HST 427/527, Spring 2011

HST 427/527 • Science and Nazism (Top. Hist. Sci.) • Spring 2011

Richard H. Beyler
Tel.: 503-725-3996·• E-mail: r.beyler@pdx.edu • Webpage: web.pdx.edu/~drrb
Office: Cramer 441-O • Drop-in office hours: Tu 14:00-15:30; otherwise by appointment

Class meets M 17:30-21:10 in Shattuck 244

“[T]he fully enlightened earth radiates disaster triumphant.”
Max Horkheimer & Theodor W. Adorno (1944)

Theme. The émigré German philosophers Horkheimer and Adorno, writing near the end of World War II, implicitly raised one of the most intriguing and troubling questions in modern history. How is it that a country commonly acknowledged to be the most scientifically advanced nation of the early 20th century, and in this sense a supreme representative of modern, civilized rationality, also produced a political system commonly regarded as an affront to civilization itself? There have been many attempts to answer the question. Some commentators have portrayed Nazism as a kind of atavistic, irrational reaction against modernity. Others have taken an opposite view, seeing Nazism the culmination a modern, technical rationality which had broken loose from humane values. As is often the case in historical inquiry, the complex truth evidently lies somewhere in between these two extremes. Our agenda in this course will be to explore this complex middle ground.

Objectives. Through this course, you should be able to identify some of the key episodes in the history of the sciences and their applications and consequences in the National Socialist period, along with some of the key figures, social institutions, and political events connected with those episodes. You should further be able to use these historical episodes as the basis for reflection on and analysis of some broader, rather vexed questions: the relations between science as a social institution and its political context; the moral and social responsibilities connected with gaining and acquiring knowledge in politically charged situations; the place of National Socialism as a specific phenomenon within modern history in general. Depending on your choice of specific assignments, the course will also provide opportunity to develop your skills in critical reading, research, writing, and oral and graphical communication.

Texts. The following required texts are available for purchase at the PSU Bookstore:

Heim, Susanne, et al, eds. The Kaiser Wilhelm Society under National Socialism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Peukert, Detlev J. K. Inside Nazi Germany. Trans. Richard Deveson. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. (Recommended, not required.)

Walker, Mark. Nazi Science: Myth, Truth, and the German Atomic Bomb. New York: Plenum, 1995.

Sheila F. Weiss. The Nazi Symbiosis: Human Genetics and Politics in the Third Reich. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.

We will also be reading several articles available on-line through the library’s electronic journal subscriptions. These are listed on the Virtual Packet handout. I will also post a version of this with active links on-line, and announce the URL in class. (If you forget it, ask me.)

INFORMATION SUBJECT TO CHANGE

REQUIREMENTS

The informal but crucial requirements of the class are thoughtful participation, attentive listening, critical reading, and openness to exploring unfamiliar material. Formal requirements are completion of four of the following assignments, each of which counts 25% towards the final grade. Obviously there is only one final exam, and you can do at most one film study, but you may do more than one of the other assignment options. You may combine the assignments in any fashion as long as you complete four of them. Graduate students (registered for HST 527) have a modified set of requirements, for which see a separate handout.

• A final exam, comprising short answer and essay questions, and covering lectures, readings, and discussions, held at our usual meeting time on the Monday of Exam Week.

• Four possible response papers, based primarily on our assigned readings, due on the odd-numbered weeks (starting with Week III). Each of these will be a paper of around 4-5 pp., giving your analytical response to one of our texts, in the context of lectures, discussions, and other readings. Guiding questions will be provided. You might think of these as a kind of rolling mid-term exam with take-home essay questions. You may do one or any combination of these papers.

• A supplementary topic paper (around 4-5 pp.) summarizing the content, and linking it to our course material, of either a scholarly historical book or three journal articles on a topic related to the theme of the class and approved by me in advance. Although I am happy to talk with you about your proposed topic–and in fact would encourage this–you must submit your proposed book or set of articles to me in writing (or by e-mail) and receive approval from me in writing. You may do more than one supplementary topic; however, the topics then need to be mutually distinct. Papers are due no later than May 31^st (the Tuesday of Week X).

I can be flexible about whether a given book or set of articles relates to our course material; however, I’m inclined to be fairly selective as to the scholarly character of the books or articles proposed. (There has been a great deal of mediocre, vacuous, and sometimes erroneous material written about Nazi Germany.) Articles need to be in journals to which the PSU Library has a print and/or an electronic subscription. That is, you need to be able to find the journal in the library’s Vikat catalog.

To locate material for the supplementary topic, I recommend looking carefully at the footnotes and bibliography of our assigned readings. I also call your attention–in addition to the usual databases and indices for historical research–to the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine database.. Further, I’m happy to make recommendations about various topics.

• A film study, which is analogous to a supplementary topic paper, but based on one of a select list of movies that connect in one way or another with the theme of the course. Pay close attention to genre: some of the options are works of creative fiction, and have to be treated as historical statements of the creators’ ideas and attitudes, but not of historical fact; others are cinematic recreations of real historical events, and thus present a complex relationship between representation and reality; some are documentaries which record actual events, but which nevertheless may represent a distinctive (perhaps tendentious) point of view.

There is not a formal attendance policy, since my experience suggests that regular attendance correlates strongly with success in the class in other respects. If you know you are going to miss class I would appreciate your informing me in advance if possible; in any event, it is your responsibility to keep up with deadlines, handouts, etc. This is particularly important given that 1) there is not a narrative textbook for the course; and 2) we meet only once a week, and have one holiday, which means that each absence means missing more than 10% of the course content. If you must miss multiple meetings, you should consider withdrawing from the course.

I evaluate writing with respect to both “content” and “form,” so please pay attention to structure, word choice, grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. Use the standard mechanics: state the assignment at the top of the paper, use one inch margins, double space (no extra space between paragraphs), number your pages. Double-sided printing is OK, and in fact preferred if possible. Staple your pages together–please don’t use “dog ears” or folders.

As always in academic writing, you must always cite your sources whenever you quote from, paraphrase, or summarize other authors’ work. For the response papers, outside reading is neither required or expected. It will be obvious from context what work you are referring to, and in that case a parenthetical page reference will suffice, like this (213). Otherwise, please follow a standard academic citation style. Chicago style is preferred, but MLA or APA is OK as long as you are consistent.

Papers may be submitted either in hard copy in class, or electronically as attachments sent to my e-mail address above. To submit papers electronically:
            • Use Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF formats. No other formats, please!
            • In your a paper with the same formatting as though you were turning in a hard copy.
            • Give your message a sensible, explanatory subject line.
            • In the body of your message, include (at least) your name at the
            • Name your file thus: yourlastname assignmentabbreviation.format, e.g.:
                        Beyler RP1.doc
If you submit a paper by e-mail, I will respond with a brief confirmation message. (This may not be right away–sometimes it takes a day or so.) If you don’t receive such a message, please check back with me.

For both hard copy and electronic submissions, it is always a good idea to keep a copy for yourself until after the end of the term.

I’m glad to discuss questions or issues from the class; however, right before or right after class are not always good times. An appointment is not necessary for my drop-in office hours: the policy is first come, first served. I’m also available other times by appointment. If we set up an appointment verbally, please also send me an e-mail message and get a confirmation from me. I’m happy also to discuss issues via e-mail; however, please recognize that I’m not perpetually on-line and that it may take a day or so for me to see and/or respond to a message.

C/Pass option. You can also choose to do only three assignments, one of which must be the final exam. In this case, your maximum grade is a C+ (or Pass), the grading scale from A to C- is compressed from C+ to C-. Please note that courses with Pass grades cannot be applied to the History major or minor.

If you find yourself needing to take an incomplete, submit a request in writing. Please note PSU’s policies: some work at the C level or above must have already been completed; unfinished incompletes turn to an F on the transcript after one year or upon graduation, whichever comes first.

KWS = Heim et al., eds., The Kaiser Wilhelm Society under National Socialism. VP = Virtual Packet. Aim to do the readings prior to the given meeting. The reading tends to get heavier as the term goes along, so you may want to read ahead if possible.

I. 28 Mar. Framing the questions: looking at science historically; looking at National Socialism historically. Quick survey of German history prior to 1933.

II. 4 Apr. German science during the Wilhelmian Empire and Weimar Republic. Quick survey of the political, social, and cultural history of the Nazi regime.

Reading: Peukert: chaps. 1-7 (recommended). KWS: chaps. 1 (Heim et al.), 2 (Hachtmann). VP: Beyerchen.

III. 11 Apr. Effects of Nazi dismissal policies on academic institutions. Émigré scientists. RP1 due.

Reading: Peukert: chaps. 8-13, Conclusion (recommended). VP: Beyler, Kojevnikov, & Wang.

IV. 18 Apr. Ideology and professional power struggles in the scientific community. “Self-alignment” and “resistance” of scientific institutions.

V. 25 Apr. Nazism as “applied biology”: racism and “racial hygiene.” RP2 due.

Reading: KWS: chaps. 5 (Schmul), 6 (Trunk). Weiss: Introduction, chaps. 1-3. VP: Baader et al.; Bergen; Proctor.

VI. 2 May. Nazism as “applied biology,” cont’d: psychiatry, gender, reproduction, organicism, autarky.

Reading: KWS: chaps. 8 (Heim), 9 (Luxbacher), 10 (Gausemeier). Weiss, chaps. 4-6, Conclusion. VP: Harrington

VII. 9 May. Physical sciences. The “Aryan” physics phenomenon. The German atomic bomb project. RP3 due.

Reading: KWS, chap. 14 (Walker). Walker, Nazi Science: chaps. 1-4. VP: Cassidy.

VIII. 16 May. Technology in the Third Reich. Science and military research. Analogies to other fields: philosophy, art, music.

Reading: KWS: chaps. 11 (Maier), 12 (Epple), 13 (Schmaltz). Walker, Nazi Science: chaps. 5-8. VP: Davidson; Kater; Neufeld.

IX. 23 May. Post-war consequences: denazification, mythologization, historical reflection. RP4 due.

Reading: KWS: chaps. 15. (Sachse), 16 (Schüring). Walker, Nazi Science: chaps. 9-11. VP: Ash.

X. 30 May. HOLIDAY: no class.
31 May (Tue). Supplementary topic due in my mailbox (Cramer 441) or by e-mail.