Europe of the Dictators (Online)

1. Origins of dictatorship: World War One and its impact
2. The Russian revolutions and the rise of Lenin, 1917–24
3. Mussolini and the establishment of fascist dictatorship in Italy, 1918–29
4. Germany and the Weimar Republic, 1918–33
5. Stalin and the foundations of Stalinism, 1924–9
6. Hitler and the establishment of Nazi dictatorship, 1923–34
7. The dictatorships in action: Italy, Germany and the USSR in the 1930s – the politics of persuasion?
8. The dictatorships in action: Italy, Germany and the USSR in the 1930s – the politics of fear?
9. The gathering storm? Foreign policy and international relations in the 1930s
10. Comparing interwar dictatorships

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.

To participate in this course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following book:

• Kitchen, M., Europe Between the Wars 2nd Edition (Pearson Longman, Harlow, 2006) ISBN 0582894143

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee for each course you enrol on. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. If you do not register when you enrol, you have up until the course start date to register and pay the £10 fee.

See more information on CATS point

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework, but only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.

All students who successfully complete this course, whether registered for credit or not, are eligible for a Certificate of Completion. Completion consists of submitting the final course assignment. Certificates will be available, online, for those who qualify after the course finishes.

This course aims to analyse why so many countries between the two world wars, but especially Russia, Italy and Germany, were ruled by dictatorial regimes, and to investigate both the nature of those societies and their relationship with the rest of Europe and the world.

Course Objectives

• Assess the reasons for the establishment of dictatorial regimes.
• Understand and evaluate how those societies were ruled and their impact on the lives of their peoples.
• Analyse the foreign policies of the dictatorships.
• Evaluate the common and distinctive features of dictatorial rule in the countries studied.
• Develop a range of historical skills by evaluating primary and secondary sources, and the historiography of the period.

By the end of this course students will be expected to understand:

• The reasons that certain countries came under dictatorial rule.
• The common and distinctive features of life under dictatorial rule in the societies studied.
• The causes of the Second World War.
• The conclusions of recent research on European dictatorships.

By the end of this course students will be expected to have gained the following skills:

• To be able to analyse and evaluate a range of explanations for, and interpretations of, dictatorial rule in Europe between the wars.
• To write critical, balanced and informed assessment of key historical issues and communicate their ideas successfully.
• The ability to evaluate and interpret primary sources.

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements please follow this link: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/english-language-requirements

FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.