History 220
Rise & Fall: Yugoslavia in Historical Perspective
Winter Quarter, 2001-02
Stanford University
Instructor: Dusan Djordjevich

Description :

Based on secondary literature and some primary sources, this course covers the period from approximately 1800 to 2000. We will examine the origins and development of national movements among the South Slavs of the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, and then follow the history of the Yugoslav state from its inception after the First World War through its violent demise in the 1990s. Emphasis will be on the roots of recent conflicts and various approaches to their analysis. Other aspects of the region’s history will also be addressed, especially as they reflect broader developments in modern European history and in historical interpretation.

1. Class participation (15% of final grade)
2. Presentation (20%)
3. Two quizzes (20%)
4. Essay (45%)

1. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussion. In preparation for class, you will write a brief reflection (~ 200-300 words) on each week’s reading, to be e-mailed to me by Wednesday at 5pm. These are ungraded and can be written informally; they should indicate the thoughts and questions you would like to bring to the table on Thursday.
2. In addition, I will ask each student to help lead discussion once or twice during the quarter, beginning with a short (5-10 minutes) oral presentation. Students are advised to discuss their presentations with me after having completed a substantial portion of the reading.
3. As indicated in the schedule below, there will be two short quizzes, intended to assess your mastery of certain basic factual information (people, places, dates). Attentive reading of the required texts should be sufficient preparation.
4. A final essay (approx. 3,000 words) on a topic covered in the course, based largely on course readings and a few additional sources. Please note that the topic should be chosen in consultation with the instructor by February 14, and outlines should be handed in at the beginning of class on February 28. The final paper is due during finals week, by 5pm on Thursday, March 21. Late papers will suffer grade penalties, except in the case of serious medical or other hardship, documented and discussed with the instructor in a timely fashion.

• John B. Allcock, Explaining Yugoslavia (2000)
• Misha Glenny, The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War (3^rd ed., 1996)
• John R. Lampe, Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country (2^nd ed., 2000)
• Mark Mazower, The Balkans: A Short History (2000)

Schedule :
Click on a week to see the reading assignments.

1. 10 January -- INTRODUCTION

2. 17 January -- THE BALKANS (and "the Balkans")

3. 24 January -- NATIONALISMS I: Awakenings?

4. 31 January -- NATIONALISMS II: Conflict? Cooperation? Unity?

5. 7 February -- YUGOSLAVIA I
Quiz #1

6. 14 February -- WORLD WAR II: "The Chaotic Gap"
Essay topic to be chosen by this week.

7. 21 February -- YUGOSLAVIA II

8. 28 February -- SOCIETY AND ECONOMY
Essay outlines due.

9. 7 March -- DECLINE AND FALL
Quiz #2

10. 14 March -- WAR AND PEACE

11. 21 March -- NO CLASS
ESSAYS DUE BY THUSRDAY, 3/21, 5:00 pm.