Communism in Europe

Objectives

At the end of the Second World War, Europe gradually became divided between West and East as Communist regimes emerged in Central and Eastern Europe, orchestrated by Stalin’s Soviet Union. In this co-taught unit, combining political, social and cultural history, we shall explore through comparative study how these regimes took and maintained power, the new society they aspired to create, the actual experience of life under them, the nature of opposition to them, the circumstances of their eventual collapse and how they are remembered now. The unit is recommended to anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of twentieth-century European political history, the Cold War, Communism in practice, the Soviet brand of so-called totalitarianism, imperialism and colonialism, the rise and fall of idealism and ideology and aspects of everyday life under dictatorship, from internal oppression to popular culture and the position of women. The unit aims to challenge key preconceptions, reflecting on both the differences between various countries’ experience of state Socialism and the unexpected similarities between East and West in the period. All primary material will be studied in English.

Key reading

• R.J.Crampton, Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – And After, Routledge, 1997
• Archie Brown, The Rise and Fall of Communism, Bodley Head, 2009
• Geoffrey Swain, Nigel Swain, Eastern Europe since 1945, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009
• David Priestland, The Red Flag, Penguin, 2010
• Tony Judt, Post-War: A History of Europe since 1945, Vintage, 2010

Programme

One lecture plus one seminar weekly.

Assessment