What Did the German Kaiserreich Do for Us? Questions to a New Nation (1870-1914)

Module title	What Did the German Kaiserreich Do for Us? Questions to a New Nation (1870-1914)
Module code	MLG3039
Academic year	2021/2
Credits	15
Module staff	Gert Vonhoff (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Module description

1870/71 saw the birth of a new nation state in the middle of Europe. How would this new Germany define itself and adapt to rapid change? What would the neighbouring states think of the new situation? If you want to understand the roots of Germany today, you need to find answers to these questions. We will research the specifics of the Kaiserreich in a series of debates, combining introductory overviews (by the module leader) with specific presentations on chosen aspects (by you). We then will test the hypotheses by analysing documents and feeding the results into a topical debate.

You do not need any prior knowledge or experience to be able to take this module, and it is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students, and for interdisciplinary pathways.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module studies the political, industrial, social and cultural innovations and changes which came with the formation of the Kaiserreich. After the attempt to unify Germany had failed in 1848/49, none of the issues which had provoked change since the 1840s had been solved. The pressure on modernising the German states increased, fed first and foremost by the Industrial Revolution and the consequent changes in everyday life. However, in the Kaiserreich the old elites tried to preserve their positions in the midst of all this change. Within the broader context of cultural studies, this confrontation of old and new will be studied in 4 different debates. The fact that history writing about the Kaiserreich has been as controversial as German history since then is an indicator of how relevant developments starting in the 2^ndhalf of the 19^thcentury still are for understanding of Germany nowadays. We will look into some of these historiographical debates and combine the insights they provide with document analysis. The main aims of the module are:

To build on your skills in interpreting documents, including literature and pictorial art (painting, early photography, film) as well as statistical tables
To enable you to describe the interaction of particularism, the ‘belated’ German nation, and the rapid changes in the second half of the 19^thcentury
To encourage you to discuss the ambivalence (the experience of difference and the images of identity) as a key concept of German history
To familiarise you further with methods of cultural studies

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the major developments of the period from 1870 to 1914 and showing an understanding of their significance in the broader historical and cultural context in which they were produced
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the way in which documents and history-writing reflect changing attitudes to concepts like nation, progress, the new woman, bourgeois and working-class identity
3. Identify and assess the competition of conservative, liberal and socialist agendas in the Kaiserreich

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. After initial input from the course tutor, apply and evaluate critical approaches to the material under analysis independently
5. Argue at length and in detail about an aspect of the topic, supporting the argument with evidence from documents and with opinions from secondary literature
6. Use a range of literary and critical terminology, applying it to independently researched material as well as to material introduced by the course tutor.
7. Access and use critically printed and, where appropriate, electronic learning resources identified as useful by the course tutor; find independently and evaluate critically other relevant resources
8. Analyse texts, photography and works of fine arts in a variety of genres and styles, showing awareness of their relation to the social, historical and generic context in which they were written, and present the results orally and/or in writing

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

9. Negotiate individual assessment tasks and/or topics with course tutor, identifying own areas of strength and interest and undertake independent researches on the basis of a taught course
10. Adopt a critical approach to the selection and organization of a large body of material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written or oral argument of some complexity
11. Present a cogent and sustained argument in writing, in English, on an aspect of the subject of your own choosing, and selecting appropriate methods of exposition

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

How democratic or autocratic was the Kaiserreich? (Discussing the constitution; Retallack, chapter 1).
The Kaiserreich in historiography: a mirror of German identity 1860 to the present.

Debate 1: Notions of the ‘self’ – liberalism, nationalism and socialism.

Topics to choose from are:
Bismarck’s changing alliances
Expressing a new nationalism
Changes in the liberal movement
The birth of pressure groups
‘Sozialistengesetze’ (anti-socialist laws) and the rise of social democrats

Debate 2: Finding the right pace – modernity versus tradition. Topics to choose from are:

Economic change – Germany’s rise to the most industrialised nation between boom and bust
The development of cities – improvements in urban life
Educational reforms – ‘Volksschule’ and state intervention; the rise of the technical universities
Science versus religion
Foreign policy – European broker or militant neighbour

Debate 3: Positioning – social change versus old ‘Ständegesellschaft’. Topics to choose from are:

Workers’ movement and social insurance
The new role of women and old male dominance
Debates about colonialism
New fleet building and old military ideals (‘Reserveoffizier’)
The role of Jews and other minorities

Debate 4: Playing with scales – centralisation versus regional diversity. Topics to choose from are:

Cultural politics and the secessionst movements in the fine arts (Berlin, Dresden, Munich)
Regional imbalance: big industries in the Ruhr-area versus agrarian ‘Ostelbien’ versus small industries in Swabia
Standardisation of weights, measures and currencies

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
16	134	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	15	1.5 hour long seminars (some with short lectures)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	1	Conclusion
Guided Independent Study	134	Private study

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay plan, bibliography included	750 words	1-3, 6, 9-11	Written and oral

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
1 essay (including working with research literature, document analysis and reference to debate(s))	100	3000 words	1-11	Written
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
1 essay (including working with research literature, document analysis and reference to debate(s))	1 essay (including working with research literature, document analysis and reference to debate(s))	1-11	Referral/Deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Retallack, J. (ed.), Imperial Germany 1871-1918 (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
Berghahn, V.R., Imperial Germany. 1871-1914: Economy, Society, Culture and Politics. Revised and expanded edition(Oxford: Berghahn, 2005)
Ullrich, V., Deutsches Kaiserreich (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, 2006) [=Fischer Kompakt, 127pp.]
Selection of chapters and articles on different topics, presented on ELE.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=6427

Key words search

movement, science, education, economy, photography, film, expressionism, realism, Berliner Kongress, Flottenbau, colonial history, constitution, Jewish and other minorities, Ruhrgebiet, Swabia, Ostelbien, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Wilhelmine Germany, historiography, document analysis

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	6
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	01/02/2016
Last revision date	11/03/2020