HIST 440/SOC 491

Geographies of Europe

Course Moodle Site

Outside the conveniences of maps and ideas of tectonic plates, Europe has never been a fixed space; rather it has always resided within flexible and permeable boundaries of convention. Who belongs to Europe, who is excluded, and the consequences of this demarcation have changed dramatically over time. This course investigates the creation, transformation, and enforcement of these boundaries of Europe and the applicability of these ideological frameworks to more local constituencies.

General Requirements

Readings

Anderson, Benedict, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Ed.  Verso, 2006 (ISBN: 1844670864)

Cilauro, Santo, Tom Gleisner and Rob Stitch, Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, Overlook TP, 2004 (ISBN: 1585676195)

Drakulic, Svetlana, Café Europa: Life After Communism, Abacus, 1996 (ISBN: 0349107297)

Verdery. Katherine, The Political Lives of Dead Bodies, Columbia University Press, 2000 (ISBN: 0231112319)

Films

            Machevski, Milcho, Before the Rain, Criterion Collection, 1994 / 2008

            Pollack, Sydney, Out of Africa, Mirage Entertainment, 1985

Written Assignments

You will be responsible for two types of written assignments in this course: a series of five microthemes and a larger research paper.

Microthemes: Four times during this semester you will be responsible for writing a 1-2 page microtheme on at least two of the assigned readings.  These microthemes should briefly outline the primary arguments of the chosen readings, relate them to one another, and explain how they address larger themes covered in the class. 

Due dates for Microthemes:

Research Paper:  This paper will be due on the final day of class and will need to be between 12-15 pages.  The process of writing the paper will be spread across the semester and will be closely connected to the five workshops scheduled in the semester.  You will need to e-mail a copy of the material to be discussed two days before the workshop meeting by 5:00 p.m. (i.e. for the Feb. 19^th workshop you will need to e-mail your thesis no later than 5:00 on the 17^th).  Please be sure to send the assignment to both professors as well as each member of your group.

1. Thesis Workshop: During the 5^th week of the semester (Feb. 15-19) you will meet individually with one of the professors to establish a general topic for your paper.  You will come to the first workshop on Feb. 19^th with a preliminary thesis for your paper.  The workshop will focus on refining the thesis and discussing possible sources for your paper.
2. Sources Workshop: For the second workshop on March 1^st you will present your annotated bibliography and discuss your intended use of sources for the paper.  This workshop will focus on your use of primary and secondary sources and their integration into a coherent scholarly narrative and argument.
3. For the third workshop on March 26^th you will present the first section of your larger paper a literature review / historiographical section of your paper.  For this workshop you will have completed a 4-5 page review of the secondary literature on your chosen topic.  This rough draft will be the focus of the workshop.
4. For the fourth workshop on April 12^th will focus on the use of data and primary sources that will be analyzed in your paper.  For this workshop you will have completed a 4-5 page analysis of your source material within the context of the secondary literature covered in the third workshop.
5. For the fifth workshop on April 23^rd you will bring a completed rough draft of between 12-15 pages integrating the material from the third and fourth workshops into a integrated, cohesive argument based on careful reading of scholarly literature and sources.  The final paper will be due in class on May 5^th.

Final Presentation

At the end of the semester you will present your findings to the class in a brief presentation (approximately 10 minutes). This presentation should introduce your source material, place it within the context of scholarly debate and point to your own contributions to the discussion and understandings of the topic.

Walkabouts

 ‘Walkabouts’ are activities occurring during class time outside of the classroom, so called because they typically involve walking around and discussing some features of the local landscape as they pertain to the themes of the course. There are five scheduled walkabouts this semester:

·        Fri 22 Jan: boundaries

·        Fri 12 Feb: performances

·        Fri 5 Mar: conquests

·        Wed 31 Mar: archives

·        Fri 16 Apr: memorials

Most of the walkabouts occur outside, which means that you are responsible for dressing appropriately for the weather  – walkabouts will be rescheduled only in case of very severe weather (temperature under 10 degrees F, snowfall over 6”, or similar). Dr. Costello will keep a small number of extra hats, gloves, and scarves in her office to borrow if you happen to forget, but please don’t rely on these as your primary protection against the elements.

We’re happy to lock your book bags in our offices for anyone who doesn’t want to lug them the entire hour. You may wish to bring a small notebook, but will not need any other materials.

Workshops

Writing workshops are designed to give you opportunities to develop and refine your final paper throughout the semester, and provide a forum for peer review. You will be asked to bring in some component of your final paper on each of these dates:

·        Fri 19 Feb: thesis

·        Mon 1 Mar: primary and secondary sources

·        Fri 26 Mar: literature review

·        Mon 12 Apr: analysis

·        Fri 23 Apr: integration

Your participation in each of these workshops is factored into your final paper grade.

Participation

Because this class is structured as a seminar, we expect that you will make informed contributions to class discussion based on your reading of the assigned materials. Part of this grade consists of one or more presentations, for which you’ll be responsible for facilitating class discussion of an assigned reading.  The rest of the grade is assessed based on the extent to which you consistently demonstrate familiarity with and understanding of the assigned readings. Please see the document “Participation Rubric” for more details on how we assess your participation.

A significant portion of your grade for this class will reflect your class participation.  This will require that you come to each class having read, carefully thought through, and prepared to discuss the assigned readings and films.

Leading Class Discussion

You will be responsible for leading class discussion twice during this semester.  This will entail reading the assigned text or film closely, arranging a list of topics and themes to discuss in class and preparing a series of questions to discuss during class.  You will be responsible to e-mailing a list of 8-10 discussion questions to the class no later than 5:00 the evening before class so that we will have time to reflect on them and prepare responses.

Grading

We use a standard grade scale (A= 94-100, A- = 90-93, B+ = 87-89, B=84-86, and so on) to calculate your earned grade for the course.  Your grade distribution for class assignments is as follows:

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism is the act of using another author’s ideas and/or words without acknowledging their source; for instance, presenting an entire paper written by someone else as your own, or lifting a phrase, sentence, paragraph, or section from another work (including but not limited to books, articles, web pages, or speeches) without indicating that you are not the original author.  Cheating typically involves unauthorized collaboration on a test, quiz, or other project. It does NOT generally include things like study groups, proofreading other papers before submission, or discussing ideas for assignments in general terms – all of which are encouraged, by the way – but it does include the following: collaborating on tests or quiz answers, even if they are not taken in class (as with online or take-home tests); recording test or quiz questions for other students without explicit consent from the professor, or using such information; using unauthorized materials to complete a test or quiz (books, notes, another student’s test, cell phone or other technology, etc).

Now that you know what we consider to be plagiarism and cheating, don’t do either of them. Here’s what happens if you fail to abide by this policy: if you have no recorded history of plagiarism or cheating at King’s, you fail the assignment; if you have a prior record of academic dishonesty, you fail the class.  In all instances, we report the violation to Student Affairs, where it is available to other professors as well as, in some cases, future employers.

Absences

We will regularly take attendance in this class. Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official. You should consult with the professor about making up missed work in advance or as soon as possible after your return.  Other absences are unexcused and will lower the class participation portion of your grade. After any absence, you are responsible for requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments from us or borrowing notes from other students. If you miss an exam, contact me as possible. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the instructor.

Disabilities

King’s College and the professors will make every effort to accommodate students with a bona-fide disability that impacts on their ability to learn the course material.  Please meet with us privately so that appropriate arrangements can be made to help in the learning process.

Course Schedule

Course readings will be assigned at the beginning of each week in class—please check the syllabus on-line if you have any questions.  Please note the dates that you are responsible for leading class discussion. 

Wednesday, Jan. 20^th    

What is Europe?

*Milan Kundera, "The Tragedy of Central Europe," on the course moodle site

Friday, Jan. 22^nd                             

Walkabout 1: Boundaries

Monday, Jan. 25^th                          

Imagining Geographies (Nationalism):

*Robb, Discovery of France, “The Undiscovered Continent” (3-19) and “The Tribes of France, I,” (19-36) on the course moodle site

Discussant(s):    1) Elizabeth Wendolowski

                         2) Matt Deegan

Wednesday, Jan. 27^th   

Imagining Geographies (Nationalism):

*Robb, Discovery of France, “Colonization” (250-277) and “Postcards of the Natives” (300-322) on the course moodle site

Discussant(s):    1) Amanda Vasiliou

                         2) Amanda Daczka

Friday, Jan. 29^th                              

Imagined Geographies (Nationalism):

*Anderson, Imagined Communities, “Introduction,” “Cultural Roots,” and the “Origins of National Consciousness” (1-47)

Discussant(s):    1) Gareth Henderson

                         2) James Hummer

Monday, Feb. 1^st                            

Imagined Geographies (Nationalism):

*Anderson, Imagined Communities, “Creole Pioneers,” “Old Languages, New Models,” and “Official Nationalism and Imperialism” (47-113)

Discussant(s):    1) Elizabeth Wendolowski

                         2) Matt Deegan

Wednesday, Feb. 3^rd                    

Imagined Geographies (Nationalism):

*Anderson, Imagined Communities, “The Last Wave,” “Patriotism and Racism,” and “The Angel of History,” (113-163)

Discussant(s):     1) Andrew Hanadel

                         2) Ryan Oakley

Friday, Feb. 5^th                               

Imagined Geographies (Nationalism):

*Anderson, Imagined Communities, “Census, Map, Museum” and “Memory and Forgetting” (163-207)

Discussant(s):     1) Maxxe Spencer

                         2) Andrew Hanadel

Monday, Feb. 8^th                           

"Home of the Polka and Whooping Cough"

*Cilauro, Gleisner and Stitch, Molvanîa

*New York Times series "River of Blood, River of Hope"

Discussant(s):    1) Cynthia Darby

                         2) Lindsay Warburton

Wednesday, Feb. 10^th                  

Friday, Feb. 12^th                     

Walkabout 2: Performances

Monday, Feb. 15^th                         

Collective Identity as Performance

*Goffman, "Teams"

*Hogan, :"Staging the Nation"

Discussant(s):    2) Kevin Conroy

Wednesday, Feb. 17^th                  

American Identities

*Walzer, “What does it mean to be an ‘American’?”

*Kaplan "Homeland Insecurities"

Discussant(s):     1) James Hummer

                         2) Gareth Henderson

Friday, Feb. 19^th                             

Defining Identity

*Smith, "What Makes Someone French?"

*Lamont,

Discussant(s):     1) Brent Guzik

                         2) John Gyory

Monday, Feb. 22^nd 

Workshop 1: Thesis

Wednesday, Feb. 24^th                  

Habits of the Heart

Discussant(s):     1) Kristi Ronyack

                          2) Amanda Vasiliou

Friday, Feb. 26^th                             

Walkabout Conquest

Monday, March 1^st                        

Said and Orientalism

Discussant(s):    1) Jarret Albert

                         2) Cynthia Darby

Wednesday, March 3^rd

Workshop 2: Sources

Friday, March 5^th                           

No Class

Monday, March 15^th                     

Todorova, Imagining the Balkans "Orientalism and Ballkanism: Are They Different Categories?" 1-21

Discussant(s):     1) Chris Deeks

                         2) Andre Vaillancourt

Wednesday, March 17^th              

"Albania Last Stalinist Redoubt"  and Binder, "Approaching Albania"

Discussant(s):     1) Jarret Albert

                          2) Lloyd Shaffer

Friday, March 19^th                         

Awesome Film

Discussant(s):    1) Kevin Conroy

.                        2) Lloyd Shaffer

Monday, March 22^nd                    

Shulz, “Navajo Women and the Politics of Identity” and Spencer, “Multiculturalism, ‘Political Correctness'”

Discussant(s):     1) Ryan Oakley

                         2) Amanda Daczka

Wednesday, March 24^th              

Conquest Walkabout

Friday, March 26^th                         

Workshop 3: Literature Review

Monday, March 29^th                     

Discussant(s):     1) Kristi Ronyack

Discussant(s):     2) Lindsay Warburton

Wednesday, March 31^st               Walkabout 4: Archives

Wednesday, April 7^th                    

Discussant(s):    1) Christopher Jensen

                         2) John Gyory 

Friday, April 9^th                               

Discussant(s):     1) Andre Vaillancourt

Maxxe Spencer

Monday, April 12^th                        

Workshop 4: Analysis

Wednesday, April 14^th 

Discussant(s):     1) Brent Guzik

Friday, April 16^th                            

Walkabout 5: Memorials

Monday, April 19^th                        

Discussant(s):     1) Christopher Jensen

Wednesday, April 21^st                 

Discussant(s):     1) Chris Deeks

Friday, April 23^rd                            

Workshop 5: Integration

Monday, April 26^th                        

Presentations

Wednesday, April 28^th                 

Presentations

Friday, April 30^th                            

Presentations

Monday, May 3^rd                           

Presentations

Wednesday, May 5^th                    

Presentations