HISTORY 332. Twentieth-Century Europe
Professor: Robert W. Brown
Course Description
History 332 examines the turbulent and tragic
story
of European civilization and its interaction with the rest of the world
since 1914. Central to this course is the task of explaining how
the European nations declined, in the remarkably short span of about
fifty
years, from a position of world primacy in 1914 to the place of
secondary
importance they presently occupy. At the same time, we will
explore
how two devastating world wars allowed the United States and the Soviet
Union not only to become "superpowers" after 1945, but to replace the
traditional
European Great Powers as the predominant forces in the world until
1990.
But now this post-World II alignment of Europe and the world into two
opposing
camps has ended, as has the Cold War itself, with the (second)
unification
of Germany and the disintegration of the Soviet Empire in Eastern
Europe
as well as of the Soviet Union itself. Europe, together with the
United States and the rest of the world, now face a new millennium that
offers great promises as well major challenges.
Course Information
Primary Sources and Images
The Second World War, 1939-1945
Europe,
1945-Present
Lecture Outlines
Discussion Questions
Study Guides for the Tests
Instructions for the
Essays
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Last Update: 26.X.2005
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