Download Category II Course Proposal

Category II Course Proposal
1) Course name: World War II: A Global History
2) Course Number: 487/587
3) Course Credit: 4
4) Prerequisites: Western Civilization 103
Too often American students associate World War II with Pearl Harbor or films like
Saving Private Ryan. This class is important in order to offer students a different view,
one which tells the story of the Second World War from a global perspective.
Course Description
Students will examine World War II from a global perspective, its origins, the course of
the conflict and its aftermath, looking especially at the US, USSR, Britain, Germany and
Japan. Topics will include the concept of total war and the home fronts of a number of
nations.
Learning outcomes and evaluation
I.
Measurable Student Learning Outcomes:
Based on the specific class assignments, students will be able to:
A. From the midterm and final, students will describe the major powers and
personalities from WWII
B. From map question, identify key areas of conflict
C. Define key terms from the war
From the in class presentation, students will be able to:
A. provide a class presentation based on the assigned readings centered on
one of the seven presentation themes, including 1) pre war military
theory/lessons learned from World War I, 2) biographies of the major
political leaders, 3) eyewitness accounts of combat, 4) occupation and
resistance, 5) the home front, 6) war crimes, 7) aftermath
B. working as a team, students, then will review their individual books, then
collaborate producing a group paper in which the students will formulate a
conclusion that combines all of the group’s reviews
From the comparative paper, students will be able to:
A. compare/contrast a specific wartime topic through the prism of two of the
warring parties, such as national mobilization, combat doctrine,
etc…Student will illustrate the two national views, then evaluate the
effectiveness of the different national decisions.
Course Content
Week
Topics
Readings
Presentations
1
Introduction
World War I
Interwar years/crisis
Gilbert 1-7
2
Blitzkrieg: June 1940
War 1939
Gilbert 8-14
Prewar theory
3
Barbarossa 1941
Gilbert 15-20
Leaders
4
Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Gilbert 21-26
Combat
5
Turning of the Tide
Gilbert 27-34
Midterm exam
6
Total War
Gilbert 35-37
Occupation and resistance
7
The Second Front
Gilbert 38-44
Home Front
8
The End in Europe
Gilbert 45-48
War Crimes
9
The End in Japan
Gilbert 49-51
Aftermath
10
Conclusions: Cold war, Nuremberg trials, just/unjust war, origins of 21st century
conflict
Evaluation of Student Performance
Grades: There will be a total of 1000 points to be earned in this class divided in the
following manner:
1) Objective midterm w/maps, chronologies and short analytical questions
200
2) Objective final exam as above
200
3) Presentation paper-individual
100
4) Class presentation
100
5) Presentation paper-group
100
6) Final comparative paper
300
A: 1000-930
A-: 929-900
B+: 899-870
B: 869-830
B-: 829-800
C+: 799-770
C: 769-730
C-: 729-700
D+: 699-670
D: 669-630
D-: 629-600
F: 599 or below
Class exams: these exams are primarily objective in nature consisting of multiple choice
questions, including maps and chronologies. Also students will provide short analytical
essays to select questions. Study guides will be provided.
Class presentations: for each individual student the class presentations total 300 points.
Starting on Thursday, week two, and continuing throughout the quarter as described in
the schedules, a team of students (no more than 5 per group) will provide a 10 minute
presentation presenting the material described in the assigned readings for that week. For
example, on week two there will be at least seven assigned readings on how the future of
war was perceived by various theorists from the US, Britain, the Soviet Union, Germany,
Japan… leading up to 1939. Each student in the group will choose one of the assigned
books, read and present the author’s findings during the 10 minute presentation. The
presentation will be worth 100 points and grading will be based upon the clarity and
quality of the presentation. A 3-5 page book review will then be due a week after the
presentation, also worth 100 points. Finally, this book review will be incorporated in a
12-18 page group paper (depending on the number in the group), which will bring
together all of the group readings and the group will also come together to write a
collaborative introduction and conclusion based on the readings. All students in the group
will be graded the same for the final 100 points.
Comparative paper: this is a 12-15 page paper (exclusive of bibliography) on a topic
mutually agreed upon by the student and instructor. The purpose of the essay is to
compare/contrast a specific topic, from the point of view of at least two different nations.
For example, the strategic bombing campaign through the prism of US and British policy
or economic mobilization compared between Germany and Japan. The essay will be
worth 200 points and based on focus, clarity, thorough presentation and a discussion
comparing and contrasting the two views. A bibliography of primary and secondary
sources needs to demonstrate that the student has become familiar with the pertinent
literature. This counts for 100 points.
Graduate Learning Objectives
This course would be available for both undergraduate and graduate credit. The learning
outcomes and amount of work for graduate students would be greater. For graduate
students therefore an additional 10-12 page paper will be due, based on the comparison of
the strategic situation of two major powers during the war on Dec. 31 of a specific year.
For example, the student may choose Germany and the Soviet Union on Dec. 31, 1941.
The paper will outline the strategic objectives of the coming year for each power, its
means and plans to achieve its desired goals and an analysis, comparing and contrasting
the objectives and means of each power. Not only military capabilities, but economic and
morale considerations must be considered. Graduate students compare and contrast the
strategic situations at the time and based upon the factors examined, political, economic,
military and others, predict the national strategic goals for the coming year. Students will
evaluate how each nation evaluated its own strengths and weaknesses and how well they
match their abilities with their goals.
This paper is to be 2x spaced, standard margins, and citations. The paper will be graded
on proper grammar and spelling and the completeness of research and sound analysis
based on evaluating the relative strengths and weaknesses of the countries at that specific
time.
Learning Resources
1) Gilbert, Martin. The Second World War: A Complete History, Revised Edition
(NY: Henry Holt & Co. 2004).
2) Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press). Optional.
2007 Presentation list
I.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Prewar military perceptions
Clausewitz, Vom Krieg (On War), Peter Paret, ed.
V.K. Triandifillov, The Nature of the Operations of Modern Armies
Charles De Gaulle, The Army of the Future
J.F.C. Fuller, Tanks in the Great War
E. Douhet, Command of the Air
Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
II.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Leaders:
Dmitri Volkogonov, Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy
Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis
Manning, Paul, Hirohito: the War Years
Goodwin, Doris Kearns: No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
Smith, Denis Mack, Mussolini
Gilbert, Martin, Churchill
III.
Personal Accounts
1) Merridale, Catherine, Ivan’s War
2) Sajer, Guy, Soldat Oublie (The Forgotten Soldier-German eastern front memoir)
3) Cook and Cook, Japan at War: an Oral History
4) Manchester, William, Goodbye Darkness
5) Townsend, Peter, The Odds Against Us
6) Lawrence, Hal, Victory at Sea (Canadian navy)
IV.
Occupation/Resistance
1) Bennett, Rab, Under the Shadow of the Swastika
2) Shepherd, Ben, War in the Wild East
3) Laska, Vera, Women in the Resistance and the Holocaust
4) Hunt, Ray, Behind Japanese Lines: An American Guerilla in the Philippines
5) Hehn, Paul, The German Struggle Against Yugoslav Guerillas in World War II
6) Eisner, Peter, The Freedom Line (Spanish support for Allied airmen)
V.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Home Front
Stites, Richard, ed. Culture and Entertainment in Wartime Russia
Jeffries, John, Wartime America
Briggs, Susan, The Home Front: War Years in Britain
Ceram, C.W. introduction, A Woman in Berlin
Havens, Thomas, Valley of Darkness: the Japanese People and World War II
Raman, T.A. What does Gandhi Want?
VI.
Horrors of War
1) Chang, Iris, The Rape of Nanking
2) Hersey, John, Hiroshima
3) Christopher R.l Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the
Final Solution in Poland
4) Allen Paul, Katyn: the Untold Story of Stalin’s Polish Massacre
5) Fred Taylor, Dresden, Tuesday February 13, 1945
6) Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews, 1985
VII. Post –war
1) Albert Camus, The Plague
2) Elyena Zubkova, Russia After the War
3) John Dower, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of WWII
4) Noel Annan, Changing Enemies: the Defeat and Regeneration of Germany
5) Michael Gambone, The Greatest Generation Comes Home: the Veteran in
American Society
6) Telford Taylor, The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials
Students with Disabilities
Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Services for
Students with Disabilities (SSD). Students with accommodations approved through SSD
are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or
during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they
are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through SSD
should contact SSD immediately at 737-4098.
Expectations of Student Conduct
Academic dishonesty is prohibited and considered a violation of the Student Conduct
Regulations. It includes cheating, the intentional use of unauthorized materials,
information, or study aids; fabrication, assisting in dishonesty or tampering (intentionally
or knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of dishonesty or
tampering with evaluation instruments and documents); and plagiarism, intentionally or
knowingly representing the words or ideas of another person's as ones' own. Below is the
link to the Student Conduct Website.
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/achon.htm