GM4592: NATIONAL SOCIALISM D (2014-2015)

Course Aims:  To provide an introduction to the topic of National Socialism by means of a study of selected aspects of the phenomenon, such as National Socialist ideology and its forerunners, the figure of Hitler, persecution and the Holocaust, resistance and exile, the structuralist/functionalist debate etc.  To familiarise students with the major debates on the topic and with the ideas and arguments of leading historians.  To allow students to articulate arguments in oral form in the German language and in written form in the English language.  To allow students to gain both a panoramic understanding of the phenomenon of National Socialism as well as an in-depth understanding of selected salient aspects. Main Learning Outcomes: Students will gain knowledge and understanding of an important period in modern German history, a period which determined events in Europe and indeed across the world and whose echoes continue to be felt in the present day. Students will improve their knowledge and understanding of developments in this period of German history and of the historical and intellectual background to it. Students will develop critical analytical approaches to a variety of salient documents from the period and will study these in the original German. In addition, students will develop more general intellectual, and practical skills, including the ability to engage with the process of learning in a constructive and self-motivated fashion, to read, order and analyze a body of material, to articulate arguments, in both English and German, and present the findings of independent research, and to work to deadlines, either on their own or as part of a team. Students will demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes by way of a formal essay as well as in the exam. Content: The course will deal with the rise to power of the NSDAP as well as the various ingredients (intellectual, historical, economic) which go to make up the National Socialist Weltanschauung. The course will include the study of relevant documents in the original language. Adolf Hitler will be examined as the central figure of the epoch together with other major figures (Goebbels, Göring, etc) associated with the Party. Major areas such as anti-Semitism, resistance, concentration camps and the Holocaust will also be considered.

This course may not be included in a graduating curriculum with GM4092 National Socialism B, GM3092 National Socialism A, GM3592 National Socialism C or with HI 303M / HI 353M, THE HOLOCAUST: ISSUES AND DEBATES. This course will be available in 2014/15 and in alternative sessions thereafter. Tutorials are conducted in the German language.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

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1st Attempt: One 2500-word continuous assessment exercise (30%) and one two-hour examination (70%). Resit: For honours students only: candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit a new essay.

Preparation of literary texts, discussion in class. Students are given the opportunity to articulate arguments in respect of the topics dealt with and thereby measure their own understanding and progress.

All essays and presentations are discussed individually within no more than 3 weeks of submission. All assignments receive CAS marks, which the Course Guide links to specific marking criteria, and written or verbal feedback in the form of tutors' comments is also given. Additional informal feedback on performance and tutorial participation is offered in tutorials. Tutors have office hours at which further feedback may be sought.

None.