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The H-German editors have once again solicited submissions of syllabi for the second biennial H-German Syllabus Contest. Our membership did not disappoint; we received more than 45 syllabi for courses taught in varying disciplines and different educational systems.  The offerings ranged from overviews of German history to focused seminars on the Nazi period to a variety of more specialized topics including "Children and Childhood in 19^th and 20^th-century German Culture," "Comedy and Humor," "Germans in Africa," and "The Thirty-Years War." We heartily thank all those who allowed their syllabi to be included in the contest.

A committee of four judges – three members of the H-German Advisory Committee, Jane Caplan, David Imhoof and Annette Timm, and one H-German editor, Margaret Eleanor Menninger – had the pleasure of perusing the work of their colleagues.  This was an intense and instructive process for the judges, all of whom have been inspired by the care and attention the contestants gave to matters both intellectual and pedagogical.  The judges were particularly pleased as well to have the opportunity to view syllabi from courses covering the early modern period as well as those with a primarily literary approach.  The submissions blended intellectual rigor and comprehensiveness, many containing an intriguing combination of primary documents and secondary sources, as well as impressively substantial bibliographies and inventive assignments.  The following syllabi were chosen for best incorporating all these qualities.

 Winner:

Jonathan Zatlin

Boston University

Honorable Mention:

Thomas Pegelow Kaplan

Davidson College

The judges were impressed by the range and quality of the readings used in Zatlin's syllabus and its combination of political, social and cultural history.  Pegelow Kaplan's syllabus drew special mention from the judges because of its varied writing assignments and the clarity with which the larger research project was set out and its progress integrated into the semester schedule.

This was by far the largest and most diverse category and the judges had a very difficult time narrowing down their choices.  We hope, therefore, that our membership will excuse us for dividing the glory of the win into three:

 Winner:

DePauw University

 Winner:

Texas A & M University

This comparative syllabus struck the judges as well described, and as having an obvious intrinsic appeal to students.  The choice of readings, especially the inclusion of anthropology along with recent historical scholarship was of particular note.

 Winner:

Technische Universität Berlin

The judges found this course to be extremely well conceived as well as timely. The syllabus demonstrated an impressive mastery of these various locations, and the judges felt the class would be excellent preparation for graduate students as well as advanced history students, since anyone wishing to explore this period will be forced to take this international approach.

The judges again wanted to draw particular note of the other entrants in this extremely diverse category (to be found in the syllabus database).  A number of the syllabi include remarkable bibliographies.  Moreover, an impressive number of the syllabi had a predominantly literary focus, which the judges found instructive.

Winner:

Thomas Kühne

Clark University

Honorable Mention:

Thomas Weber

School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study

Here again the judges had a difficult time coming to a decision. Kuehne's syllabus was deemed particularly noteworthy for its interesting approach, departing from the now conventional breakdown of perpetrator/victim/bystander by focusing on just one of these terms.  The readings are commensurately varied and provocative. Weber's syllabus offered a challenging and constructive approach to teaching ‘Holocaust’: giving such prominence to the history of the ghetto enables & encourages attention to the contingencies and the daily lives of people & the problems of survival in an unknown environment. The syllabus was very well set up with well-chosen, wide-ranging readings and excellent questions built in week by week.  The judges also wanted to recognize that in many of the institutions where our members teach (particularly those in the United States), classes on these topics draw a broader selection of students, many of whom will have little or no background in the subject.  The judges thus wanted to recognize the syllabus of Thomas Adam, which, in their opinion, skillfully introduced a wide variety of ways of thinking about National Socialism that would engage both specialists and non-specialists.

Winner:

Astrid Eckert

Emory University

Astrid Eckert's syllabus is a clearly structured seminar with a well researched range of readings. The judges found it a scholarly syllabus which offers a very firm grounding in recent German historiography, absolutely ideal for graduates going on to teach the field.

Winner:

Brian Vick

University of Colorado

Brian Vick's more thematic seminar also impressed the judges with its breadth of readings.  It, too, is a strong preparation for field work at the doctoral stage but also would provide outstanding instruction for graduate students not specializing in German history.

In mid February 2006, the H-German editors solicited members to submit syllabi for the first biennial H-German Syllabus contest. We received approximately fifty syllabi for courses ranging from overviews of German history to focused seminars on the Nazi period to a variety of more eclectic topics such as “Music and Politics in Europe from Wagner to the 1960s” or “Franco-German Relations after 1945.” We thank all those who offered their syllabi for inclusion in the contest.

A committee of four judges – three members of the H-German Advisory Committee, Shelley Baranowski, Glenn Ehrstine, and Peter Fritzsche, and one H-German editor, Eve Duffy – happily perused the work of their colleagues. Many of the syllabi blended intellectual rigor, comprehensiveness, an engaging mix of interesting primary documents and secondary sources, as well as a certain inventiveness. The following syllabi were chosen for best incorporating all these qualities.

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The Rise and Fall of the Second Reich

History of Germany, 1805 to the Present: The Interplay of Ideas and Power

University of Central Arkansas

Germany Since 1918

Benita Blessing

Ohio University

Laura M. Eidt

University of Dallas

Deutsche Kultur und Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts

Eagle Glassheim

University of British Columbia

Thomas Pegelow Kaplan

Davidson College

History of Germany in Global Context, 1871-1990

Martin A. Ruehl

Trinity Hall (Cambridge University)

Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline

Bloomsburg University

Twentieth Century German History

Brian Vick

University of Colorado

Modern German History since 1849

Jonathan Zatlin

Boston University

Germany 1914 to the Present

Germany since 1945: Dealing with Legacies of Dictatorship
Course Weblink: History 133c

Music and Politics in Europe from Wagner to the 1960s

University of Virginia

Nina Berman

Ohio State University

Daniela Blei

Stanford University

From the Constitution to the Cabaret: Art and Politics in the Weimar Republic

Richard Bodek

College of Charleston

Susan Boettcher**

University of Texas, Austin

Technische Universität Berlin

Dorothee Brantz

Technische Universität Berlin

Stadtwahrnehmung und städtisches Selbstverständnis Zur Geschichte der Straße

DePauw University

After Catastrophe:  Germany and the Legacy of World War II

Brendan Fay

Indiana University

University of Texas at Austin

Hoi-eun Kim

Texas A & M University

Lynn M. Kutch

Kutztown University

Michael Mackenzie

DePauw University

Beloit College

James Palmitessa

Western Michigan University

Brian Puaca

Christopher Newport University

University of Iowa

German Cinema: From Division to Post-Unification

Truman State University

Christian Rogowski

Amherst College

Christian Rogowski

Amherst College

Anne Rothe

Wayne State University

Children and Childhood in 19th- & 20th-Century German Culture

Martin A. Ruehl

Trinity Hall (Cambridge University)

Martin A. Ruehl

Trinity Hall (Cambridge University)

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Germany in the Long Nineteenth Century

Queen's University Belfast

Critic or Prophet? The Intellectual in Modern Germany

Jonathan Zatlin

Boston University

The Historian's Craft: Twentieth-Century Germany

Jonathan Zatlin

Boston University

Jews in Modern German History

Thomas Adam

University of Texas-Arlington

Die Darstellung des Holocaust im Film – Representing the Holocaust in Film

Thomas Kuehne

Clark University

The Holocaust Perpetrators

Washington University in St. Louis

Children in the Shadow of the Swastika

Eli Rubin

Western Michigan University

The Holocaust in History and Memory

Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline

Bloomsburg University

Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline

Bloomsburg University

Thomas Weber

School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study

Richard Wetzell

German Historical Institute, DC/Georgetown University

Astrid Eckert

Emory University

Writing History, Fighting History. Controversies in German Historiography after 1945

Washington University in St. Louis

James Palmitessa

Western Michigan University

Readings in Central Europe (to 1378)

James Palmitessa

Western Michigan University

Anne Rothe

Wayne State University

Brian Vick

University of Colorado

Readings in European Politics and Culture, 1860-1914

*The syllabi of H-German editors were not included in the contest.