Students

MHIS3027 – Resisting the Nazis: Fascism and its Opponents

2023 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Keith Rathbone
keith.rathbone@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above OR (20cp in HIST or MHIS or MHIX units at 2000 level)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

More than seventy years after the end of the Second World War, fascism and Nazism continue to fascinate. In this course, we will explore Italian fascism and German Nazism as broadly understood in Europe and beyond to better understand the appeal of their conservative, reactionary, and militaristic ideology. We will read the key literature on definitions of fascism in order to understand the concept as more than a pejorative. Through a close examination of the governments of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany we will investigate how fascist regimes controlled everyday life, mobilized political support, shaped men and women's bodies, built cults of personality around their leaders, silenced the press, defeated leftist student organizations and unions, and organized repressive systems of militaristic expansion. We will also concentrate on the way that people learned to resist, survive, and even thrive under fascism through the formation of armed bands, clandestine intellectual networks, and organizations for non-violent struggle.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of conceptual approaches to interpreting the history of fascism as well as an understanding of the history of fascist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
  • ULO2: Contribute to contemporary debates about fascism with an informed and critical understanding of the relationship between past and present.
  • ULO3: Analyse primary and secondary historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of the past.
  • ULO4: Examine historical issues by undertaking research according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline.
  • ULO5: Construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual, or written form.
  • ULO6: Reflect critically on the knowledge and skills developed in their study of history.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of‚ 0 (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

 

AI and LLM: 

Students may use AI/LLM in their assessments, but they should note that they must exercise oversight over mistakes, confabulations, and omissions. These tools are better at editing writing than at drafting original arguments. Mistakes that are characteristic of these tools (making up citations, confabulating facts, or producing vague and unresponsive answers to specific questions) will lower student grades significantly.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participation 20% No Ongoing
Project Proposal and Annotated Bibliography 20% No Week 5
Secondary Source Analysis 20% No Week 10
Research Paper 40% No Week 13

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%

 

Students are expected to participate in and lead discussions throughout the semester. They should be prepared to share their ideas about the readings and questions that these may have raised, as well as resources relating to the readings that they have discovered.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of conceptual approaches to interpreting the history of fascism as well as an understanding of the history of fascist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
  • Contribute to contemporary debates about fascism with an informed and critical understanding of the relationship between past and present.
  • Analyse primary and secondary historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of the past.
  • Examine historical issues by undertaking research according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline.
  • Construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual, or written form.
  • Reflect critically on the knowledge and skills developed in their study of history.

Project Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

Assessment Type 1: Annotated bibliography
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 20%

 

This assessment has two required components. Component One: In the proposal, students must design a research essay question focusing on any aspect of fascism and resistance to fascism. Component Two: In the Annotated Bibliography, students will generate a bibliography of at least five secondary sources that supports their research project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of conceptual approaches to interpreting the history of fascism as well as an understanding of the history of fascist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
  • Contribute to contemporary debates about fascism with an informed and critical understanding of the relationship between past and present.
  • Analyse primary and secondary historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of the past.
  • Examine historical issues by undertaking research according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline.
  • Construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual, or written form.

Secondary Source Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Literature review
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 20%

 

For this assignment, students must examine a monograph (i.e. book) of their choosing. This monograph should be related to their final paper topic.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of conceptual approaches to interpreting the history of fascism as well as an understanding of the history of fascist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
  • Contribute to contemporary debates about fascism with an informed and critical understanding of the relationship between past and present.
  • Analyse primary and secondary historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of the past.
  • Examine historical issues by undertaking research according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline.
  • Construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual, or written form.

Research Paper

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

Essay: self-designed from your research project proposal.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of conceptual approaches to interpreting the history of fascism as well as an understanding of the history of fascist movements in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
  • Contribute to contemporary debates about fascism with an informed and critical understanding of the relationship between past and present.
  • Analyse primary and secondary historical evidence, scholarship and changing representations of the past.
  • Examine historical issues by undertaking research according to the methodological and ethical conventions of the discipline.
  • Construct an evidence-based argument or narrative in audio, digital, oral, visual, or written form.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery and Resources

All students will participate via in-person or online learning exercises.

Writing your history essay 

The Department of History and Archaeology has an essay writing and referencing guide available on iLearn. Please read it before you embark on your assessment tasks!

Participation 

Active participation in-person and in online seminars is an essential component of the course and repeated absences or lack of engagement without prior notification and adequate explanation may mean you fail this unit.

Assignment submission Please submit all assignments via Turnitin on iLearn. Assignments must include a heading that identifies the question chosen and a bibliography.

Special Consideration Please note that requests for special consideration are not granted automatically, and are reserved for unforeseen and serious circumstances such as prolonged illness, hospitalisation or bereavement in your immediate family.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook