This course is a survey of the German lands from the dawn of the modern era through contemporary times. The course will combine social, political, economic, and cultural history in examining crucial themes and developments related to the German-speaking regions. Cadets will consider German nation and state formation; social, demographic, and economic transformation; imperialism, war and ideological change; the transformation of male and female roles; and trends in high and popular culture. The course will include a significant segment on twentieth-century Germany and the role the German state played in determining the course of world history, whether as the Nazi state that unleashed the Holocaust or as the West German Cold War bulwark. German history has much to teach us, and has led to enormous debates about the nature of the modern era.
