Module HIST20D1: The Nazi Dictatorship: Culture and Society

Department: History

HIST20D1: The Nazi Dictatorship: Culture and Society

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least ONE level 1 module in History

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to key theories and historiography relating to the history of the Third Reich, World War II and the Holocaust.
• To apply these to appropriate historical context and content relating to mid-twentieth-century Germany / Europe, including original source material.
• To develop an understanding of the history of culture and everyday life in the Third Reich.
• To contribute towards the achievement of the Department's generic aims for study at Level 2.

Content

• Widely considered to be one of the most destructive and murderous political regimes in history, National Socialism under Hitler’s dictatorship still exerts an extraordinary hold on the popular imagination. This course will explore culture and society during the Third Reich in depth, focusing especially on the experience of everyday life under Nazism. How was the regime able to seduce or terrorise its citizens into compliance, and how did National Socialist rule enable Germans to become willing facilitators of genocide? What were the consequences of Nazism for those excluded from the new German 'racial community'? How did German society change during the war years, and was World War II in essence a 'German war' or a 'National Socialist' war for those Germans who fought in it?
• We will also consider key historiographical approaches to the Third Reich which have emerged over the past few decades, ranging from long-standing debates about consent and coercion to the first results of cutting-edge research on the formation of 'bystander societies' in Nazi Germany and beyond.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and understanding of relevant theories and historiographical debates on Nazi Germany, World War II and the Holocaust.
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant historical context and content relating to mid-twentieth-century Germany / Europe.
• Critical use of historiographical concepts, theories and source criticism, especially with reference to cultural history and everyday life.

• Students will be introduced to primary source analysis, and should gain preliminary skills to evaluate both archival and oral historical sources.

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.).
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments.
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines.
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• Lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection.
• Seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment: Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning and develop key time management skills. The examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge.
• Summative coursework will test students’ ability to communicate ideas in writing, present clear and cogent arguments succinctly and show appropriate critical skills as relevant to the particular module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative work done in preparation for and during seminars, including oral and written work as appropriate to the module. The summative coursework will have a formative element by allowing students to develop ideas and arguments for the examination and to practice writing to similar word limits.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University