Global Studies (GLST) 367

World War II (Revision 1)

GLST 367 Course Web site

Revision 1 is closed for registrations, replaced by curent version.

Delivery Mode: Individualized study or grouped study with video component*. *Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Social Science

Prerequisite: None. HIST 201, HIST 202, HIST 215 or HIST 216 is strongly recommended.

Precluded Course: GLST 367 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under 2 different disciplines—HIST 367. GLST 367 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for HIST 367.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

Global Studies Home

GLST 367 has a Challenge for Credit option

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Overview

This course is intended to provide a fuller understanding of the events and attitudes of the war years and of some of the arguments that are still very much alive concerning what really happened in that vital decade, 1937 to 1947. World War II still affects our lives. The division of much of the post-war world into two armed camps, one dominated by the United States and the other by the Soviet Union, was to a large extent the consequence of actions and decisions made during the decade 1937 to 1947. Moreover, World War II directly affected the personal stories of many of us, through family deaths or marriage or other fundamental changes resulting from the upheaval. GLST 367 is designed to provide a fuller understanding of the events and attitudes of the war years and of some of the arguments that are still very much alive concerning what really happened in that vital decade, 1937 to 1947.

Outline

  • Unit 1: Sources of War in the West
  • Unit 2: Sources of War in the East
  • Unit 3: Expansion of the European War, 1939-40
  • Unit 4: Expansion of the War in Asia, 1937-41
  • Unit 5: Britain at War
  • Unit 6: Russia at War
  • Unit 7: Germany at War: The Fate of Occupied Europe
  • Unit 8: In the Balance: The Western Theatre, 1941-43
  • Unit 9: War at Sea and War in the Air
  • Unit 10: Japan at War: The Pacific Theatre, 1942-43
  • Unit 11: The Defeat of Germany
  • Unit 12: The Defeat of Japan
  • Unit 13: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Evaluation

To receive credit for GLST 367, students must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:

Exercise 1 Essay Final Exam Total
30% 35% 35% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Bullock, Alan. 1975. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Calvocoressi, Peter, Guy Wint, and John Pritchard. 1999. The Penguin History of the Second World War. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Other Materials

The course materials also include a study guide, student manual, and a reader.

Special Course Features

GLST 367 is a telecourse. Students must view 26 programs in the Thames Television series, The World at War, which contains extensive documentary footage, retrospective interviews, and commentary by eminent historians. The series is broadcast by ACCESS, The Education Station, in Alberta, and by the Knowledge Network in British Columbia. Videotapes of the programs may be borrowed from Athabasca University Library.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 1, March 22, 2004.