Profile photo of Professor Rebecca Bennette
Office
Axinn Center 333
Tel
(802) 443-5853
Email
rbennett@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Spring 2024: Tuesday 2:15 - 4:00 PM; Thursday 8:15 - 9:30 AM and by appointment

Rebecca Bennette is a historian of modern Germany.  She received her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and her A.M and Ph.D. from Harvard University.  She teaches classes on modern Europe, the history of medicine, the graphic novel, and genocide studies.  Her research interests include nationalism, religion, eugenics, and the history of psychiatry.  In addition to several articles and an edited volume, she has written two books.  The first was Fighting for the Soul of Germany: Catholics and the Struggle for Inclusion after Unification (Harvard University Press, 2012).  The second was Diagnosing Dissent: Hysterics, Deserters, and Conscientious Objectors in Germany during World War One (Cornell University Press, 2020).  She is currently working on a book tentatively entitled Veterans and Nazi Eugenics: The Targeting of World War One Soldiers in the Third Reich.  Bennette’s work has been supported by DAAD, NEH, APS, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Whiting Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation.  Most recently she appeared in the six-part National Geographic/CNN documentary “Hitler: The Lost Tapes of the Third Reich” (2023).
 

Courses Taught

Course Description

History, Representation, and the Graphic Novel
In this course we will read several graphic novels dealing with historical atrocities in the non-Western and Western context during the early modern and modern periods. In particular, we will examine many of the ongoing central issues in atrocity and genocide studies as well as in the historical field more generally regarding inclusivity, representation, accessibility, and accuracy. The growing concern over the gap between academic history and the “real world” will also be examined. Students will gain increased knowledge about historical injustices as well as their integral connection to and impact upon the present. This course is part of the Public Humanities Labs Initiative administered by the Axinn Center for the Humanities./

Terms Taught

Fall 2023

Requirements

CMP, CW, EUR, HIS

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Course Description

Genocides Throughout History
With the devastation of the Holocaust and other more recent events, the study of genocide has mainly focused on the modern period. Yet, mass killings and other atrocities abound in earlier centuries as well. In this course we will focus on examples across time and space to gain a more comprehensive understanding of such phenomena. We will consider the very meaning of “genocide” as well as the suitability of other terms. We will also discuss different explanations of everything from perpetrators’ motivations to victims’ responses. Finally, we will examine the possibility of preventing genocides. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

CMP, HIS, SOC

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Course Description

The History of Medicine: 1700 to Present
In this course we will examine how conceptions of sickness, its causes, and its treatment have developed over time. In particular, the emphasis will be on considering not only how advances in science and technology have spurred changes in thought and practice but also how larger societal factors like religion, economics, and politics have influenced the course of medicine. We will focus on Europe from the eighteenth century onwards, but important comparisons will be drawn to earlier periods and other geographic areas including the United States. (Counts for HSMT credit.) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2024

Requirements

EUR, HIS

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Course Description

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.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022

Requirements

EUR, HIS, SOC

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Course Description

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.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020

Requirements

EUR, HIS, SOC

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Course Description

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. (Counts for HSMT credit) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2024

Requirements

EUR, HIS

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Course Description

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.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022

Requirements

EUR, HIS

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Course Description

Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Reporting Genocide
While reports of atrocities and genocides have appeared frequently in the news, little has helped to effectively stop these acts. Even the basic facts are often poorly understood by the wider public. We will focus on a variety of atrocities and genocides, considering them from multiple angles and with a particular emphasis on prevention and resolution. Using our knowledge, we will craft short pieces of public writing, such as op-eds, reviews, and briefings intended to inform and/or influence a general audience. (open to juniors and seniors) 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

CMP, HIS

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Course Description

Special research projects may only be taken during the Junior or Senior year, preferable after taking HIST 0600. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Writing History
In this course students discuss historical methods and writing strategies to create convincing historical narratives. With the approval and guidance of the professor, students complete a 20-25-page research paper based on primary and secondary sources. Students take this course in the fall of their junior year or with permission in the spring. If students are away for the entire junior year, they can take the course in the fall of their senior year. 3 hr. sem.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study I
The optional History Senior Thesis is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. Approval is required. Students submit thesis proposals in the spring before the year that they choose to write their thesis. Students generally begin their thesis in the fall and complete it during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring. All students must attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops in fall and winter semesters and work with a faculty advisor to complete a 55-70 page paper. Please see detailed guidelines under history requirements.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study II
With departmental approval, senior history majors may write a two-term thesis under an advisor in the area of their choosing. The final grade is applied to both terms. Students must submit thesis proposals in the spring before the academic year that they choose to write their thesis. They must attend the Thesis Writers' Workshops held in the fall and winter of the academic year in which they begin the thesis. The department encourages students to write theses during the fall (0700) and winter terms (0701), but with the permission of the chair, fall/spring and winter/spring theses are also acceptable. Under exceptional circumstances, the department may approve a thesis initiated in the spring of an academic year and finished in the fall of the following year. Further information about the thesis is available from the department.

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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