19th century history

Pre-requisites: For history students – passed exam in „Early modern history“. For all other students – general knowledge of history.

Course objectives: This course is an introduction to key events in modern world history; practical work on learning historical methods; developing critical thinking by applying it to concrete examples in history.

Course description: The course will begin with the Industrial era and the French Revolution and end with the First World War. The first lectures will present how and why the revolution started, which changed the world and ushered it into the modern era. The course then examines the consequences in the economy, society and culture. Napoleon's war and the Holy Alliance follow the rise of ideologies – liberalism, conservatism, radicalism, nationalism, imperialism, and the triumph of romanticism. Following this we will address successes of liberal elites and the creation of the modern nation-state, along with the rousing of realism, socialism and communism. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century brings the creation of global empires and conflict of great forces across the globe. Economic crises and the rise of the socialist movement are followed by the creation of mass culture(mainstream), the birth of modernism, demo-christianity, feminism. Themes that are addressed during labs complement lecture schedules. Practical work will be comprised of discussion and writing essays on themes from relevant sources and recent literature.

Learning Outcomes: Gaining a deeper insight into the modern world, which provides students with a foundation for working in a broad range of fields – from academia to scientific institutions and governmental administration to media and non-governmental organizations.