation, ethnic violence and nation building in comparative contexts. The course will conclude with an examination of the current shift in Europe’s cultural geography spurred by postcolonial immigration and transnational migrations and consider to what extent these phenomena are transforming European capitals into new cultural borderlands that pose significant challenges to imagining a “European” identity today.

On successful completion of the module a student will be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad knowledge of modern European history, especially with relation to themes concerning nationalism, empire building and ethno-religious conflict.
• Critically assess historical arguments and note their relationship to wider theories within the discipline of history.
• Present and clearly articulate their ideas and opinions through seminar discussions.
• Write well-argued essays drawn from evidence-based claims that support their main points and conclusions.

Organize and take responsibility for their study methods and workload management

How the module will be delivered

Module themes and topics will be introduced through weekly lectures given by the instructor. Lectures are designed to give students the necessary historical background and context relevant to the course themes. Students are expected to obtain a comprehensive understanding of European national formation and social policies since the nineteenth century across a broad spectrum of case studies. In addition to historical background, this course will also seek to introduce students to a number of key concepts associated with the theme of the module and apply them to specific contexts.

Lectures will be supplemented with regular seminar-style class discussions that will focus on the theories and problems addressed in the lectures and assigned readings. Students are expected to participate in these discussions, demonstrating an understanding of the readings and suggesting alternative ways of examining and conceptualizing module themes. Seminars are designed to give students a chance to elaborate on topics of interest to them and present their own ideas on subjects relevant to the course.

Critical evaluation of submitted work will also be given to students in order to make additional suggestions pertinent to the module theme. As well, students will be encouraged to seek independent consultation with the tutor to clarify points raised in class and discuss their ideas.

Skills that will be practised and developed

Over the semesters, students will develop valuable critical reading and writing skills as they interpret texts, dissect arguments and draw their own conclusions in their writing assignments. During this process, they will also obtain the necessary skills for understanding and evaluating broad theoretical arguments and how to apply them to their own investigations. In more specific terms, students will also become acquainted with the proper methods of textual citation for the historical discipline and learn to present evidence-based arguments within the proper academic conventions of the field. As well, students will be given the opportunity to present their ideas through class discussion with the intention of developing rhetorical skills essential to verbally presenting coherent arguments, debate and “on the spot” analysis

Assessed coursework - to be agreed with module tutor

Syllabus content

Patriotism and The “Citizenship Revolution” of the Late Eighteenth Century

Themes will examine how the idea of modern citizenship radically transformed ideas regarding society and identity in the late eighteenth century. Primary topics with include the French and American Revolutions as well as those in Haiti and Latin America. Discussions will examine how conceptions of patriotism and citizenship evolved during the period and what problems they posed for Europe’s overseas colonies.

Napoleonic Imperialism, Nationality and The Re-Making of Europe

Lectures will assess the brand of “revolutionary imperialism” that emerged during the early nineteenth-century and the spread of nationalism across the European continent and abroad. Students will be asked to assess to what degree the revolutionary movement was a transnational phenomenon, the ways in which various states responded to Napoleonic expansion and how policymakers and self-proclaimed patriots attempted to rationalize emancipatory ideals with imperial objectives.

Cultural Nationalism and the Making of National Communities

Lectures and discussion will examine the differences between revolutionary nationalism and ideologies focused on culture, language and organic identity. In particular, this subject will be assessed in relation to the early German national tradition and the idea of the Kulturstaat which grew up in the Romantic period.

Multi-National Empires

Lectures and discussion will assess how multi-ethnic empires on the continent grappled with the legacy of the French revolution and the ideas of national self-determination it inspired. These themes will be developed through an examination of the multi-national and multi-confessional polities presided over by the Habsburgs and the Russian tsars, noting the ways in which these states attempted to project images of themselves that transcended strict national identifications.

The Balkans as Imperial Borderland

Lectures and discussions will examine the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan periphery. Students will be asked to consider how the Ottomans ruled over a multi-ethnic and religiously diverse state and the impact revolutionary nationalism had on the populations of south-east Europe. Class discussion will also assess the different social and historical conditions under which Balkan nationalism developed and its relation to the predominant forms of nationalism found in the West.

Nation and Empire Building in Comparative Contexts

Students will be introduced to the theories on the “imperial nation-state,” assessing to what extent nation and imperial formation were two sides of the same process. Themes will look at the specific strategies states employed in building nations (such as regional association, assimilation, and memorialization) and note how these may or may not have paralleled efforts to build overseas empires and colonize territories beyond the European continent. Students will be asked to consider the theories of nation-building as a form of “internal colonization” and “official nationalism” and note their relevance to the historical experiences of states such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Hungary.

Ethnic Politics and Borderland Rivalries

This lecture will examine the dynamics of political opposition and violence in imperial borderlands. This topic will be examined through policies employed by colonial regimes in Africa that were designed to create ethnic identities for subaltern groups and which, ultimately, encouraged near genocidal violence in some areas. These policies will then be compared to the Balkan region, with a specific focus on Austrian Bosnia, The Young Turk movements and the Balkan Wars. Discussion will address the ethno-national violence and terror that tore the Balkans region apart in the early twentieth century and note the ways in which national and imperial objectives proved irreconcilable as the continental powers slid into war.

World War I and National Self-Determination

In examining the First World War, lectures and class discussion will examine how conflicting nationalist and imperial ambitions converged to produce one of the most catastrophic wars in European history. Attention will also be given to the peace settlement and assess to what extent the ideal of national self-determination laid out by the victorious powers was either upheld or compromised in contending with the problems posed in the war’s immediate aftermath.

The Inter-War Years and National Minorities

With the collapse of Europe’s continental empires, the settlements of 1919 promoted national self-determination as a means of securing peace on the continent. Yet, these aspirations were shown to be false as the post-war period witnessed policies of ethnic cleansing, resistance from national minority groups and irreconcilable claims to territory. Students will be asked to reflect critically on the tensions that animated the years after World War I and how these growing tensions destabilized democratic governments and set the stage for the coming of the next war. As well, Soviet nation-building will also be assessed, looking at the ways in which the Bolsheviks attempted to redefine the idea of multi-national imperialism within the context of Marxist socialism.

The Colonization of Eastern Europe and WW II

Lectures and discussion will examine Germany’s attempt to create an ethnically homogenous German Reich extending from the Rhein to the Urals. Attention will be given to the colonial attributes implicit in German conquest strategies and the policies of ethnic cleansing that were actualized during the war, noting the underpinning ideological imperatives that informed Hitler’s imagined ethno-national community and the idea of the German Volksgemeinschaft.

Contending with Europe’s Nationalist Heritage and the Making of a European Identity

Following a discussion on the impact of the war, lectures and discussions will examine how post-war polices of population exchange and resettlement attempted to deal with the problems generated by nationality and multi-ethnic states during the twentieth century. Emphasis will be given to how statesmen and policy makers attempted to grapple with Europe’s destructive nationalist heritage and sought to construct a broader idea of European unity and identity that favoured policies of international integration and transnational cooperation.

Decolonization, Continentalism and Nationalist Violence

With the end of Europe’s colonial empires, European states such as France and Great Britain were compelled to reassess their identity and place in the world. During the 1950s and 1960s, this change encouraged a move toward continentalism, an idea which redefined Europe territorially, culturally and conceptually and furnished the context for European integration and the European Union. Lectures and discussions will focus on how this new continentalism was understood and promoted, and what impact it had on societies forced to abandon their overt imperial and national interests. These questions will be placed in the large historical framework of the Cold War and downfall of the Soviet Union, concluding with the resumption of ethno-national violence in places such as Yugoslavia and Chechnya that posed challenges to international order.

Post-Colonial Immigration, Post-Cold war Migration and Europe’s New Borderland

The concluding lectures and discussion intended to deal with how Europe is currently coming to terms with the challenges that immigration and cultural diversity pose today. Postwar and postcolonial immigration patterns brought a host of new residents to Europe, especially a sizeable Muslim population that has posed a problem for Europe’s secular political traditions. European states are once again becoming cosmopolitan in the wake of the Cold War and it remains uncertain how they will confront this changing cultural and ethnic landscape. Students will be asked to consider whether European capitals such as London and Paris are now becoming new borderlands in which European identity is being redefined and contested. As well, attention will be given to the broader issue of globalization and Europe’s attempts in the twenty-first century to monitor and nationally integrate a Muslim population that identifies with a globalized Islamic community

Essential Reading and Resource List

Books

Omer Bartov and Eric Weitz, eds. Shatterzone of Empires: Coexistence and Violence in the German, Habsburg, Russian and Ottoman Borderlands (Indiana University Press, 2012)

Herman Lebovics, Bringing the Empire Back Home: France in the Global Age (Duke University Press, 2004)

Joost Augustijn and Eric Storm, eds. Region and State in The Nineteenth Century: Nation Building, Regionalism and Separatism (Palgrave, 2012), Chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Patrick Geary, The Myth of Nations (Princeton University Press, 2003), Chapter 1.

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism (Verso, 2006), Chapters 6 and 11.

Shelley Baranowski, Nazi Empire: German Colonialism and Imperialism from Bismarck to Hitler (Cambridge University Press, 2010), Chapters 3, 4, 5.

Sebastian Conrad, Globalization and the Nation in Imperial Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2014), Chapters 2, 7.

Frederick Cooper, Colonialism in Question: Theory, Knowledge, History (University of California Press, 2005), Chapter 6.
 

Articles

David A. Bell, “Lingui Populi, Lingui Dei: Language, Religion and The Origins of French Revolutionary Nationalism,” The American Historical Review, 100:5 (December, 1995)

“David Armitage: A Patriot for Whom? The Afterlives of Bolingbroke’s Patriot King,” Journal of British Studies, 36:4 (October 1997)

Stuart Woolf, “French Civilization and Ethnicity in the Napoleonic Empire,” Past and Present 124 (August 1989)

Peter Sahlins, “Natural Frontiers Revisited: France’s Boundaries Since the Seventeenth Century,” American Historical Review, 95:5 (December 1990)

Stefan Burger, “On the Role of Myths and History in the Construction of National Identity in Modern Europe,” European History Quarterly, 39:3 (2009)

Frederick A. Anscombe, “The Balkan Revolutionary Age.” Journal of Modern History, 84 (September 2012)

Xosé –Manoel Núñez, “The Region as Essence of the Fatherland: Regionalist Variants of Spanish Nationalism.” European History Quarterly, 31:4 (2001)

Linda Colley, “Whose Nation? Class and National Consciousness in Britain, 1750-1830,” Past and Present, 113 (November 1986)

Avner Ben-Amos, “Monuments and Memory in French Nationalism,” History and Memory, 5:2 (Winter 1993)

Krishan Kumar, “Nation-States as Empires, Empires as Nation-States: Two Principles, One Practice?” The Journal of Theory and Society, 39 (2010)

Catherine Hall, “MacCauly’s Nation,” Victorian Studies, 51:3 (Spring 2009)    

Paul Lawrence, Timothy Baycroft and Carolyn Grohmann, “'Degrees of Foreignness' and the Construction of Identity in French Border Regions during the Interwar Period,” Contemporary European History, 10:1 (March 2001)

Tara Zahra, “The ‘Minority Problem’ and National Classification in France and Czechoslovak Borderlands,” Contemporary European History, 17:2 (May 2008)

Soner Cagapty, “Race, Assimilation and Kemalism: Turkish Nationalism and the Minorities in the 1930s,” Middle Eastern Studies, 40:3 (May 2004)

Francine Hirsch, “Toward an Empire of Nations: Border-Making and The Formation of Soviet National Identities,” The Russian Review 59:2 (April 2000)

Terry Martin, “The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing,” The Journal of Modern History, 70:4 (December 1998)

Tyler Stovall, “National Identity and Shifting Imperial Frontiers: Whiteness and the Exclusion of Colonial Labor After World War I,” Representations, 84:1 (November 2003)

Timothy Snyder, “The Causes of Ukrainian-Polish Ethnic Cleansing, 1943,” Past and Present, 179 (May 2003)

Geoffrey Hosking, “The Second World War and Russian National Consciousness,” Past and Present, 175 (May 2002)

Max Haller and Regina Ressler, “National and European Identity: A Study of Their Meaning and Interrelationship,” Revue française de sociologie, 47:4 (December 2006)