Tuesdaysfrom 2:00 to 4:50 P.M. in Physics 112

History 4262.002

WORLD WAR I

Tuesdaysfrom 2:00 to 4:50 p.m. in Physics 112

Prof. Geoffrey Wawro

University of NorthTexas, History Dept.

WH 341

Office phone – 940-891-6940

Office hours – Tues 1-2 pm

DISABILITY STATEMENT: The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.

Required Reading

Geoffrey Wawro, A Mad Catastrophe.

John Keegan, The First World War.

Norman Stone, World War One: A Short History

Ernst Jünger, Storm of Steel.

Peter Englund, The Beauty and the Sorrow.

Course Description

This course is a thorough exploration of the Great War in its global setting. The war was centered in Europe, so is the course. We focus on the military rivalries that led to war and shaped the fighting, but also consider the social, political, cultural and economic factors that tipped Europe into war, and then enabled exhausted, decimated societies to hold on through four years of savage attritional warfare.

Requirements

One midterm and one final exam based on lectures, readings and class discussions. Graduate students will fulfill the normal undergrad requirements, and write a 20-30 page research paper or bibliographic essay. Students are expected to read every week and come prepared to discuss the reading. I will make time during every class for this purpose. Undergrads wishing a third grade may write a 10-15 page paper – topic to be agreed with me in advance -- in addition to the exams.

Week 1, 8/25/15– Hand out syllabus, discuss class and subject matter.

Week 2, 9/1/15–Origins of World War I. Wawro, ix-120. Stone, 5-30. Keegan, 3-70.

Week 3, 9/8/15– 1914 on the Western and Eastern Fronts. Keegan, 71-174. Stone, 35-60. Englund, 1914 chapter.

Week 4, 9/15/15 – The strange death of Austria-Hungary, 1914-15. Wawro, 121-385.

Week 5, 9/22/15–1915: Gallipoli, Gorlice, Italy joins the war, and the intensification of trench warfare. Keegan, 175-256. Stone, 65-89. Englund, 1915 chapter.

Week 6, 9/29/15 – Verdun and the Somme. Keegan, 274-99. Stone, 93-112. Englund, 1916 chapter. Jünger, 1-129.

Week 7, 10/6/15– MIDTERM EXAM

Week 8, 10/13/15–Home Fronts. Englund, 1917 chapter.

Week 9, 10/20/15– The blockade, the war at sea, and American intervention. Keegan, 257-74, 350-55.

Week 10, 10/27/15 – 1917: Caporetto, Chemin des Dames, Passchendaele, French army mutinies. Keegan, 309-32, 343-50, 355-71. Jünger, 130-319. Stone, 117-51. Recommended: Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms.

Week 11, 11/3/15– World War I in the Middle East and East Asia.

Week 12, 11/10/15– Russian Revolution and Brest-Litovsk. Keegan, 299-308, 332-43, 377-92. Recommended: Arnold Zweig, The Case of Sergeant Grischa.

Week 13, 11/17/15 -- Ludendorff Offensives. Keegan, 372-77, 392-414. Stone, 157-81. Englund, 1918 chapter.

Week 14, 11/24/15–Paris Peace Conference. Keegan, 414-27. Stone, 185-90. Englund, The End chapter.

Week 15, 12/1/15–Review for final exam.

FINAL EXAM WILL BE GIVEN ON TUESDAY DEC 8 FROM 1:30-3:30 PM IN THE CLASSROOM.

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