HIST 3043.3
Napoleon Bonaparte
Fall 2014/2015
Instructor
Time & Place
Office hours
Office
E-mail
Dr. J.T. Pekacz
Thursday, 16:05-18:55, room 1116 McCain Bldg.
Thursday, 15:00-16:00; Wednesday, 14:30-15:30, and by appointment
3174 McCain Bldg.
[email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
The course focuses on Napoleon and on selected political, social, cultural and military aspects of the
Napoleonic Era. We will explore Napoleon’s life and time, as well as representations of Napoleon that
originated both during his life and after his death: Napoleon as hero and saviour of France, as heir of the
French Revolution, as state builder, and as European unifier. The course offers an opportunity to understand
Napoleon and his period, and to develop analytical and critical skills by discussing assigned readings and
writing a research paper on a topic provided by the instructor.
REQUIRED READINGS
Alan Forrest, Napoleon. Life, Legacy and Image: A Biography (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2011)
available as paperback and e-book.
Readings assigned for each week listed in the COURSE SCHEDULE section, available electronically on the
Dalhousie Blackboard System (BbLearn) course web site.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
(1) Participation in class discussions based on assigned readings. Attendance is required and will be
recorded. Attendance does not equal participation. Participation grade will be based on the students’
knowledge of the assigned readings, as demonstrated by the quality of their contributions to class discussions.
To receive a passing grade, students must attend at least 50 per cent of the classes.
(2) Mid-term exam on 16 October 2014. Format: written, short-answer test based on review questions for
each class, posted weekly by the instructor on the OWL course web site. The exam will be held in class
during regular class time.
(3) Research essay of approximately 3000 words (12 pages, double-spaced), exclusive of notes and
bibliography, on a topic from a list provided by the instructor. Topics not included in the list must be
approved by the instructor. The essay must be based on at least four secondary sources, such as scholarly
monographs and journal articles, and submitted in two copies: one paper and one electronic (the latter to be
sent as an e-mail attachment to [email protected]). Paper copies are to be submitted in class or in Dr. Pekacz’s
drop-off box #89. The deadline for essay submission is 13 November 2014, 4:30 p.m.
Late submissions will lose 10% per day, including weekends and holidays, and will receive a grade of zero
if they are more than five days late.
The presentation (notes, layout, bibliography) of the research essay must follow the Chicago Manual of
Style format. See the History Department Style Guide “Doing History at Dalhousie” available at the History
Department general office (paper copies) and on the History Department web site.
(4) Final exam on the last day of classes, 27 November 2014. Format: written, short-answer test based on
review questions posted weekly by the instructor on the OWL web site. Held in class during regular class
time, the final exam will be based on the material assigned after the mid-term exam.
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COURSE WEB PAGE
The course web page is available on the Blackboard system. Any changes to our normal routine and additional
information regarding the course will be posted there. Students are required to check the web page regularly.
COURSE GRADES
participation (attendance and class discussions)
mid-term exam
25%
term paper
30%
final exam
25%
20%
COURSE SCHEDULE
4 SEPTEMBER
Introduction
11 SEPTEMBER — Origins, Personality and the French Revolution
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 2 and 3
Harold T. Parker, “The Formation of Napoleon’s Personality,” French Historical Studies 7 no. 1 (Spring
1971), 6–26.
Philip G. Dwyer, “From Corsican Nationalist to French Revolutionary: Problems of Identity in the Writings
of the Young Napoleon, 1785–1793,” French History 16 no. 2 (June 2002), 132–52.
Discussion topics:
What kind of man was Napoleon? What were some of the cultural and political factors that influenced the
formation of his personality? How did Napoleon’s views on the French Revolution evolve?
18 SEPTEMBER — Path to Power: Italy and Egypt
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 4 and 5
Philip G. Dwyer, “Napoleon Bonaparte as Hero and Saviour: Image, Rhetoric and Behaviour in the
Construction of a Legend,” French History 18 no. 4 (December 2004), 379–403.
Discussion topics:
What was the role of political patronage in Napoleon’s early career? How did Napoleon shape his own image
for public consumption? Why did Napoleon invade Egypt?
25 SEPTEMBER — The Consulate
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 6
Philippe R. Girard, “Napoleon Bonaparte and the Emancipation Issue in Saint-Domingue, 1799–1803,”
French Historical Studies 32 n. 4 (Fall 2009), 587–618.
Discussion topics:
Was the coup of Brumaire simply another in a long line of coups, or was it a break from the revolutionary
tradition? What policies earned Napoleon the reputation of a modernizer? What marred this reputation?
2 OCTOBER — Towards the Empire
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 7
Philip G. Dwyer, “Napoleon and the Foundation of the Empire,” The Historical Journal 53 no. 2 (2010), 339–58.
Discussion topics:
How did Napoleon consolidate his personal power in the years after the Brumaire? Why did the Consulate
become a one-man regime? Where did the opposition to Napoleon’s rule come from?
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9 OCTOBER — Military Campaigns after Amiens
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 8.
Eric A. Arnold, “Some Observations on the French Opposition to Napoleonic Conscription, 1804–1806,”
French Historical Studies 4/4 (1966), 452–62.
Paul Bertaud, “Napoleon’s Officers,” Past and Present 112 (August 1986), 91–111.
Discussion topics:
Who was responsible for the resumption of war in 1803? What was the purpose of Napoleon’s military
campaigns after the peace of Amiens? Was he driven to conquer Europe for personal or for political and
economic reasons?
16 OCTOBER — mid-term exam
23 OCTOBER — The Empire (1)
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 9
Stuart Woolf, “French Civilization and Ethnicity in the Napoleonic Empire,” Past and Present 124 (1989),
96–120.
Discussion topics:
Why did Napoleon establish the Empire in 1804? Why was it overwhelmingly accepted, despite the apparent
betrayal of the revolutionary ideals that such political system entailed?
30 OCTOBER — The Empire (2)
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 10
David O’Brien, “Antonio Canova’s Napoleon As Mars the Peacemaker and the Limits of Imperial
Portraiture,” French History 18 no. 4 (December 2004), 354–78.
Discussion topics:
What were the propaganda devices Napoleon employed to project his own image and that of his Empire?
How effective were they? Did artistic creativity flourish because of Napoleon or despite him?
6 NOVEMBER — The “Spanish Ulcer” and the Russian Campaign
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 11
Harold T. Parker, “Why did Napoleon Invade Russia? A Study in Motivation and the Interrelations of
Personality and Social Structure,” The Journal of Military History 54 (1990), 131–46.
Dominic Lieven, “Russia and the Defeat of Napoleon (1812–14),” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and
Eurasian History 7/2 (2006), 283–308.
Discussion topics:
How significant was the role played by the guerrillas in bringing about the defeat of the French in Spain?
What possessed Napoleon to take on Russia and think that he could win? Why did the Russian campaign end
with a disaster?
13 NOVEMBER — The Hundred Days and the Exile
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 12 and 13
Karen Hagemann, “Francophobia and Patriotism: Anti-French Images and Sentiments in Prussia and
Northern Germany during the Anti-Napoleonic Wars,” French History 18 no. 4 (December 2004), 404–25.
Discussion topics:
Why did the allies allow the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy? Why did Napoleon return from Elba?
Was his final defeat inevitable?
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20 NOVEMBER — Life after Death
Forrest, Napoleon, ch. 14 and 1
Sudhir Hazareesingh, “Memory and Political Imagination: the Legend of Napoleon Revisited,” French
History 18 no. 4 (December 2004), 463–83.
Paul Stock, “Imposing on Napoleon: the Romantic Appropriation of Bonaparte,” Journal of European
Studies 2006 36(4), 363–388.
Discussion topics:
How did Napoleon try to shape his image after his final defeat? To what extent did he succeed to impose his
own autobiographical account? How to explain Napoleon’s constant presence in France’s collective memory?
27 NOVEMBER
final exam
Academic Integrity
All students in this class are required to read and understand Dalhousie University’s policies on academic
integrity. The main policy is outlined under “Academic Dishonesty” in the University Regulations section of
the Undergraduate Calendar. This section includes definitions of plagiarism and other academic offences, as
well as the faculty discipline process and the Senate Discipline Committee.
Please visit the University’s academic integrity web site at www.dal.ca/academicintegrity, for information
on policies, the use of Turnitin.com, and a list of faculty resources focused on preventing and responding to
academic dishonesty.
Any written work submitted by a student at Dalhousie University may be checked for originality (for
example, by using a text-matching software) to assure that students are evaluated on the basis of their own
work.
Accommodation Policy for Students
Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers experienced related to disability, religious
obligation, or any characteristic protected under Canadian human rights legislation.
Students who require academic accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing of tests and
exams should make their request to the Advising and Access Services Center (AASC) prior to or at the outset
of the regular academic year. Please visit www.dal.ca/access for more information and to obtain the Request
for Accommodation form.
A note taker may be required as part of a student’s accommodation. There is an honorarium of $75 per
course/term (with some exceptions). If you are interested, please contact AASC at 494-2836 for more
information or send an email to [email protected].
Please note that your classroom may contain specialized accessible furniture and equipment. It is
important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require their usage will
be able to fully participate in the class.
For information about the Writing Centre and the Studying for Success Program, see the course web site
on the Blackboard system.
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GRADE SCALE
Grade
Percentage
Grade
Value
Grade
Point
Value
A+
90-100
4.3
A
85-89
4.0
A-
80-84
3.7
B+
77-79
3.3
B
73-76
3.0
B-
70-72
2.7
C+
65-69
2.3
C
60-64
2.0
C-
55-59
1.7
Definition
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
D
50-54
1.0
Marginal Pass
F
0-49
0.00
Inadequate
0.00
Neutral
and no
credit
obtained
Neutral
and no
credit
obtained
Incomplete
INC
W
ILL
Withdrew after
deadline
Compassionate
reasons, illness
Considerable evidence of original
thinking; demonstrated outstanding
capacity to analyze and synthesize;
outstanding grasp of subject matter;
evidence of extensive knowledge
base.
Evidence of grasp of subject matter,
some evidence of critical capacity
and analytical ability; reasonable
understanding of relevant issues;
evidence of familiarity with the
literature.
Evidence of some understanding of
the subject matter; ability to develop
solutions to simple problems;
benefiting from his/her university
experience.
Evidence of minimally acceptable
familiarity with subject matter,
critical and analytical skills (except in
programmes where a minimum grade
of `C' is required).
Insufficient evidence of
understanding of the subject matter;
weakness in critical and analytical
skills; limited or irrelevant use of the
literature.