Life in a Dictatorship: Lessons from Twentieth-Century Europe
HIST 3364
3 hours
Life in a Dictatorship: Lessons from Twentieth-Century Europe
Analytical Thinking
Communication
Critical Thinking
Course Description
This course uses a variety of source material, including diaries, letters, memoirs, fiction, and film to examine the experience of living in a dictatorship. The primary cases featured will be the Soviet Union (1917-1991), Fascist Italy (1925-1943), Nazi Germany (1933-1945), and the communist-led governments of Eastern Europe after World War II (1948-1989).
Athena Title
Dictatorships in 20th C Europe
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HIST 3364H
Prerequisite
One course in HIST or POLS or INTL or WMST or RUSS or GRMN or CMLT or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S
Pre or Corequisite
One course in HIST or POLS or INTL or WMST or RUSS or GRMN or CMLT or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the nature of life in a dictatorship by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of life under dictatorial rule shaped social and cultural identities and attitudes toward power and freedom, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
State power and liberal government in nineteenth-century Europe
The deep origins of dictatorship in twentieth-century Europe
The impact of World War I on European governments, states, and societies
The Bolshevik Revolution and the "dictatorship of the proletariat" in Russia
From Lenin to Stalin
Everyday life in Stalin's Soviet Union
The Rise of Fascism in Italy
The Fascist Dictatorship and the concept of "totalitarianism"
The 1930s in Fascist Italy: "years of consent"?
The limits of dictatorship in Fascist Italy
The rise of Nazism in Germany
The Nazi dictatorship
Active and passive consent, opposition, and resistance in Nazi Germany
Communist dictatorships in postwar Eastern Europe
Government crackdowns and thaws
The impact of international relations on Eastern European dictatorships
The "velvet revolutions" of 1989
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
