Kurzus nemzetközi vendég- és részidős hallgatóknak

Kar

Bölcsészettudományi Kar

Szervezet

BTK Történeti Intézet

Kód

BA-ERA-IHS-L-1

Cím

Dictatorships in Central Europe

Tervezett félév

Tavaszi

ECTS

6

Nyelv

Oktatás célja

BA-ERA-IHS-L-1 - Central Europe in a globalized world Dr. Ramachandra Byrappa Educational objectives: The course provides students with an insight into the global position of Central and Eastern Europe. Always wanting to grow beyond its borders, the region is regularly cut back and annexed to local or global power alliances. Students should explore the geopolitics of Central and Eastern Europe and get to grips with the factors that act as driving forces behind the region and its motivations. The impacts of globalisation on this vital region should be apprehended. This should help students to see how the region will cope with new players such as China, a country which is keen to shape the world order. Students get a deeper insight into the matrix of regional and global relations and world politics. The course will introduce students to key concepts and theoretical frameworks for the Central and Eastern European region; it also provides a useful picture of inter-regional relations and their system of relations. The course also provides geopolitical analysis to decipher structural crises and conflicts in the region. The student knows the place of Central Europe in European history, the changes in the relationship between the region and the great powers, the threads connecting and separating the region, the peculiarities of the region, the differences in development, and why. Dictatorships in Central Europe Instructor: Eszter Bartha Knowledge: The course introduces students into the histories of state socialist countries of East and Central Europe and enables them to understand the periods and characteristics of various regimes of the region. Students gain an understanding of Central Europe’s historical position in Europe, the changes in the region and its major powers, the factors uniting and dividing the region, the region’s unique qualities, internal developmental differences and their origins. The students gain in-depth knowledge about the State Socialist era, and this grants them a more accurate understanding of subsequent processes in the region, and renders them capable of fulfilling an analytical role in topics connected to the region, in particular to the question of what ambiguous role state socialism played in the modernization of the countries of the region. Skills: The in-depth knowledge gained about the State Socialist era prepares the students for the more precise interpretation of contemporary social and political processes and the professional analysis of the region’s contemporary history. They acquire new skills that enable a complex and nuanced understanding of the region’s history while the longue durée perspective facilitates a more precise analysis of the contemporary social history and social politics of the individual countries. Attitudes: The course deepens the critical and analytical skills of the students, while it also equips them with an appropriate lexical knowledge for the complex approach to the great political and social questions of the region. It helps deepen the historical objectivity of the students, who also acquire new debating skills. The acquired theoretical knowledge, lexical knowledge and interdisciplinary methodology allow the students to manage the historical sensitivity of the peoples of the region and discuss contemporary social-political questions with the required empathy. Autonomy, responsibility: Thanks to the acquired skills and knowledge, the students can discuss the great questions concerning the future of the region and the good neighborhood relations with due empathy and responsibility.

Tantárgy tartalma

Byrappa Ramachandra The course gives an overview of the history of dictatorships in the Twentieth century, while challenging the simplistic notion of totalitarianism. We seek to explore the historical and social roots of Stalinism as well as place the state socialist regimes in a global context. Whereas both Stalinism and Nazism can be seen as products of the global crisis of capitalism (or a particular response to it), it is important to distinguish between the two regimes because of the unique character of the Nazi genocide. We study the history of both regimes, their social and political context as well as their functioning in the everyday life. Whereas terror escalated with the outbreak of the Second World War, the Soviet system could transform itself into a consolidated regime. We will give a brief overview of de-Stalinization and conclude with the discussion of economic reforms in Central Europe. Skills: the development of comparative skills and a deeper understanding of the political culture in the region. Classes: 1. Totalitarianism versus revisionism: Theorizing State Socialism 2. The Bolshevik revolution 3. Stalinism in the Soviet Union 4. Repression and Terror in the Soviet Union 5. HitlerCloseCurlyQuotes rise to power 6. The Nazi terror and the persecution of Jews 7. The Soviet Union in the Second World War 8. Holocaust in Eastern Europe 9. The bipolar world order 10. Stalinist culture and society 11. The education of the masses in the Soviet Union 12. De-Stalinization  Content of the subject 1. Introduction: The challenges facing Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 2. Is Max Weber’s conceptual world relevant to CEE? 3. Central and Eastern Europe in world institutions 4. The economic weight and influence of CEE in the world 5. Can CEE have an ideological influence on world affairs? 6. Globalism and feudalism in CEE 7. Is CEE a sub-region? 8. Is the European Union the wrong hegemon for CEE? 9. Is the CEE the new Balkans or New Europe? 10. The geopolitical positioning of CEE: strengths and weaknesses. 11. American strategic needs in CEE 12. CCE: Russia’s no man’s land or vital sphere of influence 13. Is China the new imperial power in Central and Eastern Europe Bartha Eszter- Content of the course: 1. The social, economic and political contexts of Stalinism. A historical introduction 2. Stalinism in the old and new historiography: theoretical and methodological problems of defining the phenomenon 3. Prerequisites for the formation of totalitarian regimes. Main features, structural characteristics and mechanisms of the regimes. The consequences of totalitarian rule 4. Destalinization and economic reforms 5. Society under state socialism 6. The end of „Socialism with a human face” 7. 1968 in Eastern European countries 8. Workers’ demonstrations and working-class dissidence: the Solidarity in Poland 9. Dictatorship and the private sphere 10. The collapse of state socialism 11. Today’s societies in East Central Europe 12. The memory of state socialism

Számonkérés és értékelés

B. Ramachandra: Continuous evaluation of participation in seminar discussions and topic presentations Bartha Eszter: Written exam based on the semester's classes and readings.

Irodalomjegyzék

B. Ramachandra: Zbigniew Brzezinski: The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives, Basic Books, New York, 1998 / ISBN: 0465027261,9780465027262 Andrew C. Janos: East Central Europe in the Modern World: The Small States of the Borderlands from Pre- To Postcommunism, Stanford University Press, Year: 2000 / ISBN: 0804737436,9780804737432 Roger E. Kanet (Editor): The Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Third World, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1987 Francois Bafoil: Resilient States from a Comparative Regional Perspective: Central and Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, World Scientific Publishing Company, London, 2013 / ISBN: 9814417467,9789814417464 Joseph Rotschild: History of East Central Europe Vol. 9, University of Washington Press, London, 1974 / ISBN: 0295953578 Grzegorz W. Kolodko: Globalization and catching-up in transition economies, University of Rochester Press, Rochester - USA , 2002 / ISBN: 9781580460507,158046050X Jan Drahokoupil: Globalization and the State in Central and Eastern Europe: The Politics of Foreign Direct Investment , Routledge, London, 2008 / ISBN: 0203892089,0415466032,9780415466035,9780203892084 Attila Melegh: On the East West Slope: Globalization, Nationalism, Racism and Discources on Eastern Europe, Central European University Press,  New York, 2006 / ISBN: 9637326243,9789637326240 Ken Morita, Yun Chen: Transition, Regional Development And Globalization: China and Central Europe, London, 2010 / ISBN: 9812833447,9789812833440 Elsa Tulmets: East Central European Foreign Policy Identity in Perspective: Back to Europe and the EU’s Neighbourhood, Palgrave Macmillan UK, Basingstoke, 2014, ISBN: 978-1-349-33195-6,978-1-137-31576-2 Lonnie R. Johnson: Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends, Oxford University Press, New York, 1996 / ISBN: 0195100719,9780195100716 Andrew Cottey: East-Central Europe After the Cold War: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in Search of Security, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 1995 / ISBN: 0333639294,9780333639290 Bartha Eszter: Apor, Balázs (ed.): The leader cult in Communist dictatorships. Palgrave, 2004 Borhi, László: Hungary in the Cold War (1945-1956). CEU Press, 2004 Bottoni, Stefano: Long Awaited West: Eastern Europe since 1944. Indiana University Press, 2017 Deutscher, Isaac. The Great Purges. Oxford, 1984. Fitzpatrick, Sheila: The Cultural Front: Power and Culture in Revolutionary Russia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Iordachi, Constantin – Arnd Bauerkaemper (eds.): The collectivization of agriculture in Communist Eastern Europe. CEU Press, 2014 Kershaw, Ian - Levin Moshe (eds.): Stalinism and Nazism: Dictatorships in comparison. Cambridge University Press, 1997 Pittaway, Mark: Eastern Europe 1939-2000 Valuch, Tibor: Everyday Life under Communism and After. CEU Press, 2022

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