History

The course list identifies approved courses that MacEwan may offer. Not all courses will be offered every year and some courses are restricted to particular programs. Contact an advisor in your program for information on course availability.

HIST 410: Topics in European History
The Origins of the First World War

This seminar-based course involves an in-depth study of one of the most controversial and intensively-researched topics in European and indeed world history. Debate has raged ever since 1914 as to who or what was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War; but the wealth of documentation released by governments, and the immense secondary literature produced by historians, have if anything made establishing a satisfactory understanding of the subject all the more difficult. Can primary responsibility be assigned to imperial Germany and its allies, as was decided by the victors in the notorious ‘war guilt clause’ of Versailles? Or is it more reasonable to conclude that Europe somehow ‘slithered’ into war, with responsibility collectively shared? These are only two of the possible interpretations on offer, and with which you will be required to engage, aided by an extensive bibliography and, where appropriate, selected documentary evidence. The course will involve discussion of assigned readings, student presentations, the preparation of a research paper plan and critical bibliography, and a major research paper on an issue related to one or more of the seminar topics.

Spring 2013

HIST 355: Empire & Culture in Central Europe

1st day of instruction: Monday, May 6, 2013
Last day of spring term: Wednesday, June 26, 2013

This upper-level travel course focuses on Vienna and Budapest as twin capitals of the Habsburg Monarchy and as centres of social and cultural exchange from the early modern period to the twentieth century. Both Vienna, as the administrative centre of the Holy Roman Empire and later the Austrian Empire, and Budapest, as capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, later subsumed within the Habsburg realms, presided over multinational polities embracing a tremendous diversity of religions, cultures and political systems. After a preliminary grounding in the history of the region and the completion of a major research paper, students will be accompanied to each city and will visit selected sites of interest, including museums, historical monuments and other cultural artifacts. The specific objective of this course will be a consideration of the cultural cross-currents created by such multinational societies, even in an age of increasing nationalism.

Note: Priority will be given to students who have declared a Minor or Major in History at MacEwan. Students are required to cover the costs of travel to Vienna and Budapest and associated living expenses.

Course Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in either HIST100, HIST 111 or HIST 112, and a minimum grade of C- in either HIST 209 or HIST 210