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The Communist Century

Code Cours
2324-ESPOL-HIST-EN-2002
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Establishment
ESPOL European School of Political and Social Sciences
Language of instruction
French, English
This course occurs in the following program(s)
Licence Science Politique - Parcours Relations internationales - Crédits ECTS:
European undergraduate degree in political science - Crédits ECTS:
Period
S4

Présentation

Goal

This course tackles communism more than as an ideology, as a historical phenomenon whose impact lingers on European societies today. The focus will be put on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 20th Century. Students attending the course shall refine their knowledge on relevant historical processes such as the Russian Revolution, the creation of the Soviet Union, Stalinism, Eastern Europe during the Cold War, the 1980s crises, or the end of communist rule in Europe. The course will also delve into the meaning of key concepts such as “communism”, “Marxism-Leninism”, “NEP”, “cultural revolution", “socialism in one country”, “red terror”, “Holodomor”, “satellites”, “collectivization”, “sovietisation”, “destalinisation”, “socialism with a human face”, “perestroika”, etc. Students will also study everyday life and culture under communist rule through an academic paper and a presentation on a film or a book. In addition, they will become acquainted with history academic writing and historical research through the reading and comment on scientific articles and the bibliography.

Presentation

The topic of the course is the history of communism in Eastern Europe in the 20th Century. This topic will be studied through the following units:



  1. The historical meaning of “communism”.

  2. The Russian Revolution.

  3. Red Terror.

  4. The sovietization of Eastern Europe after 1945.

  5. The Soviet satellite states.

  6. The end of Soviet rule.

Modalités

Forms of instruction

Assessment will result from the following assignments:

  • 2 academic summaries of 2 scientific articles (20 %).
  • An oral presentation (15 %).
  • A final paper, ±1500 words (60 %).
  • Participation (5 %).
Evaluation
Contrôle continu : coeff. 100

Ressources

Bibliography

<b> Békés, Csaba. 2015. Soviet occupation of Romania, Hungary, and Austria, 1944/45-1948/49. Budapest: Central European Univ. Press.|| Békés, Csaba, János Rainer, and Malcolm Byrne. 2003. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution: A History in Documents. Hungary: Central European University Press.|| Bischof, Günter, Stefan Karner, and Peter Ruggenthaler. 2010. The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books.|| Dale, Gareth. 2004a. Between State Capitalism and Globalisation: The Collapse of the East German Economy. Oxford; New York: Peter Lang.|| ———. 2004b. Popular Protest in the East German Revolution: Judgements on the Street. London: Frank Cass.|| Fitzpatrick, Sheila. 2001. The Russian Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press.|| Getty, John Archibald. 1994. Stalinist terror: new perspectives. Cambridge: Univ. Press.|| Ghodsee, Kristen R. 2020. Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence.S.l.: BOLD TYPE BOOKS.|| Harris, James. 2013. Anatomy of Terror: Political Violence under Stalin. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.|| Lewin, Moshe. 2005. The Soviet Century. London: Verso.</b>