Agree with, disagree with, or modify the following statement:
Throughout the course of modern European history, major change has more often been driven “from the top down” (i.e. from political leaders or powerful elites) than “from the bottom up” (i.e. from ordinary people and non-elites.)
You must address all of following course themes in your response to this essay prompt:
1. The Great War
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion
2. Revolutionary Russia, the Soviet Union, and Peasant Responses
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Bloodlands, Granata and Koos, Ch. 8
3. The Interwar Period and Women under Fascism
Relevant class materials: lecture discussion, Bloodlands, Granata and Koos, Ch. 9
4. World War II, the Holocaust, and Resistance to the Third Reich
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Bloodlands, Granata and Koos, Ch. 10
5. The Rise of the Cold War
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Granata and Koos, Ch. 13
6. De-colonization and Postcolonial Memory
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Granata and Koos, Ch. 11
7. The End of the Cold War
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Granata and Koos, Ch. 14
8. Americanization and European Integration
Relevant class materials: lecture, discussion, Granata and Koos, Ch. 12
Note: The materials in bold above are especially important sources for this essay. Your essay must include specific quotes and examples from the full range of Granata and Koos discussion readings, along with Bloodlands when relevant, to support your argument. Essays that do not engage significantly with both the Bloodlands and Human Tradition books will not receive a passing grade.
**Hint #1: There is no single “right” answer for this essay. I am asking you to develop your own argument or point of view and to support your own interpretation using the relevant class material.
**Hint #2: No outside research is required or allowed for this essay. You must gather evidence to support your argument using only the sources made available to you in this class.
**Hint #3: A successful essay will make use of all relevant class sources: class lectures, discussions, films, Bloodlands, Granata and Koos. Note that the assigned discussion readings from Granata and Koos and the Bloodlands book are especially important. Your essay must include specific quotes from the full range of assigned Granata and Koos discussion readings and Bloodlands as evidence to support your argument.
**Hint #4: You are not required to use footnote citations. When you quote directly from a reading assignment, note the author and page number in parentheses directly after the quote, e.g. (Breuer in Granata and Koos, p. 52) or (Snyder, Bloodlands, p. 200). You may treat all the information you have gathered from lectures as general knowledge that does not require a citation.
**Hint #5: Beware of closely paraphrasing or using the words of the textbook or discussion readings without giving credit to the author. This is plagiarism and will result in a zero on the assignment. Plagiarism is stealing the words, ideas, or thoughts of another person and treating them as your own. Students sometimes plagiarize from books and web sites (by using the author’s words without quotation or attribution), but they also can plagiarize from each other. Changing a word or two in a sentence is not enough to avoid plagiarism. When in doubt, cite the source! If you have any questions about plagiarism, please see me. Also, use of AI applications such as Chat GPT or similar AI applications is prohibited for this assignment.
Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.