EUR1020

Contemporary Europe: East and West

Barbara Caine, David Garrioch, Eleanor Hancock and others

6 points
* 2 lectures and one tutorial per week
* Second semester
* Clayton
* Prohibitions: HSY1080, HSY1920

Objectives Students completing this subject should have an overview of Europe's cultural, social, economic and political development from the Second World War to the present. They should be aware of the major interpretations of Europe's postwar history, and have further refined their skills of analysis, as well as their verbal and written communication skills.

Synopsis For most of the period since World War Two, Europe has been divided into East and West. This subject asks how far this division conceals underlying economic, political, social and cultural trends common to all of Europe. It begins with reactions to war, to the experience of occupation, and to the Holocaust, and looks at the reconstruction of Europe and the beginnings of the Cold War. Later topics include the political and economic structures of capitalist and communist Europe, the experience of growing up in postwar Europe, East and West, the creation of the European Communities, the effects of destalinisation, and the rise of popular protest movements such as the student and feminist movements. The course will conclude with an examination of the causes of the collapse of communism and the effects of this for contemporary Europe. Students intending to major in Jewish Studies will be able to choose an essay topic in this area.

Assessment Short exercises (500 words): 10%
* Two essays (1500 words each): 70%
* Document exercise or test (1 hour): 15%
* Class preparation: 5%

Prescribed texts

Hobsbawm E J Age of extremes Abacus, 1995

Recommended texts

Joll J Europe since 1870 Penguin, 1990
Laqueur W Europe in our time Viking, 1992
Rugg D Eastern Europe Longman, 1985
Tipton F and Aldrich R An economic and social history of Europe Macmillan, 1987