COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an introductory course to the political and social history of East-Central Europe from the late nineteenth century to the present. We will explore the complicated histories and emergence of the nation states between Germany and the Soviet Union. Beginning with the age of the Habsburg Empire and finishing in the age of the European Union we will examine how societies in East Central Europe struggled to balance nationalism and socialism as competing ways of making sense of their world and as platforms for changing it. From the understanding of the impact of the Communist Manifesto to reading about how the conflict of empires changes the lives of generations of people in The Bridge Over the Drina, along with diverse contemporary accounts, you will get an in-depth look at not only of the history of East-Central Europe but also of the enduring power of socialism and nationalism.
This is an introductory course to the political and social history of East-Central Europe from the late nineteenth century to the present. We will explore the complicated histories and emergence of the nation states between Germany and the Soviet Union. Beginning with the age of the Habsburg Empire and finishing in the age of the European Union we will examine how societies in East Central Europe struggled to balance nationalism and socialism as competing ways of making sense of their world and as platforms for changing it. From the understanding of the impact of the Communist Manifesto to reading about how the conflict of empires changes the lives of generations of people in The Bridge Over the Drina, along with diverse contemporary accounts, you will get an in-depth look at not only of the history of East-Central Europe but also of the enduring power of socialism and nationalism.
- Instructor of record: Anita Kurimay