December 18, 2005
    Global History 3 -  First World War Project

      “In the summer of 1914 the nations of Europe went willingly to war.  They believed they had no other choice.  Moreover, both people and governments confidently expected a short war leading to a decisive victory.  Such a war, they believed would “clear the air,” and then European society would be able to go on as before.

    These expectations were almost totally mistaken.  The First World was long, indecisive, and tremendously destructive.  To the shell-shocked generation of survivors, it was known simply as the Great War: the war of unprecedented scope and intensity.  From today’s perspective it is clear that the First World War marked a great break in the course of world historical development….”  (McKay, A History of  World Societies, 961)

    What I’d like us to do is a term project that is a deep investigation of the First World War.  We’ll break up into groups and each group will address one of the seven clusters of questions and topics below about World War I.

1. What were the origins and causes of the First World War?

Which country was most responsible for starting World War I?

What was the Schlieffen Plan and why was it unsuccessful during World War I?

World War I has often been described as an “unnecessary war.” Why? Do you agree?

Why World War I was considered “total war”?

 

2. Propaganda

Wartime Correspondence,
Novels about the War,
Movies about the War

World War I Art

3. The Home front

What were the effects of war on the people who were left behind?

Mobilizing for Total War
The Social Impact

Women at War

4. War on the Western Front

What were the effects of war on those who fought it?

The U.S. entrance and participation in the First World War

Land Battles
The Soldiers

Trench Warfare

Stalemate and Slaughter

5. War on the Eastern Front

Russia in the First World War

Battle of Tannenberg

War in Turkey and the Middle East

Gallipoli

T.E. Lawrence

The War at Sea
The Sailors

6. Changing Weapon Technology that was introduced in the First World War
How did the use of new technologies during World War I influence the war?
Which sides benefited the most from which technologies?
Did any of them play a role in either lengthening or in shortening the war?
Which technologies were the most important?

7. Results and Effects of the First World War
Treaty of Versailles
Economic and political consequences of the Peace Treaty

After the war, Germany was punished much more severely than were the remnants of Austria-Hungary.
Do you think this was reasonable? In your answer, consider the roles each country shared in starting and escalating the war.
Also consider the roles of Serbia and Russia.

(A) After the group has done research on one of  the above clusters of questions and topics, the group collectively will write an essay that answers the questions and addresses the topics above.  Each student - will contribute to the group written paper - on the work he or she has done.

Each individual's work will be: 3 pages in length, 12 point font, double-spaced.

 

(B) Each group will present their ideas and work. Each individual in the group will give an oral presentation that covers his or her contribution to the total project work.  The oral presentations should be about 5 minutes in length. The group should create a PowerPoint presentation or a website to assist and support the speakers' presentations.

The research for the project will be done in school and at home.

Make sure you document your written work with footnotes or internal parentheses notations and include a Works Cited Page. You cannot “copy and paste.” Stay away from textbooks and encyclopedias when adding quoted materials to your paper.

Written work will be handed in: Monday, January 9, 2006.  Oral presentations will begin, Monday, January 9, 2006.

Suggestions for Reading

Fromkin, David. Europe’s Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914. New York: Knopf, 2004.

Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.

Gilbert, Martin. The First World War: A Complete History. New York: Henry Holt, 1994.

Howard, Michael. The First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Massie, Robert K. Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. New York: Random House, 2003.

Stokesbury, James L. A Short History of World War I. New York: William Morrow, 1981.

F.P. Chambers   The War Behind the War, 1914-1918, London: Faber & Faber, 1939.

O. Hale, the Great Illusion, 1900-1914 (1971).

J. Remak, The Origins of World War I, (1967).

J. Joll, The Origins of the First World War, (1992).

L. Lafore, The Long Fuse, (1971).

V. Steiner, Britain and the the Origins of the First World War (1978).

C. Falls, The Great War (1961).

B. Tuchman, The Guns of August (1962).

G. Ritter, The Schliffen Plan (1958).

J. Winter, The Experience of World War I, (1988).

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/history/wwi/wwi.htm