EUH4664/ MODERN EUROPEAN REVOLUTIONS, 1789-1989
 
 

     Revolutions are among the most dramatic and significant events that have touched the lives of Europeans in the past two centuries. This course traces the historical development of European revolutions beginning with the great French Revolution of 1789 and ending with the Spanish Revolution of 1936. We begin with a discussion of the concept of revolution in an effort to answer such questions as: How do we define a revolutionary event? And what are the identifying traits of a revolution? Next we shall examine the background and successive stages of the French Revolution, 1789-1799. It is well known that the impact of the French Revolution on Europe as a whole was both profound and long-lived. Its historical and theoretical connections to subsequent revolutionary events, particularly the so-called revolutionary tide which swept through Europe at mid-century (1848 Revolutions), will also be studied in this part of the course. Part II. deals with two further examples of European revolution: The Russian Revolutions of 1917-1921 and the Spanish Revolution of 1936-1939. Particular attention will be paid to the extent to which both the Russian and Spanish revolutions departed and/or conformed to the model of the French Revolution. The decay and ultimate collapse of Czarism in Russia after the turn of the century resulted in the success of a left-wing or Marxist/Leninist model of revolution. The origins and outcome of this momentous event will be discussed with reference both to Russia and to the general course of European history in this period. Next, we shall see how the dramatic revolutionary episodes associated with the Spanish Civil War, one of the least explored revolutions of the 20th century, fit into the European revolutionary tradition that began in 1789. In the final two weeks of the course we shall examine the "revolutionary" impact of the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Central/Eastern Europe from 1989 onwards.
     Throughout the course we shall make use of both primary and secondary sources. In the former case we shall draw upon a variety of sources, including personal accounts, contemporary works of art and images, and theoretical writings of major figures. Our core secondary texts will provide the details that we will use to place our picture of revolutionary events in historical context.

Course Requirements:

There will be two in-class exams that will test your knowledge and comprehension of (1) lectures and (2) reading assignment. A longer, research-based paper (approximately 10 pages) dealing with at least one or more revolutionary events (French, 1848 Revolutions, etc.) will be due at the end of term.

Grading:
 • Term paper: 35%
 • Two exams: 55%
 • Class performance: 10%
 • Note on Attendance: Since much of the course will be concerned with highly complex topics that cannot be thoroughly mastered by referring only to texts, attendance is mandatory. Except for illness (documented) and family emergencies (immediate family only) there will be no excused absences. Your final grade goes down a letter for every two un-excused absences.

Required Texts:

George Esenwein/Adrian Shubert.  Spain at War: The Spanish Civil War in Context, 1931-1939.
Jeremy Popkin. A Short History of the French Revolution.
Reinterpreting Revolutions in the 20th Century. Edited by M. Donald and T. Rees.
Jonathan Sperber.  The Revolutions of 1848.
Vladimir Tismaneanu.  The Revolutions of 1989.
Alan Todd, Revolutions, 1789-1917.
Rex Wade.  The Russian Revolution, 1917.

Course Reserves: Readings (chapters, articles, etc.) found in books placed on course reserve for EUH4664.  (Note: All items on reserve can be checked out for two hours or overnight.)

Reading assignments:

All reading assignments should not be postponed.  Nor should they be confined to any one week.  For example, the readings for week one will be relevant to our future discussions of revolutionary events from the French Revolution on.  You should therefore budget time to re-read texts that were assigned earlier in the term.  Any modifications or changes in the reading assignments will be announced in class (please no e-mails asking me to clarify changes etc.)  You will be responsible for making these (and any other adjustments to the syllabus that are announced in class) to your course calendar.
 

                                             Course Calendar:
 
 
 

Week 1: 24 August/  The concept of revolution
Readings: A. Todd, Revolutions, pp. 1-6; Course Reserve articles: John Dunn, “Ideological Dilemmas”; H. Arendt, “The Meaning of Revolution”; E. Kamenka, “The Concept of
a Political Revolution.”

Week 2: 31 August/  French Revolution: historical background
Readings: A. Todd, Revolutions, pp. 7-11, 20-23, 31-33, 45-50, 58-61, 71-74, 80-85, 99-100, 111-114,  Popkin, French Rev., Chapters 1-2.

Week 3: 7 September/  French Revolution: Estates General to Reign of Terror
Readings:  Course Reserve: E. Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, pp. 39-73, 77-86, 144-154; Popkin, French Rev., Chapters 3-5.

Week 4: 14 September/  French Revolution: Thermidorian Reaction and the rise of Napoleon.
Readings: Popkin, French Rev., Chapters 6-7.

Week 5: 21 September/ French Revolution: Napoleon’s Empire and the legacy of revolutionary France.
Readings: Popkin, French Rev., Chapters 8-9.

Week 6: 28 September /  Revolutionary movements of 1848: Nationalism, Liberalism, Conservatism, Radicalism
Readings: A. Todd, Revolutions, pp. 11-13,  23-26, 34-38, 50-52, 61-63, 74-76, 85-88, 103-106, 114-117; J. Sperber, European Revolutions, Chapters 1-2.

Week 7: 5 October/  Revolutionary movements of 1848: Breakdown of order/development of revolutionary structures.
Readings: J. Sperber, European Revolutions, Chapters 3-4.

Week 8: 12 October /  Revolutionary movements of 1848: Events and Outcomes.
Readings: J. Sperber, European Revolutions.  Chapters 5-6

Week 9: 19 October /  Russian Revolution: Historical background
Readings: R. Rex Wade, Russian Revolution,  Chapters 1-2;  Course Reserve: R. Pipes, Concise History of R.Rev., Chapter 1; Donald/Rees, Re-interpreting, Chapters 1-2.

21 OCTOBER FIRST EXAM: COVERING CONCEPT OF REVOLUTION, FRENCH REVOLUTION AND 1848 REVOLUTIONS.

Week 10: 26 October/  Russian Revolution: Road to Revolution, 1905-1917
Readings: A. Todd, Revolutions, 15-17, 28-30, 39-41, 54-57, 64-67, 77-79, 90-92, 107-110, 118-121;  R. Pi    Rex Wade, Russian Revolution,  Chapters, 3-6; Course Reserve: R. Pipes, Concise History, Chapters 2-4 (Part I); Robert Tucker, Lenin Anthology, “What is to be done?”.

Week 11: 2 November/  Russian Revolution and Civil War, 1917-1921
Readings: R. Rex Wade, Russian Revolution, Chapters 7-11 ; Donald/Rees, Re-interpreting, Chapter 4; Course Reserve: R. Pipes, Concise History, Chapters 5-16; Robert Tucker, Lenin Anthology, “State and Revolution”.

Week 12: 9 November /  Spanish Revolution and Civil War: Historical background
Readings: Esenwein/Shubert, Spain at War,  Chapters 1, 5, 7, 11; Course Reserve: A. Kenwood, Spanish Civil War, pp. 3-17,  49-56 .
 

OUTLINE OF TERM PAPER DUE AT END OF CLASS: PENALTY ASSIGNED TO ANY LATE OUTLINES (LETTER GRADE DEDUCTED FOR EVERY DAY IT IS LATE.

Week 13: 16 November /  Spanish Revolution:1936-1939
Readings: Esenwein/Shubert, Spain at War, Chapters ; Donald/Rees, Re-interpreting, Chapter 7; Course Reserve: A. Kenwood, Spanish Civil War, pp. 80-85, 219-252, 265-276.

Week 14: 23 November /   European Revolutions in Twentieth Century: Impact of WWII: The Cold War era.
Readings: Tismaneanu, Chapters 1-9.
 

Week 15: 30 November/  European Revolutions in Twentieth Century: Collapse of communism, 1989.
Readings: Tismaneanu, Chapters 10-15; Donald/Rees, Re-interpreting, Chapter 8. Course Reserve: T.Garton Ash, The Magic Latern.
 

TERM PAPER DUE AT END OF CLASS: NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED.
 

Week 16: 7 December: 2nd Exam covering The Russian Revolution, The Spanish Revolution, and the Revolutions of 1989.