Undergraduate Course: Origins and Diplomacy of the Second World War 1919-1945 (HIST10085)
Course Outline
| School |
School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College |
College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type |
Standard |
Availability |
Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) |
SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits |
40 |
| Home subject area |
History |
Other subject area |
None |
| Course website |
None
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Taught in Gaelic? |
No |
| Course description |
The course begins with the peace settlement of 1919. It discusses the concept of an 'interwar crisis', including the linkages between unresolved disputes between states, the growing conviction that the Great War had solved nothing, economic malaise and social unrest in Europe. Within this context it treats the attempts of French, German and British leaders during the 1920s to fashion an international order that would not result in another war. It examines Nazi views on foreign policy as a preliminary to the discussion of the Nazi regime's war preparations in the 1930s in rearmament and social and psychological preparation of the nation for war. The reactions of other states to the Third Reich are then considered, with a special emphasis on the British policy of appeasement. Attention then focuses on the international ambitions of Italian Fascism, the situation in the Far East, including the reasons why Japan was increasingly discontented, and the reasons why the superpowers of the post-1945 world, the Soviet Union and the United States, were of only limited importance in the international constellation before 1939. Then follows an analysis of international relations between 1933 and 1941 which becomes steadily more detailed as it builds up to the start of the war in Europe in 1939 and its broadening into world war between 1939 and 1941. In its later phase, the course concentrates on the international relations of a world at war, including the formation of the Grand Alliance of Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States. It concludes with the war in the Far East, the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. |
Entry Requirements
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites |
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| Prohibited Combinations |
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Other requirements |
A pass in 40 credits of third level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, Directors are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Secretary to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 503783).
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| Additional Costs |
None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Within the study of history as a properly developed discipline, the course aims at finding he truth about an important subject in relation to which there are many preconceived ideas and ready-made answers. The course involves study of a subject of wide geographical scope. The historical truth about the origins of the Second World War and, to a lesser extent, about international relations while it was taking place have been much (and sometimes bitterly) contested. Discussion of disputes about 'functionalism' and 'intentionalism' in relation to Second World War origins will contribute to an understanding of developments whose consequences will continue to be felt for the foreseeable future and whose direct effects are present not only in much of the political landscape of the contemporary world, but also in many technological advances, in such institutions as the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, and in much literature and film. Though to an extent Eurocentric, the course affords understanding of the abrupt end of Europe's long imperial, economic and cultural predominance in the world. The rise of the United States, if made possible by its continental extent and economic growth, was decisively the result of events between 1939 and 1945. The human and moral impact of the war continues to reverberate. The purpose of the course is to contribute to dispelling mythology about the origins of these features of the present-day world. |
Assessment Information
| One essay of about 3000 words (one third of overall assessment); one two-hour examination paper (two-thirds of overall assessment). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords |
Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser |
|
Course secretary |
Mrs Caroline Cullen
Tel: (0131 6)50 3781
Email: caroline.cullen@ed.ac.uk |
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