Rebecca Bennette
Associate Professor of History
Email: rbennett@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5853
Office Hours: Spring 2015: Tuesday and Thursday 2:50 - 4:05 pm, Thursday 12:30 - 1:00 pm, or by appointment
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Courses
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FYSE 1170 - Dealing with Atrocities
Dealing with Atrocities
Occurrences of atrocities affecting large numbers of people show no sign of ending. How do these atrocities start and why? How do societies rebuild afterwards, and how might this rebuilding conflict with the healing process of individuals? How can the often competing goals of justice and reconciliation be balanced? What do subsequent generations in society owe to victims of large-scale atrocities? To explore these and other issues, a few main cases will be examined in depth – such as events in European colonialism and the Holocaust – as well as students choosing additional examples for comparison and further research. 3 hr. sem.
Fall 2013
HIST 0245 - Hist Modern Europe 1800-1900
History of Modern Europe: 1800-1900
This course will trace several complex threads across the nineteenth century, a period that saw enormous changes in economic structures, political practices, and the experience of daily life. We will look specifically at the construction of nation-states, the industrial revolution and its effects on the lives of the different social classes, the shift from rural to urban life, and the rise of mass culture and its political forms. Taking a cultural perspective, we will consider, for example, the language of working-class politics, the painting of modern urban life, and imperialism in popular culture. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2011, Spring 2014
HIST 0246 - Modern Europe, 1900-1989
History of Modern Europe: 1900-1989
Revolution in Eastern Europe and unification in Western Europe have reshaped the contours of the 20th century. This course will move from turn-of-the-century developments in mass culture and politics through World War I and II, the rise and fall of fascism, and on into the postwar era. This century has seen a series of radically new ideas, catastrophes, and then renewed searches for stability. But we will also investigate century-long movements, including de-colonization, the creation of sophisticated consumer cultures, and the battles among ideas of nationalism, ethnicity, and international interdependency. 2 hrs. lect. 1 hr. disc.
Spring 2011, Fall 2012
HIST 0249 - Germany in the 19th Century ▹
Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century
This chronologically-organized course will examine Germany's development over the long nineteenth century. Pivotal moments in the formation of Germany will be explored, including but not limited to the following topics: the impact of French revolutionary ideas and the Napoleonic Wars on political organization, the revolutions of 1848-9, the industrial revolution, the wars of unification and 1871, the Kulturkampf, and the efforts at colonization in Africa. Beyond politics and economics, however, this course will also attempt to view the developments in high culture and daily life that were intimately tied up with the larger events. This will include themes like the "Catholic ghetto," urban culture, and Marxist philosophy. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2015
HIST 0250 - The Jews in Modern Europe
The Jews in Modern Europe
In this course we will map the emergence of Jewish minority culture into the modern Western political, economic, and social mainstream. Our course begins with the Jewish Haskalah (with a few short introductions to Jewish medieval and early modern history) and ends with Israel's founding in the early decades of its history. We will trace the following historical trends: the history of Jewish emancipation; assimilation; intellectual movements; Zionism; Jewish marginalization; race and gender as historical categories in Jewish history; urban and diasporic cultures; war and violence; and international politics in post-Holocaust Europe and the world. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2014
HIST 0257 - The Holocaust ▹
The Holocaust
Why did the Holocaust happen? How could the Holocaust happen? In this course we will consider several aspects of the Holocaust, including the long-term conditions and events leading up to it, the measures employed in undertaking it, and the aftermath of the atrocities. Beyond a general survey, this course introduces students to the many varying interpretations and historical arguments scholars of the Holocaust have proposed and invites them to discuss and debate these issues in class. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2015
HIST 0401 - Rdgs in Medieval History
Readings in Medieval History: Sex and Society in Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Was there a medieval war between the sexes? Did women have a Renaissance? How were the institutions of medieval life gendered? Who were the witches, wives, virgins and whores of medieval and early modern Europe? We will consider such phenomena as "holy anorexics," "bridal mysticism," the gendered nature of medieval monasticism and the construction of monasteries, and the witch hunt of early modern Europe. Through intensive analysis of both primary and secondary sources, this course will examine the history of women but also of gender in pre-modern Europe. 3 hr. sem. (formerly HIST0423)
Spring 2011
HIST 0406 - Rdgs Modern European History
Readings in Modern European History: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Terror*
The French Revolution provided a model for democratic political reform throughout the world, spreading new ideas about equality, national identity, and rights for minorities. Although informed by the Enlightenment and progressive social thought, it led to the Terror, a period of violence and repression in the name of revolutionary change. We will examine this attempt to create a just society and the corresponding violence against internal and external enemies. We will also consider the Revolution’s origins, the events in France, the shock tremors throughout the world, and the long-term repercussions of change. (formerly HIST 0401) 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2012
HIST 0408 - Rdgs Modern European History
Readings in Modern European History: The Nazis and the Jews
Hitler and his functionaries in the Nazi Party initiated and led a vicious campaign to annihilate the Jews of Europe during the Second World War. This seminar will examine the issues and events that helped shape the National Socialist worldview of individuals and groups during the Nazi Holocaust, and will close with an examination of how modern European cultures have addressed the legacy of the Nazi past, including such topics as Holocaust denial and memorialization. (formerly HIST 0424) 3 hr. sem.
Fall 2011
HIST 0500 - Special Research Projects ▹
Special research projects during the junior year may be used to fulfill the research seminar requirements in some cases. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required.
Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016
HIST 0700 - Senior Independent Study ▲ ▹
The History Senior Thesis is required of all majors. It is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. The project is generally begun in the fall and completed during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring, and such students must still attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops that take place in fall and winter.
Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, Spring 2016
INTL 0702 - EUS Senior Thesis
European Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Winter 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012