Aims of the course:
- To introduce students to concepts of fascism and examples of fascism from the 1930s and 1940s.
- To enable students to understand the rise of the far right in the present more clearly and to put it into a wider historical context by drawing heavily on WWII.
- To familiarise students with a range of case studies of non-violent resistance from WWII.
Course content overview:
This course will give students a general understanding of the rise of fascism in the 1930s and 1940s, and an introduction to non-violent protest, defiance and resistance in WWII among occupied peoples. The course aims to make explicit links with the rise in far-right politics in Europe and America today, and will equip students with the means to recognise echoes from the past. It also aims to inspire people to act in effective ways in the present in a non-violent manner.
The five themes for the course are as follows:
- Introduction to Fascism
- Symbolic Resistance
- Propaganda and ‘truth’
- Sheltering and giving humanitarian aid
- Demonstrations, public gatherings and strikes
In the first week the tutors will provide an introduction which discusses definitions of fascism and gives examples of fascists in Europe in the 1930s. In the second week, students will be introduced to symbolic forms of resistance including wearing certain colours, certain symbols, or certain flowers in buttonholes. In the third week, a session on propaganda and ‘truth’ will address the difference between these two concepts, examine how the Allies and Axis powers disseminated ‘news’, and look at the role of underground newspapers and the BBC’s V-sign campaign. In session 4, we will look at the role of those who gave shelter or humanitarian aid to Jews, to other persecuted peoples, and to refugees. Finally, in the fifth session, the role of demonstrations, strikes and forbidden public gatherings will be examined. How effective can such gatherings be?
Each week students will be given historical material, key case studies drawn from the tutors’ expertise, and will be presented with forums which question how effective the form of resistance was and challenge students to find parallels in the present day.
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online):
Orientation Week: 26 February - 4 March 2018
Teaching Weeks: 5 March - 8 April 2018
Feedback Week: 9 - 15 April 2018
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards,etc).
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
