History 372-World War I & The Disintegration of

Empires, 1910-1920

Jeremy Antley
antley@ku.edu
1001 1/2 Wescoe Hall
864-K598

Introduction to Course

This course will cover the history of the Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires, and their
subsequent disintegration, in the period before, during, and right after the First World War. We will
cover the issue of developing nationalistic movements within each empire, as well as discuss the
cultural and political developments originating during this period. Whereas traditional Western views
upon World War I generally focused on the conflict between France and Germany, the Eastern Front,
particularly with regard to the Ottoman Empire, remains largely uncovered. This course seeks to re-
verse that trend, providing a students with a different perspective upon one of the most interesting
and consequential wars.

We will also work towards developing your skills as a Historian. To this end, we will perform an article
review and document analysis, two very necessary skills in the trade of History. If you look further
down the syllabus, you’ll notice the emphasis on written work- a Historian’s trade is their words, and
refining that skill will also be a focus of this course.

Assigned Texts for this Course

Aviel Roshwald- Ethnic Nationalism & The Fall of Empires Routledge, 2001

Students should be aware that, while there is only one assigned text, there are several additional
readings, from other books and articles, that will also be required reading. These texts are located on
Blackboard, and the weekly reading assignments are spelled out on the weekly breakdown of this
syllabus. Readings are essential to your success in this course. Failure to read the assignments not
only diminishes your total learning in this class, but also might provoke me to introduce quizes, or
create a mid-term/final that will make you *wish* you had completed the readings. I tried to find in-
teresting articles and chapters for you to read, to make our class more than just a lecture, so please
read your assignments! Reading assignments are to be read before the date they are assigned.
Thus, readings assigned for May 5th need to be finished before class on the fifth.

World War I & The Disintegration of Empires- Fall 2006 1

 Graded Components for this Course

Take Home Final- Due December 15th 25%

Take Home Midterm- Due October 16th 20%
Term Paper- Due December 8th 20%
Projects:
1) Journal Article Review 10%
2) Document Analysis 10%
Attendance/Personal Meetings 10%
Game Summary/Report 5%

The Take Home Final & Midterm are self-explanatory. I will give you a sheet with some essay ques-
tions, you bring me back that same sheet, with your typed response, by the due date. No handwritten
copies of your Midterm or Final will be accepted. So please, save yourself the headache and bring
typed copies of your answers.

The Term Paper, due one week before your final, will be over a topic of your choice, covering some
aspect over what we will study this semester. Before you begin researching for your paper, you must
consult with me; often, I can help you with some source materials or let you know if the topic you
chose might not be ‘doable’ in the time provided. I’m only asking for a maximum of ten pages, once
again typed, and double spaced. Use only 12 point font of either Times New Roman or plain old
Times, if your into that sort of thing.

Your projects for this semester cover two different skills Historians use almost every day in their craft-
article review and document analysis. For the Article Review assignment, you must find one article
from a journal that covers topics related to this class- I suggest Russian Review, Slavic Review, Middle
Eastern Studies, just to name a few. Choose an article, read it, and then write a five page review. Your
review should cover the main thesis of the article, the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, as
well as source analysis. We will go over this assignment in more detail later in the semester.

For the Document Analysis assignment, you will be given a document and then asked to analyze the
contents of that article. What does it say? What bias does the author(s) possess? How is this docu-
ment relevant to the larger picture of history? I will assign the documents, which will fit in with what
we are studying this semester, and you will write a five page paper answering the above questions. As
with the article review, we will go over this assignment in further detail as the semester progresses.

Attendance will be taken during the semester. This does not mean I will take it every day, but I will
hold you responsible for every day missed, provided you have NO doctors note or other suitable ex-
cuse. I will judge what is a suitable excuse and what is not- documentation from someone with a
medical degree, or the like, greatly assists your case for “excused” absences. That being said, I am
not a difficult person to work with, and most situations can be dealt with. If you miss more than three
class periods, without excuse, I reserve the right to lower your grade, one letter, for unexcused
absences beyond three. Come to class. It is actually fun and not that hard. (to go to class that is)

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In conjunction with attendance, I also require that you meet with me, in my office, three times during
the semester. These meetings will take place during three phases of the semester, so plan ahead and
make time for this part of your grade. These personal meetings allow me to get to know each of you
better, as well as allow you to ask me any questions you might have over assignments or the course in
general. Please schedule your meetings in advance- while I anticipate a large crowd the week before a
visit is due, counting on the benevolence of my busy life usually is a poor course of action. I have tied
10% of your grade to attendance and these three visits; thus, failure to capitalize on these easy points
will be to your academic detriment.

As for the Game Report, we will be participating in a simulation, sometime during the first few weeks
of the semester. When we finish with the simulation, you will be asked to produce a three page report
covering your reactions. As with the other assignments, this will be covered in more detail as we ap-
proach the targeted date.

Plagiarism Policy

The following definition of Plagiarism comes from the California State University of Los
Angeles website:

“Plagiarism is a direct violation of intellectual and academic honesty. While it exists in many forms, all
plagiarism's refer to the same act: representing somebody else's words or ideas as one's own. The most
extreme forms of plagiarism are a paper written by another person, a paper obtained from a commer-
cial source, or a paper made up of passages copied word for word without acknowledgment. But para-
phrasing authors' ideas or quoting even limited portions of their texts without proper citation is also an
act of plagiarism. Even putting someone else's ideas into one's own words without acknowledgment
may be plagiarism. In any of its forms, plagiarism cannot be tolerated in an academic community. It
may constitute grounds for a failing grade, probation, suspension, or expulsion.”

I take plagiarism very seriously. I have no qualms about bringing the most severe penalties upon any
person caught plagiarizing in my class. At the very least, I will give your paper a zero. At the very
worst, you could face suspension or expulsion. If you are in doubt, footnote it! I am more than happy
to answer any questions over this topic- it is far better to be safe than sorry.

I also hold students to the Academic Conduct Policy set forth by the University. Bottom line, don’t lie
or cheat- come see me if you need help, before you turn to such extreme measures.

World War I & The Disintegration of Empires- Fall 2006 3

 Weekly Breakdown of Course Readings

August 17th- First day of class- Hand out Syllabus and go over class setup

August 22nd & 24th- Roshwald, 1-33 (Introduction and Chapter Two), Murawska-Muthesius, 279-305

August 29th & 31st- Bideleux & Jeffries, 82-108, 322-404. We will also be playing the Game this week,
so don’t put off your readings, as this week and next week’s assignments will be discussed, starting on
September 5th.

September 5th & 7th- Game Report due. Cadiot, 440-455, Yosmaoglu, 55-77, Roshwald, 34-69.
Hanioglu, 3-32, 200-212

September 12th & 14th- Shechter, 51-75, Worringer, 207-230, Schayegh, 167-188

September 19th & 21st- You should have met with me (first time) by the end of this week. Roshwald,
70-115, Roshwald-Sites, 8-31

September 26th & 28th- Journal Article Review due on September 28th. Roshwald & Stites, 127-
161, 176-192, Kann, Kiraly, Fichtner, 73-104

October 3rd & 5th- Kiraly, 273-368

October 10th & 12th- Roshwald, 116-155.

October 17th & 19th- Midterm is due on October 17th. Tauber, 1-9, 83-164,

October 24th & 26th- You should have met with me (second time) by the end of this week. Kiraly,
369-402

October 31st & November 2nd- Wade, 1-169

November 7th & 9th- Wade, 170-298

November 14th & 16th- d’Encausse, 47-98, Djordjevic, 51-94

November 21st- Turn in Document Analysis. Djordjevic, 139-182, Bideleux & Jeffries, 407-434,
Roshwald, 156-197.

November 28th &30th- You should have met with me (third time) by the end of this week. Roshwald,
198-223, Ruotsila, 1-20, Zubaida, 205-215

December 5th & 7th-Turn in Term Paper on December 7th. Cole & Kandiyoti, 189-203, Landis, 70-
88, Phillips, 25-43

December 13th- FINAL EXAM @ 10:30 am

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 List of Additional Assigned Readings

Bideleux, Robert & Jeffries, Ian. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change Routledge
Press. New York. 1998.

Cadiot, Juliette. “Searching for Nationality: Statistics and National Categories at the End of
the Russian Empire (1897-1917)” The Russian Review, Vol. 64, July 2005. 440-455

Cole, Juan R.I. & Kandiyoti, Deniz. “Nationalism and the Colonial Legacy in the Middle East
and Central Asia: Introduction” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 34, 2002. 189-203

d’Encausse, Helene Carrere. The Great Challenge: Nationalities and the Bolshevik State 1917-
1930. Holmes & Meier. 1991

Djordjevic, Dimitrije. The Creation of Yugoslavia: 1914-1918. Clio Books. Stana Barbara,
California. 1980.

Hanioglu, M. Sukru. The Young Turks in Opposition. Oxford University Press. 1995

Kann, Robert A., Kiraly, Bela K, Fichtner, Paula S. Eds. The Hapsburg Empire in World War I.
Columbia University Press. 1977.

Kiraly, Bela K. East Central European Society in World War I. Columbia University Press. 1985

Landis, Erik-C. “Between Village and Kremlin: Confronting State Food Procurement in Civil
War Tambov, 1919-1920” The Russian Review, Vol. 63, No. 1, January 2004. 70-88

Murawska-Muthesius, Katarzyna. “On Small Nations and Bullied Children: Mr Punch Draws
Eastern Europe” SEER, Vol. 84, No. 2, April 2006. 279-305

Phillips, Laura L. “Message in a Bottle: Working-Class Culture and the Struggle for
Revolutionary Legitimacy, 1900-1929” The Russian Review, Vol. 56, No. 1, January 1997. 25-43

Roshwald, Aviel & Sities, Richard. European Culture in the Great War. Cambridge Univesity
Press. 1999.

Ruotsila, Markku. “The Churchill-Mannerheim Collaboration in the Russian Intervention,

1919-1920” The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 80, No. 1, January 2002. 1-20

Schayegh, Cyrus. “A Sound Mind Lives in a Healthy Body” International Journal of Middle East
Studies, Vol. 37, 2005. 167-188

Shechter, Relli. “Selling Luxury: The Rise of the Egyptian Cigarette and the Transformation
of the Egyptian Tobacco Market, 1850-1914” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 35, 2003. 51-
75

Tauber, Eliezer. The Arab Movements in World War I. Frank Cass: London. 1993

Wade, Rex A. The Russian Revolution, 1917. Cambridge University Press. 2000.

Worringer, Renee. “Sick Man of Europe or Japan of the Near East?: Constructing Ottoman
Modernity in the Hamidian and Young Turk Eras” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 36,
2004. 207-230.

World War I & The Disintegration of Empires- Fall 2006 5

 List of Additional Assigned Readings

Yosmaoglu, Ipek, K. “Counting Bodies, Shaping Souls: The 1903 Census and National Identity
in Ottoman Macedonia” International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 38, 2006. 55-77

Zubaida, Sami. “The Fragments Imagine the Nation: The Case of Iraq” International Journal of
Middle East Studies, Vol. 34, 2002. 205-215

World War I & The Disintegration of Empires- Fall 2006 6