Texts will be Stanley G. Payne's A History of Fascism, 194-1945 and A Documentary History of Communism, vol. 2, edited by Robert V. Daniels. Further, students will read extensively in the contemporary press, and in books on reserve. Substantial reading including microfilmed newspapers, and discussion of that reading. Students submit weekly lists of reading accomplished.
Class meets once a week.
This course provides a rigorous and comprehensive introduction to the most important topics in the history of early modern Europe, ca. While the required reading is in English and cannot touch on all aspects of each national literature from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the lists of supplementary reading will guide those who want suggestions in areas that we cannot all cover in class. Oral reports will acquaint the class with books or disputes that we will not have time to examine in detail. The main point of the course is to master these major topics, to find out what the major controversies have been, and to develop a habit of aggressive reading. This course is part of the new, required sequence for graduate students in modern European history.