University
of New Mexico/Fall Semester 2016
History
300, Section 012: History of Fascism
Professor E. A. Sanabria
Midterm
Study Guide
Examination
Notes: The exam
will take place on Tuesday, October 11th from 2-3:15PM. Blue book(s) are required so purchase some
today at the Bookstore, the SUB’s Mercado, or even downstairs at the Dane’s
Deli. The exam is a closed-book,
closed-note test and covers material from the beginning of the course through the
Thursday, October 6th lecture. The exam constitutes twenty (20) per
cent of your final grade. One important
thing to remember is that the best exams show a distinctive and advanced level
of sophistication and organization. You
should strive to go beyond regurgitating information from lectures and readings
to try to write cogent and convincing essays.
Examination
Format: The exam is divided into three
parts. In Part One
(15%), you will be provided a bank of key terms, and definitions. You are
to match five (5) key words to their appropriate definition. The key words in question have appeared in our
lecture outlines which are available on our learn as
well as here:
http://www.unm.edu/~sanabria/lectureoutlines.htm
In Part
Two (35%), I will provide you with two (2) extended passages from some of
our many private sources (i.e. the Stone and Moeller compilation of sources, or
from the Griffin, (ed.) book, provide you the name of their authors and the
dates, and you must prepare a short essay in which you situate one (1) of the
passages into a larger context, and also speak to the passage or the author’s
importance to the study of fascism(s).
So, for example, if I excerpt parts of Document #47 in the Griffin book,
you are to prepare a short essay explaining that Paul De Lagarde
is a member of a group of late 19th century intellectuals who were
highly critical of Bismarckian Germany specifically
because of its liberal character and the presence of foreign elements,
especially Jews, in the rapidly cosmopolitan German cities. You would do well to make a connection
between De Lagarde and the Volkisch nationalist movement
that celebrated German distinctiveness at the expense of “Western values and
traditions.” This celebration of the Volk
and the anti-liberalism are a number of ideologies we’ve explored that don’t
necessarily or precisely lead to fascism, but helps us understand the “soup”
from which fascism arises.
In Part Three (50%), I will give you a
selection of essay prompts (two or three) on which you are to write a cogent,
well-organized, synthetic essay on one of the prompts provided. Make sure that you write an essay that:
·
Provides an
appropriate, explicitly stated thesis that directly addresses all parts of the
question and DOES NOT simply restate the question. Not having a thesis will be
terribly damaging to getting a good score on this part of the exam. One cannot understate the importance of a
good thesis statement that crystallizes your arguments and sets the essay’s
agenda.
·
While you
will not have access to your books and notes, do allude to arguments, examples,
or sources you may recall from the readings.
·
Uses a good
network of topic sentences that organize your paragraphs and refer back to the
thesis statement.
·
Basically,
you are going to be asked to write an essay just like you were for your first
paper only this time you have to do it on the fly.
Some
important themes that I have developed over the course of the semester are
included below. You should be able
discuss them based on your attendance in lectures as well as your reading.
1) The
Crisis of Modernity and the Fin-de-Siècle Crisis—You should be able to write
about the late 19th and early 20th thinkers, activists,
and ideologues who were important to the study of fascism for a number of reason
including but not limited to the fact that they articulated a fundamental
critique to positivism, materialism, liberalism, and socialism. What are some
of these ideologies? (Think: Social Darwinism, crowd psychology, eugenics,
nationalism, socialism, Anti-Semitism, violence,and so on).
2) Conservative/Authoritarian
Nationalism—You should be able to write about late 19th and early 20th
century political organizations of primarily conservative, often religious
elites such as the Italian National Association or the Landowner Leagues in
Germany that develop often xenophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-Socialist, highly
exclusive forms of nationalism, and situate these groups within the context of
fascist or fascistic movements that come after them.
3) World
War I – You should be able, once again, to have an appreciation for the
dramatic changes and disruptions created by the Great War not just on soldiers,
but also on the home front. Do remember
that the suspension of civil rights even in places like England, France, and
the USA all in the interest of helping the nation, among other things,
conditioned people to believe in or accept a larger more authoritarian state
and its efficacy. Do remember that,
among other things, World War I, created new and unique subcultures among the
men that fought in the War, which would make their transition to civilian life
difficult at best.
4) Italian
Fascism – You should be able to write extensively about Italian fascism from
its origins after World War I into the 1930s.
In what ways did the movement change from its original philosophical
bearings? In what way did Mussolini
himself change over the course of time?
You should be able to speak to the relationship between the leader
(Mussolini) and the various wings of Italian Fascism, such as the Ras. You should be able to speak at length about
how Italian Fascism comes to power, and how Mussolini manages the movement
itself, as well as powerful institutions in Italy, like the monarchy, the
Catholic Church, and so on.
5) Nazism
– just as with Italian Fascism you should be able to write extensively about
Nazism from its post World War I origins through the 1930s. In what ways did the movement change from its
original philosophical bearings? In what
way did Hitler himself change over time?
You should be able to speak to the legal path to power that Hitler and
the Nazis used to seize the state in 1933 as well as being able to write about
how Hitler managed the Nazi party, as well as powerful institutions, movements,
etc. in Germany like the conservative elites, the religious groups and
Churches, the military, and even the problem posed by the SA.
6) Dictators
and Dictatorships – you should be able to write extensively about the political
careers, styles, and accomplishments of Hitler and Mussolini including doing so
in comparative fashion. What were some
of things that made Hitler similar to Mussolini? What are some of the things that
differentiated them? Be able to write
about the similarities and differences between the Mussolini and Hitler regimes
once they were in power including the challenges each faced in establishing a
“totalitarian state.”
7)
Women and fascism—Be
able to apply your readings on fascism and women to write about the role of
women in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
What role did these political movements give to women? In what ways did
fascist attitudes toward women, family, children change over time? How did
these movements understand women as well as appeal to them?