Wesleyan University
HISTORY 203: MODERN EUROPE
Topic for the Second Paper
Submit a typed four- to five-page paper on one of the following topics. Be sure to support and illustrate your argument with specific information from the reading and the lectures, and use quotations where they help make a point. Follow the guidelines on Preparing Papers. The paper is due on Monday, October 22, at class-time.
1. By 1900 the German Empire resembled England in many ways: both were great industrial powers with prestigious landed aristocracies, large middle and working classes, widespread education, rising standards of living, and so on. But in politics, semi-authoritarian Germany contrasted sharply (at least on the surface) with liberal England. Compare and contrast German and English politics at the end of the century, and explain the differences that you find.
2. Now that you've seen the whole of the nineteenth century, 1815 to 1914, would you agree that it was a century of progress? In what respects might it be called that, and with what reservations?
Members of the Special Writing Sections: The paper you hand in on October 22 must be an advanced draft, with your ideas worked out and mostly whipped into shape; among other things, that will make the writing tutor’s comments most useful to you. The draft will be returned to you in class on Friday, October 26 (be sure to be there!). On Sunday, October 28, you will meet with the writing tutor of your section to go over her or his comments; and the final, revised paper is due at class-time on Monday, October 29. The revised paper is the one I will read and grade, but you are expected to hand in the marked-up draft along with it.
Take care while writing to:
Low grades in this course often come from lapses in these things!