Contested Nation: Germany, 1871-1918 (level 5)

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Professor Jan Rueger
• Assessment: two essays of 2500 words and a three-hour examination

Who did the Germans think they were? In this module we explore how processes of nation-building and state-building were negotiated on and between local, regional and national levels in the nineteenth century. We will examine the conflicting ways in which nationality and other concepts of 'belonging' were constructed in cultural and political contexts.

Central themes include:

• constitution and citizenship
• boundaries, war and memory
• monarchy and empire
• race, gender and religion.

Since the 'German Question' was not least about demarcating 'domestic' and 'foreign' ('national' and 'international'), we will investigate the European context and problematise the writing of history in national terms.

The focus of this module will be on Imperial Germany, but we will also take a look at twentieth-century Germany.