Skip to main content

Adam A Blackler

University of Wyoming, History, Faculty Member

Followers

129

Following

68

Public Views

Dr. Adam A. Blackler is an associate professor of history at the University of Wyoming. His forthcoming book, currently titled An Imperial Homeland: Forging German Identity in Southwest Africa, will appear in the Max Kade Research Institute of Pennsylvania State University Press’s book series, “Germans Beyond Europe.” Among Dr. Blackler’s most recent publications include a co-edited volume, entitled After the Imperialist Imagination: Two Decades of Research on Global Germany and Its Legacies (Peter Lang), and a chapter, entitled “The Consequences of Genocide in the Long Nineteenth Century,” in the book series A Cultural History of Genocide in the Long Nineteenth-Century (Bloomsbury Press). He is presently researching a book project that explores the vibrant topography of Berlin’s parks, market squares, streets, and municipal districts before and during the Weimar Republic.

less

Christian W. Spang

Daito Bunka University

Middlebury College

Christiane Steckenbiller

Colorado College

J.p. van den Wittenboer

Nord University

Carsten Schapkow

University of Oklahoma

Edward Westermann

Clark University

InterestsView All (11)

Uploads

Book Reviews by Adam A Blackler

Blackler on Berman.pdf

Blackler on Kuss.pdf

Blackler on Tourlamain_Völkisch Writers and National Socialism: A Study of Right-wing Political Culture in Germany, 1890-1960

Blackler on Snyder_Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning

Conference Presentations by Adam A Blackler

“Genesis of Ascendancy: The Rhenish Mission Society and the ‘Civilizing Mission’ in Southwestern Africa"

“Germany Across Boundaries,” Rethinking Europe: New Approaches and Methodologies to the Study of Europe in the 21st Century"

“‘Eine andere Heimat:’ Boer Migration and German Identity in Southwest Africa, 1890- 1904"

“‘Hottentots,’ Hereros, and Heimat: Colonial Encounters and German Identity in Southwest Africa, 1884-1912”

“‘Meiner Frau, die fast weiß ist’: Kolonial Verbindungen, Rasse, und national Identität in Deutsch Südwestafrika, 1905-1919”

“‘The Abstract Nakedness of Being Human’: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust”

“Aspiring ‘Auslandsdeutsche’: Colonial Petitions and the Language of German Imperialism, 1884-1914”

‘The Diplomatically Cunning Fox’: Hendrik Witbooi and German Perceptions of Colonial Rule and Identity in Southwest Africa, 1884-1905"

Teaching Documents by Adam A Blackler

HIST 5400 Weimar Germany Syllabus Fall 2019

HIST 1330-01 World History since 1500 Syllabus Spring

HIST 5880-01_History Theory_Syllabus_Spring 2019.pdf

Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity_Syllabus_Spring 2019.pdf

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment The Abstract Nakedness of Being Huma... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment The Abstract Nakedness of Being Human: "The conception of human rights, based upon the assumed existence of a human being as such, broke down at the very moment when those who professed to believe in it were for the first time confronted with people who had indeed lost all other qualities and specific relationships-except that they were still human. The world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of being human." -Hannah Arendt 1 Course Introduction: "Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity" explores one of the main paradoxes of the modern era: the development of human rights standards internationally and, at the same time, the expansion and intensification of ethnic cleansing, population transfers, systematic torture, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. We will explore two central questions in this course: 1) How are these two polar opposites, human rights and crimes against humanity, related? Do modern forms of thinking about politics and the diversity of human society enable and encourage both phenomena, or does this paradox pre-date the modern era? 2) What do we mean by "human rights" and how have their meanings evolved historically?

HIST 4310 01 HIST 5310 01 World War II in Europe Syllabus Fall 2018

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: " All evening t... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: " All evening there was only one subject of conversation, the frightful one. We make jokes and laugh and are basically all in despair. " So wrote Victor Klemperer, a German-Jew married to a German-Christian, who chronicled a world closing in around him. The Second World War in Europe was a near universal experience for everyone caught in its wake—soldiers and citizens, politicians and bystanders, capitalists, fascists, and communists, men, women, and children. It consumed the lives of over fifty million people, destroyed thousands of communities stretching from La Havre to Stalingrad, Stockholm to Athens, and sent over thirteen million refugees into flight across the European continent. This course will examine the history of the most destructive war in modern history by exploring two questions: 1) What were the historical, national, racial, and ideological origins of the Second World War, and 2) just how closely did systematic mass murder align with the European Axis Powers' war aims? Course Significance: Nazism and its legacy continue to cast a menacing shadow around the globe. The growing popularity of alt-right ideologies and white nationalist groups, notably in Europe, Russia, and the United States, represent central threats to the foundational tenets of liberal democracy. I have no presumption that this course alone will prevent another " final solution " to a so-called " undesirable problem. " But I firmly believe that people in the twenty-first century must continue to learn about fascism and the history of the Holocaust in order to identify the conditions that helped make them possible. Democracy is a fragile thing, society an unstable construction, each threatening to spin wildly out of control. We can no longer comfort ourselves in a false logic that regards primordial racism as the exclusive property of Adolf Hitler and the distant past. Racism endures today in many forms and guises. Individuals who mask their nativist fantasies in subtle euphemisms, pejorative generalizations, and catch-all promises are particularly dangerous. History cautions us to be wary of such people. What comes next can be very frightening, even worse than imaginable. Objectives and Outcomes: This course will provide students an opportunity to engage critically with the history of World War II in Europe. Students have five primary tasks: 1) demonstrate analytical and critical thinking in group discussions; 2) incorporate primary and secondary sources in written assignments; 3) engage with relevant course themes, discussions, and readings; 4) sharpen reading, writing, and research skills; and 5) assess the importance of the history of World War II and the lives it destroyed between 1939 and 1945.

HIST 2080 01 History of the Holocaust Syllabus Fall 2018

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: Between 1939 an... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: Between 1939 and 1945, the Third Reich orchestrated the mass murder of nearly twelve million men, women, and children in Europe and the western expanses of the Soviet Union. This course will explore the history and memory of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It will engage closely with historiographical debates that scrutinize the rise of Adolf Hitler, the evolution of his genocidal program, and the legacy of National Socialism in the world today. Questions that we will consider include: how did the National Socialist German Workers Party turn economic crisis, social unrest, and political gridlock into the largest murder campaign in history? What drove perpetrators to participate in acts of genocide? How do we comprehend notions of guilt and responsibility, and where do we see departures from customary answers to these queries? Course Significance: Nazism and its legacy continue to cast a menacing shadow around the globe. The growing popularity of alt-right ideologies and white nationalist groups, notably in Europe, Russia, and the United States, represent central threats to the foundational tenets of liberal democracy. I have no presumption that this course alone will prevent another " final solution " to a so-called " undesirable problem. " But I firmly believe that people in the twenty-first century must continue to learn about the history of the Holocaust in order to identify the conditions that helped make it possible. Democracy is a fragile thing, society an unstable construction, each threatening to spin wildly out of control. We can no longer comfort ourselves in a false logic that regards primordial racism as the exclusive property of Adolf Hitler and the distant past. Racism endures today in many forms and guises. Individuals who mask their nativist fantasies in subtle euphemisms, pejorative generalizations, and catch-all promises are particularly dangerous. History cautions us to be wary of such people. What comes next can be very frightening, even worse than imaginable. Objectives and Outcomes: This course will provide students an opportunity to engage critically with the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Students have five primary tasks: 1) demonstrate analytical and critical thinking in group discussions; 2) incorporate primary and secondary sources in written assignments; 3) engage with relevant course themes, discussions, and readings; 4) sharpen reading, writing, and research skills; and 5) assess the importance of the history of the Holocaust—including the lived experiences of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, and the diverse historical analyses about its origins, implementation, and legacy.

HIST 327_European History, 1500-1815_Syllabus.pdf

Blackler on Berman.pdf

Blackler on Kuss.pdf

Blackler on Tourlamain_Völkisch Writers and National Socialism: A Study of Right-wing Political Culture in Germany, 1890-1960

Blackler on Snyder_Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning

“Genesis of Ascendancy: The Rhenish Mission Society and the ‘Civilizing Mission’ in Southwestern Africa"

“Germany Across Boundaries,” Rethinking Europe: New Approaches and Methodologies to the Study of Europe in the 21st Century"

“‘Eine andere Heimat:’ Boer Migration and German Identity in Southwest Africa, 1890- 1904"

“‘Hottentots,’ Hereros, and Heimat: Colonial Encounters and German Identity in Southwest Africa, 1884-1912”

“‘Meiner Frau, die fast weiß ist’: Kolonial Verbindungen, Rasse, und national Identität in Deutsch Südwestafrika, 1905-1919”

“‘The Abstract Nakedness of Being Human’: Nazi Germany and the Holocaust”

“Aspiring ‘Auslandsdeutsche’: Colonial Petitions and the Language of German Imperialism, 1884-1914”

‘The Diplomatically Cunning Fox’: Hendrik Witbooi and German Perceptions of Colonial Rule and Identity in Southwest Africa, 1884-1905"

HIST 5400 Weimar Germany Syllabus Fall 2019

HIST 1330-01 World History since 1500 Syllabus Spring

HIST 5880-01_History Theory_Syllabus_Spring 2019.pdf

Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity_Syllabus_Spring 2019.pdf

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment The Abstract Nakedness of Being Huma... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment The Abstract Nakedness of Being Human: "The conception of human rights, based upon the assumed existence of a human being as such, broke down at the very moment when those who professed to believe in it were for the first time confronted with people who had indeed lost all other qualities and specific relationships-except that they were still human. The world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of being human." -Hannah Arendt 1 Course Introduction: "Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity" explores one of the main paradoxes of the modern era: the development of human rights standards internationally and, at the same time, the expansion and intensification of ethnic cleansing, population transfers, systematic torture, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. We will explore two central questions in this course: 1) How are these two polar opposites, human rights and crimes against humanity, related? Do modern forms of thinking about politics and the diversity of human society enable and encourage both phenomena, or does this paradox pre-date the modern era? 2) What do we mean by "human rights" and how have their meanings evolved historically?

HIST 4310 01 HIST 5310 01 World War II in Europe Syllabus Fall 2018

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: " All evening t... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: " All evening there was only one subject of conversation, the frightful one. We make jokes and laugh and are basically all in despair. " So wrote Victor Klemperer, a German-Jew married to a German-Christian, who chronicled a world closing in around him. The Second World War in Europe was a near universal experience for everyone caught in its wake—soldiers and citizens, politicians and bystanders, capitalists, fascists, and communists, men, women, and children. It consumed the lives of over fifty million people, destroyed thousands of communities stretching from La Havre to Stalingrad, Stockholm to Athens, and sent over thirteen million refugees into flight across the European continent. This course will examine the history of the most destructive war in modern history by exploring two questions: 1) What were the historical, national, racial, and ideological origins of the Second World War, and 2) just how closely did systematic mass murder align with the European Axis Powers' war aims? Course Significance: Nazism and its legacy continue to cast a menacing shadow around the globe. The growing popularity of alt-right ideologies and white nationalist groups, notably in Europe, Russia, and the United States, represent central threats to the foundational tenets of liberal democracy. I have no presumption that this course alone will prevent another " final solution " to a so-called " undesirable problem. " But I firmly believe that people in the twenty-first century must continue to learn about fascism and the history of the Holocaust in order to identify the conditions that helped make them possible. Democracy is a fragile thing, society an unstable construction, each threatening to spin wildly out of control. We can no longer comfort ourselves in a false logic that regards primordial racism as the exclusive property of Adolf Hitler and the distant past. Racism endures today in many forms and guises. Individuals who mask their nativist fantasies in subtle euphemisms, pejorative generalizations, and catch-all promises are particularly dangerous. History cautions us to be wary of such people. What comes next can be very frightening, even worse than imaginable. Objectives and Outcomes: This course will provide students an opportunity to engage critically with the history of World War II in Europe. Students have five primary tasks: 1) demonstrate analytical and critical thinking in group discussions; 2) incorporate primary and secondary sources in written assignments; 3) engage with relevant course themes, discussions, and readings; 4) sharpen reading, writing, and research skills; and 5) assess the importance of the history of World War II and the lives it destroyed between 1939 and 1945.

HIST 2080 01 History of the Holocaust Syllabus Fall 2018

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: Between 1939 an... more Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2 p.m., and by appointment Course Introduction: Between 1939 and 1945, the Third Reich orchestrated the mass murder of nearly twelve million men, women, and children in Europe and the western expanses of the Soviet Union. This course will explore the history and memory of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. It will engage closely with historiographical debates that scrutinize the rise of Adolf Hitler, the evolution of his genocidal program, and the legacy of National Socialism in the world today. Questions that we will consider include: how did the National Socialist German Workers Party turn economic crisis, social unrest, and political gridlock into the largest murder campaign in history? What drove perpetrators to participate in acts of genocide? How do we comprehend notions of guilt and responsibility, and where do we see departures from customary answers to these queries? Course Significance: Nazism and its legacy continue to cast a menacing shadow around the globe. The growing popularity of alt-right ideologies and white nationalist groups, notably in Europe, Russia, and the United States, represent central threats to the foundational tenets of liberal democracy. I have no presumption that this course alone will prevent another " final solution " to a so-called " undesirable problem. " But I firmly believe that people in the twenty-first century must continue to learn about the history of the Holocaust in order to identify the conditions that helped make it possible. Democracy is a fragile thing, society an unstable construction, each threatening to spin wildly out of control. We can no longer comfort ourselves in a false logic that regards primordial racism as the exclusive property of Adolf Hitler and the distant past. Racism endures today in many forms and guises. Individuals who mask their nativist fantasies in subtle euphemisms, pejorative generalizations, and catch-all promises are particularly dangerous. History cautions us to be wary of such people. What comes next can be very frightening, even worse than imaginable. Objectives and Outcomes: This course will provide students an opportunity to engage critically with the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Students have five primary tasks: 1) demonstrate analytical and critical thinking in group discussions; 2) incorporate primary and secondary sources in written assignments; 3) engage with relevant course themes, discussions, and readings; 4) sharpen reading, writing, and research skills; and 5) assess the importance of the history of the Holocaust—including the lived experiences of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders, and the diverse historical analyses about its origins, implementation, and legacy.

HIST 327_European History, 1500-1815_Syllabus.pdf

HIST 121 B001 Western Civilization I Syllabus

HIST 115 History of Non Western Civilizations Syllabus

“After ‘Uprising’: Child Separation and Racial Apartheid in German Southwest Africa"

“After ‘Uprising’: Child Separation and Racial Apartheid in German Southwest Africa", 2020

From ‘Erotic Fantasies’ to Colonial Genocide: The Evolution of German Imperial Policy in Southwest Africa after 1884

A focus on the Witbooi Namaqua—the largest ethnic group of the Khoikhoi community indigenous to ... more A focus on the Witbooi Namaqua—the largest ethnic group of the Khoikhoi community indigenous to the Cape Colony (present-day South Africa) and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (present-day Botswana)—offers an occasion to reorient our understanding of the relationship between Germany and its empire in southern Africa. In particular, they illustrate the prominent role of Africans in German colonial history and also reveal how peoples in distant places like Windhoek, Otjimbingwe, and Hoornkrans manipulated German efforts to control affairs in the colony.

From Boondoggle to Settlement Colony: Hendrik Witbooi and the Evolution of Germany's Imperial Project in Southwest Africa, 1884–1894

In the span of ten years, what started as a minor commercial enterprise in a faraway African terr... more In the span of ten years, what started as a minor commercial enterprise in a faraway African territory grew into an important extension of the German state. This article reorients our understanding of the relationship between the Kaiserreich and its overseas empire, specifically with a focus on Captain Hendrik Witbooi and on how the Witbooi Namaqua he led influenced the evolution of German imperial rule in Southwest Africa between 1884 and 1894. Witbooi's refusal to accept imperial authority compelled colonial officials to confront their administrative limitations in the colony. When the façade of imperial fantasy gave way to colonial reality, German administrators expanded the size and scope of the imperial government to subdue the Namaqua. The article emphasizes the appointments of Landeshauptmann Curt von François and Governor Theodor Leutwein as critical examples of Witbooi's impact on imperial policy, as well as the colonial administration's embrace of military violence to attain German supremacy in Southwest Africa. An emphasis on the Witbooi Namaqua illustrates the prominent role of Africans in German colonial history and exposes how peoples in distant places like Windhoek and Otjimbingwe manipulated official efforts to control and exploit the colony. Was als kleines kommerzielles Unterfangen in einem weit entfernt gelegenen afrikanischen Gebiet begann, wuchs im Laufe von zehn Jahren zu einer wichtigen Erweiterung des deutschen Staates an. In diesem Aufsatz wird unser Verständnis der Verbindung zwischen dem Kaiserreich und seiner Überseegebiete neu ausgerichtet, und zwar insbesondere mit einem Fokus auf Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi und wie die von ihm angeführten Witbooi Namaqua die Entwicklung deutscher Imperialherrschaft in Südwestafrika zwischen 1884–1894 beeinflussten. Durch Witboois Weigerung, die imperiale Befehlsgewalt anzuerkennen, wurden die Kolonialbeamten in der Kolonie mit ihren administrativen Grenzen konfrontiert. Als die Fassade der imperialen Fantasie von der kolonialen Realität abgelöst wurde, erweiterten die deutschen Administratoren Größe und Umfang der imperialen Herrschaft, um die Namaqua zu unterwerfen. Der Aufsatz konzentriert sich auf die Berufungen des Landeshauptmanns Curt von François und Gouverneurs Theodor Leutwein als entscheidende Beispiele für Witboois Einfluß auf die imperiale Politik sowie die Ergreifung militärischer Gewalt durch die Kolonialadministration zur Wahrung der deutschen Vorherrschaft in Südwestafrika. Eine solche, nähere Beschäftigung mit den Witbooi Namaqua zeigt die promi-nente Rolle der Afrikaner in der deutschen Kolonialgeschichte und enthüllt, wie Völker in

White Supremacy on Campus: An Ahistorical Campaign of Racial Prejudice

Genocide in South West Africa: German Leaders Agree with the Historians--Finally

Germany, Genocide, and Namibia