Lifting the Iron Curtain. Central and Eastern Europe in the New Europe
Full course description
Lifting the Iron Curtain. Central and Eastern Europe in the New Europe explores the political and intellectual history of the making and re-making of Eastern Europe. The course surveys key historical, social and political developments in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the Second World War, the Cold War and its aftermath. It traces the region’s political and socio-cultural legacies, as well as developments in the decades following Central and Eastern Europe’s “return to diversity”. While broadly interdisciplinary, the course puts a strong emphasis on the historical background of the region and on the issues of transition and Europeanization. The course addresses a series of key questions such as: Where is Eastern Europe? How did the communists come to power? Why did the communist regimes collapse? How do post-communist countries cope with the past? How successful were the economic and democratic transitions in the region? How does Central and Eastern Europe relate to the European Union?
Course objectives
After the successful completion of this course students should have: - acquired knowledge and a broad understanding about the recent history and developments in Central and Eastern Europe within the larger context of the Cold War and the European integration and globalization; - acquired the capacity to trace, use and interpret historical documents and evidence in order to support their views and arguments; - acquired the ability to discuss the trajectory of the region in a way that combines analysis and theoretical reflection on questions regarding the history and recent developments in Central and Eastern Europe; - improved their learning skills, which should enable them to prepare for the final Bachelor Paper, as well as for their future education at Masters’ level.
Recommended reading
- Judt, Tony (2005) Post War. A History of Europe since 1945. Penguin;
- Rothschild, Joseph & Nancy M Wingfield (2008) Return to diversity. A political history of Central Europe since World War II (Fourth edition). Oxford University Press;
- Stokes, Gale (1996) From Stalinism To Pluralism: A Documentary History Of Eastern Europe Since 1945 (Second edition). Oxford University Press