HR390-6-SP-CO:
Metropolis: Urban Germany 1900-1945
2025/26
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Monday 12 January 2026
Friday 20 March 2026
15
06 March 2025
Requisites for this module
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(none)
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This module explores - through written and visual sources - the experience of urban life in Germany during the first half of the twentieth century. From the late-nineteenth century onwards Germany's cities, above all Berlin, became synonymous with social and political change, cultural and sexual experiments. Cities were also places for technological innovation and they became in arenas in which Germany's turbulent politics were taking place. For some German cities and urban modernity meant liberating opportunities, exciting lifestyles and glittering nightlife, for others the big city represented chaos, alienation, and crime.
The responses and efforts of those in authority - reflected in public debates, regulatory administration, laws etc.-- to the challenges posed by this 'urban modernity', as well as the changes themselves, are the focus of discussion in this module. We explore the meaning of big cities in Germany during the early twentieth century. Topics covered will range from problems of poor housing conditions and slums over architecture and changing gender relations to the portrayal of city life in arts and films. Many of the developments discussed in the module characterized urban life and debates on big cities in Europe and the USA. Other aspects remained confined to a specific German context.
The aims of this module are:
- To understand social, cultural and urban developments in history
- To evaluate critically a variety of source material (written and visual)
- To examine urban and anti-urban discourses
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Students will understand the divergence of interpretation linked to the development of cities and the social transformation accompanying this development.
- Students will be able to situate contemporary discourses on urban life within the historical framework.
- Enhance critical, reading, writing, and research skills by preparing for seminar discussions and completing the written coursework.
No additional information available.
This module will be delivered via:
- One 1-hour lecture per week
- One 1-hour seminar per week
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Primary Source Analysis (1000 words) |
|
35% |
| Coursework |
Essay (2500 words) |
|
65% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Nadine Rossol, email: nrossol@essex.ac.uk.
History UG Administrators: hrugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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