Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 18 x 50 minute sessions |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 5 x 2 hour sessions |
| Seminars / Tutorials | Individual 10-minute 'feedback tutorial' per written assignment submitted |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | 3 Hours (1 x 3 hour exam) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Exam | 3 Hours 1 x 3 hour supplementary (resit) examination | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a firm understanding of current approaches to and on-going debates on the history of modern Germany.
Demonstrate an understanding of German politics, culture and society.
Demonstrate an ability to use and reflect critically upon a range of relevant primary and secondary material.
Demonstrate an ability to collect and analyse relevant historical evidence to produce appropriate arguments both oral (not assessed) and written.
Demonstrate an ability to work independently and as a group.
Demonstrate the skills appropriate to the study of the history of modern Germany and produce work in a professional manner.
Brief description
In May 1945 the Third Reich was defeated and Germany lay in ruins. The occupation of Germany and the development of the Cold War resulted in the creation of two ideologically opposed German states. This module will examine the fall of the Third Reich, the foundation of West Germany (the FRG) and East Germany (the GDR), their domestic and foreign policies and their central roles in the Cold War. It will explore German culture and society and themes such as memory and identity. The module also looks at the process of re-unification in 1990 and the subsequent Berlin Republic. A range of primary sources will be used alongside secondary literature to examine the key scholarly debates on Germany since 1945.
Content
1. Introduction: themes in modern German history
2. The end of the unitary Reich
3. Defeat, Expulsion and Occupation, 1945-8
4. Denazification and Occupation Politics
5. The creation of two Germanies
6. The FRG: Adenauer, the Wirtschaftswunder and Westbindung
7. The GDR: Soviet Union in miniature on the Elbe
8. The Berlin Wall Crisis, 1958-1962
9. The 1960s: the consolidation of the German two-state system
10. Brandt and Ostpolitik: two states, one nation
11. Germany until 1970: Review Session
12. State and society in the FRG
13. State and society in the GDR
14. Co-existence and confrontation: the two Germanies in the 1980s
15. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the GDR
16. Re-unification and beyond
17. 'The past that will not pass away': Nazism and Communism in German history and memory
18. Conclusion: themes in modern German history
Seminars (fortnightly):
1. The Construction of two German states
2. Reconstruction, Consolidation and the German Question in the Cold War
3. The Federal Republic of Germany in 1960s and 1970s
4. State and Society in the Democratic Republic of Germany
5. The fall of the Berlin Wall and reunified Germany
Aims
To facilitate familiarity and engagement with the political, economic, social and cultural development of the two Germanies from 1945 to reunification.
To encourage the acquisition of critical skills to be used to analyse relevant historiographical developments
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Written communication skills will be developed through the coursework and written examination; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars but are not formally assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be advised on how to improve research and communication skills through the individual tutorial providing feedback on submitted coursework. |
| Information Technology | Students will be expected to play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars) and to learn to evaluate their own contribution to such activities. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | |
| Problem solving | Students are expected to note and respond to historical problems which arise as part of the study of this subject area and to undertake suitable research for seminars and essays. . |
| Research skills | Students will develop their research skills by reading a range of texts and evaluating their usefulness in preparation for the coursework and the written examination. |
| Subject Specific Skills | N/A |
| Team work | Students will be expected to play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars) and to learn to evaluate their own contribution to such activities. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6