Department of History
Historical Fields Taught
European History
The Department provides three undergraduate survey modules in European history, extending from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and specialist modules for more advanced undergraduates in certain periods of modern French, German, Polish, and Russian/Soviet history. The broad geographical scope of these modules ensures that coverage is indeed truly 'European'. An analysis of interacting social, economic, political, military, intellectual and cultural factors, as well as international developments, feature in all modules, as does the frequent use of documentary sources. Postgraduate supervision is provided in specialist areas. Moreover, students derive substantial benefit from the intimate link between teaching and the research interests and expertise of the three Europeanists on the staff.
While universally popular themes such as the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era, Weimar and Nazi Germany, and the Russian Revolution and Stalinism, figure prominently in the curriculum, the Department is also one of the very few British universities to offer an advanced module on Polish history, namely, the Second Polish Republic, 1918-1939/45. In addition, the Department houses the externally-financed Centre for Research in Polish History, which, since its creation in 2000, organises regular conferences, lectures and seminars and has developed its own library and archive, which are open to researchers on application to the Centre's Director. The Centre is the only one of its kind in the UK.
In sum, students of European history at the University of Stirling enjoy a richly diversified and intellectually demanding experience which helps prepare them for the increasingly global challenges of the twenty-first century.
MODULE HIS923: Europe in the Age of Revolution, 1789 - 1848
This module is an alternative to HIS9S3: Reputations in Scottish History
Module Content: The module falls into two parts. The first part will examine the causes and course of the French Revolution and the regime of Napoleon Bonaparte, both in France and in Europe, between 1789 and 1815. It will consider the impact of war and revolutionary politics on different European peoples and governments. The second part will explore how Europeans and their governments responded both to the revolutionary and Napoleonic legacy and to the challenges of new political ideologies between 1815 and 1848. These factors will be weighed against the effects of other developments, such as economic and social change.
Learning Outcomes: This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the period 1789-1848 in Europe, including a grasp of diversity in European political, social and economic development, and how changes occurred in various ways over time. This will be achieved by examining a range of European countries and by encouraging students to make comparisons between them. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Students should consider purchasing some of the following:
- William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution (1989).
- Robert Gildea, Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800-1914 (1996).
- Peter McPhee, The French Revolution 1789-1799 (2002).
- Jonathan Sperber, Revolutionary Europe 1780-1850 (2000).
| HIS923 | Europe in the Age of Revolution, 1789 - 1848 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught through two lectures and a one-hour tutorial per week. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory. All tutorials are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. Preparation is essential in order to facilitate discussion of topics covered in the lectures at a deeper level and to allow the development of historical skills. Performance is not assessed on 'correctness' but on a willingness to present and develop an argument. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History credit. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 2000 words (50%), an exercise on primary sources (40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9B4: Modern European History, 1848-1918
Module Content: The module examines a broad range of the most important political, social, economic and ideological developments in European history from the Revolutions of 1848 until the end of the First World War. There is particular emphasis on the major European powers: Germany, Russia, France, Italy and the Habsburg Empire.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with a sound knowledge and understanding of the main trends and developments in an important period of Modern European history, with particular reference to the major powers. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
- C.A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914 (2004).
- D. Blackbourn, The Fontana History of Germany 1790-1918 (1997).
- T.C.W. Blanning (ed.), The Nineteenth Century (2000).
- J. Breuilly (ed.), 19th Century Germany. Politics, Culture and Society, 1780-1918 (2001).
- J.A. Davis, Italy in the Nineteenth Century (2000).
- O. Figes, A People’s Tragedy. The Russian Revolution, 1891-1924 (1996).
- A. Mombauer, The Origins of the First World War (2002).
- R. Okey, The Habsburg Monarchy c. 1765-1918 (2001).
- R. Service, A History of Modern Russia (2003 ed.).
- W. Simpson & M. Jones, Europe, 1783-1914 (2000).
- J. Sperber (ed.), Germany, 1800-1870 (2004).
- R. Tombs, France, 1814-1914 (1996).
| HIS9B4 | Modern European History, 1848-1918 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | The module is taught through a lecture and a one-hour tutorial per week. Attendance at tutorials is compulsory and preparation essential. All tutorials are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | Two History modules at level 8. This module or HIS9B5 is also a pre-requisite for HIS9K6, HIS9M6 and HIS9T6. Not available to students who have taken HIS99B. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 2500 words (40%), a two-hour examination (50%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9B5: Modern European History, 1918-1945
Module Content: This module forms a natural complement to HIS9B4 (Modern European History, 1848-1918). The main emphasis is on the crucial interwar period. Considerable attention is directed towards the weakness of democratic, parliamentary government in major European countries and the concomitant challenge posed by Fascism, National Socialism and Communism. Hence, Fascist Italy, Weimar and Nazi Germany and Bolshevik/Stalinist Russia figure prominently, supplemented by assessments of the Popular Front era in France and Spain and, to a lesser extent, of conditions in Central and Eastern Europe. The resultant strains on international diplomacy, particularly during the 1930s, are also fully analysed.
Learning Outcomes: This module aims to provide students with a sound knowledge and understanding of a crucial period in Modern European History through a critical assessment of the principal domestic and external developments affecting the major powers. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
The following is a selection of recommended general texts which serve as an introduction to the module:
- M. Burleigh, The Third Reich. A New History (2002).
- R.J. Crampton, Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (1994).
- N. Davies, Europe. A History (1996).
- W. Fortesque, The Third Republic in France, 1870-1940 (2000).
- J. Jackson (ed.), Europe 1900-1945 (2002).
- H. James, Europe Reborn. A History, 1914-2000 (2004).
- I. Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936. Volume 1: Hubris (1998).
- I. Kershaw, Hitler 1936-1945. Volume 2: Nemesis (2000).
- M. Kitchen, A History of Modern Germany (2006).
- A. Littleton (ed.), Liberal and Fascist Italy, 1900-1945 (2002).
- M. Mazower, Dark Continent. Europe's Twentieth Century (1998).
- P. Morgan, Fascism in Europe, 1919-1945 (2002).
- R. Overy, The Dictators: Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia (2005).
- V. Rothwell, The Origins of the Second World War (2001).
- R. Sakwa, The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 (1999).
| HIS9B5 | Modern European History, 1918-1945 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | One History module at level 9. (This module or HIS9B4 is a pre-requisite for HIS9K6, HIS9M6 and HIS9T6.) |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on two essays of 2500 words (each 45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9K6: France: Nation, Empire and Revolution, 1789-1914
Module Content: The first half of the module takes a chronological approach, to examine the upheavals and evolution in French political institutions between 1789 and 1914. The topics in this section include the immediate legacy of the French Revolution; the Restoration, the Revolution of 1830 and the July Monarchy; the 1848 Revolution and the Second Republic; Napoleon III; and the Third Republic. The second half of the module is thematic, and considers the wider influences which helped to shape modern France: women in French politics and society; the transformation of 'peasants into Frenchmen'; workers and urban life; imperialism and resistance; art and literature.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the longer-term influences affecting modern France. It seeks to encourage students to consider the variety of factors contributing to the development of both the modern French state and French identity. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Useful background works include:
- R. Aldrich, Greater France: a History of French Overseas Expansion (1996).
- F. Furet, Revolutionary France 1770-1880 (1992).
- R. Magraw, France 1815-1914: The Bourgeois Century (1983).
- P. Pilbeam, Republicanism in Nineteenth-Century France, 1814-1871 (1995).
- R. Tombs, France 1814-1914 (1996).
- E. Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen (1977).
- T. Zeldin, France 1848-1945 (2 vols.) (1973-1977).
| HIS9K6 | France: Nation, Empire and Revolution, 1789-1914 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | HIS923 and one history module at level 9 or 10; or HIS9B4 or HIS9B5, or HIS99B or HIS99C. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9M6: The Second Polish Republic, 1918-1939/45
Module Content: The module provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the largest and most important country in East-Central Europe during the interwar and wartime periods. The overall approach is both thematic and chronological, as required. Consideration of Poland's reestablishment in 1918 as an independent, sovereign state, leads on to an examination of her subsequent development until the German and Soviet invasions of 1939. Full coverage is given to the most formative features of Polish life, including the economy, especially the agrarian question and the impact of the Depression; the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-20; parliamentary democracy, the Pilsudski Coup of 1926 and the Sanacja regime; Roman Dmowski and National Democracy: social, cultural and intellectual trends; the Catholic Church; the ethnic minorities and the Polish-Jewish symbiosis; and foreign affairs. The formal replacement of the Second Republic by a Soviet-imposed Communist regime in 1944-45 is viewed within the wider context of Poland's experience during the Second World War; with particular emphasis on the Polish Government-in-Exile under General Wladyslaw Sikorski and the contribution of the Polish Armed Forces to the Allied cause.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with a broadly-based analysis of the most significant and formative features of the Second Polish Republic from its establishment in 1918 until its defeat at the beginning of the Second World War, and of the subsequent wartime implications. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
The University Library has an adequate cross-section of pertinent English-language textbooks, monographs and periodical literature. For vacation reading, the following are recommended:
- N. Davies, Rising '44: 'The Battle for Warsaw' (2003).
- N. Davies, God's Playground. A History of Poland, Volume II (1982). New edition 2004.
- J. Garlinski, Poland in the Second World War (1985).
- J. Karski, The Great Powers and Poland, 1919-1945 (1986).
- J. Lukowski & H. Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland (2001).
- G. Sanford, Katyn and the Soviet Massacre of 1940 (2005).
- P.D. Stachura (ed.), Poland Between the Wars, 1918-1939 (1998).
- P.D. Stachura, Poland in the Twentieth Century (1999).
- A. Zamoyski, The Polish Way (1991).
Compulsory purchase:
- P.D. Stachura, Poland, 1918-1945: An Interpretive and Documentary History of the Second Republic (Routledge, 2004, paper ed.).
| HIS9M6 | The Second Polish Republic, 1918-1939/45 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | HIS923 and one History module at level 9 or 10; or HIS9B4 or HIS9B5 or HIS99B or HIS99C. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9T6: The History of the Soviet Union 1917-1991
Module Content: The module covers the following topics: the revolutions of 1917; the consolidation of the Bolshevik dictatorship during the civil war; the emergence and nature of the Stalinist system; the Russo-German war; the period of Khrushchev and Brezhnev; the demise of the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1991.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the origins, development, and collapse of the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1991, both in its domestic and international setting. It seeks to deepen history-specific skills already acquired and to help extend further a range of transferable skills. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
There are no set textbooks, but students would find it useful to buy one or some of the following paperbacks:
- S. Fitzpatrick, The Russian Revolution, 1917-1932 (1994).
- G. Gill, Stalinism (1990).
- G. Hosking, A History of the Soviet Union (1992).
- J. Keep, Last of the Empires. A History of the Soviet Union, 1945-91 (1995).
- E. Mawdsley, The Stalin Years. The Soviet Union, 1929-1953 (1998).
- R. H. McNeal, Stalin, Man and Ruler (1988).
- A. Nove, An Economic History of the USSR (1969).
- L. Schapiro, The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1970).
- L. Siegelbaum, Soviet State and Society between Revolutions, 1918-1929 (1992).
- C. Ward, Stalin's Russia (1993).
| HIS9T6 | The History of the Soviet Union 1917-1991 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module is taught through a series of two-hour weekly seminars. Attendance at seminars is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | HIS923 and one History module at level 9 or 10; or HIS9B4 or HIS9B5. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on an essay of 3000 words (45%), a two-hour examination (45%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9K7: Revolutionary Europe, 1776-1804
Module Content: The module will examine the political and social life of the Old Regime, the impact of the Enlightenment and American Revolution and the origins of the French Revolution. It will continue by focusing on the course of the Revolution in France, including the role of women, the peasantry, the Terror, counter-revolution, the effects of the French Revolutionary Wars and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. It will then consider the impact of the French Revolution on other European countries, including radical movements, the conservative backlash, and the effects of war, French military occupation and resistance.
Learning Outcomes: The aim of the module is to provide students with a deep knowledge of the causes and course of political and social change in France and Europe, from the Old Regime to Napoleon's coronation as Emperor, and to enable them to assume personal responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments, and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
Useful introductory reading over the summer might include some of the following:
- Blanning, T.C.W., The Origins of the French Revolutionary Wars (London, 1986).
- Blanning, T.C.W., The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787 - 1802 (London, 1996).
- Doyle, W., The Oxford History of the French Revolution (Oxford, 1989).
- Hunt, L., Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution (Berkeley, 1984).
- Lyons, M., Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution (Basingstoke, 1994).
- Rudé, G., Revolutionary Europe, 1783 - 1815 (London, 1964).
Students are encouraged to buy:
- Hardman, J., The French Revolution Source Book (1999).
Note: Not available in Autumn 2008/Spring 2009
| HIS9K7 | Revolutionary Europe, 1776-1804 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9M7: The Weimar Republic
Module Content: The years of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) constitute one of the most dramatic and important periods not only in modern German history, but also in the history of twentieth-century Europe. The module offers a detailed and comprehensive assessment within a framework informed by the most up to date interpretative and conceptual perspectives. An extensive range of topics concerning social, economic, political, cultural and intellectual developments in domestic affairs is examined, while the Republic's role in international relations is also investigated. An analysis of the genesis and rise to power of National Socialism is a particular feature of the module, emphasising its character, ideology, propaganda, organisation, regional growth and social bases of support.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding in depth of a broad range of social, economic, political, cultural and intellectual themes of the Weimar period, with particular reference to the rise of National Socialism, and to enable them to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of argument, and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
There is a good cross-section of English-language literature in the Library. A large number of books is to be found in the Reserve Book Room. Recommended for vacation reading are:
- R.J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (London 2003)
- I. Kershaw, Hitler, 1889-1936. Volume 1: Hubris (Allen Lane, 1998).
- E. Kolb, The Weimar Republic (Unwin Hyman, London, new ed., 2001).
- H. Mommsen, The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy (Univ. of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1996).
- A.J. Nicholls, Weimar and the Rise of Hitler (new ed. London, 2000).
- J. Wright, Gustav Stresemann, Weimar’s Greatest Statesman (Oxford, 2002).
- D. Peukert, The Weimar Republic (Allen Lane, London 1991).
The following documentary collections will be used:
- A. Kaes, M. Jay & E. Dimendberg (eds.), The Weimar Republic Sourcebook (1995).
- J. Noakes & G. Pridham (eds.), Nazism, 1919-1945. Volume 1: The Rise to Power, 1919-1934 (1983).
- R. Stackelberg & S.A. Winkle, The Nazi Germany Sourcebook (2002).
Note: Not available in Autumn 2008/Spring 2009
| HIS9M7 | The Weimar Republic |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9T7: The Russian Revolution, June 1907 - July 1918
Module Content: Topics covered by the module include: the constitutional monarchy, 1907-1914; Russia during the Great War, 1914-1916; the February revolution; the Provisional Government; the October revolution; the consolidation of Bolshevik power.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding in depth of the longer and shorter term causes and immediate consequences of the Russian Revolution, together with knowledge of the events surrounding it, and to enable them to assume personal intellectual responsibility in the definition of problems, the formulation of arguments and the identification of sources. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
There are no set textbooks but students would find it useful to buy:
- Edward Acton, Rethinking the Russian Revolution (Edward Arnold, 1990).
- Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy. The Russian Revolution 1891-1924 (Jonathan Cape, 1996).
- Christopher Read, From Tsar to Soviets. The Russian People and Their Revolution, 1917-21 (1996).
- Rex Wade, The Russian Revolution 1917 (2000).
In addition during the vacation, students should read some of the standard general secondary works, such as:
- W. Chamberlin, The Russian Revolution, 1917-1921. Volume I (1952).
- M. Ferro, The Russian Revolution of February (1972); October 1917. A Social History of the Russian Revolution (1980).
- R. Pipes, The Russian Revolution, 1899-1919 (1990).
- R. Service (ed.), Society and Politics in the Russian Revolution (1992).
- J.D. White, The Russian Revolution: a Short History (1994).
Note: Not available in Autumn 2008/Spring 2009
| HIS9T7 | The Russian Revolution, June 1907 - July 1918 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
MODULE HIS9U7: Stalin's Russia, 1921-1941
Module Content: A political, cultural and social history of the early Stalin era in the Soviet Union, utilising newly declassified and translated primary source materials. This module seeks to examine how our views of the Soviet Union under Stalin have changed since the opening of the Russian archives: focusing on the interaction between state and society through propaganda, terror, collaboration, negotiation and resistance.
Learning Outcomes: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the first two decades of Soviet history and the contrasting images and realities of Soviet life; a healthy scepticism regarding past and present historical 'certainties'; an ability to analyse a cross-section of contrasting primary and secondary historical sources; an ability to manage, organise and present data to form and defend their own opinions; and an ability to express their ideas orally and in writing. A full description of the learning outcomes of the module is provided in the module handout.
Module Literature:
- Philip Boobbyer, The Stalin Era (London, 2000).
- Sarah Davies & James Harris (eds.), Stalin: A New History (Cambridge UP, 2005).
- Sheila Fitzpatrick (ed.), Stalinism: New Directions (London, 2000).
- J. Archy Getty & Oleg Naumov (eds.), The Road to Terror (Yale UP, 1999).
- David Priestland, Stalinism and the Politics of Mobilization (Oxford UP, 2007)
- Robert Service, Stalin: A Biography (London, 2004)
| HIS9U7 | Stalin's Russia, 1921-1941 |
|---|---|
| Module Structure: | There are no lectures. The module will be taught through weekly seminars, each lasting three hours. Attendance is compulsory and preparation essential. All seminars are prescribed classes since students are assessed for their oral performance at them. |
| Pre-requisite: | The module is restricted to 4th-year Honours students. |
| Assessment: | The grade is based on three essays of up to 4000 words (together 50%), two two-hour examinations (together 40%) and oral work (10%). |
