83438 - History of Eastern Europe

Academic Year 2017/2018

Learning outcomes

The course program requires at least a previous knowledge in Contemporary History, History of International Relations and Political Doctrines/Philosophy. Aim of this course program is to offer a basic knowledge in History and Politics of East Central and Balkan Europe during the second half of the 20th Century.

Course contents

Aim of the course program is to analyse ECE and the Balkan political history since WWII to 1989/91 (generally speaking from the establishment of Communist Regimes up to their collapsing at the eve of the 1990s) . Methodologically, teaching style is following a chronological approach, whether in the introductory remarks some attention is devoted to some relevant theoretical issues like: modernisation and State building processes; cultural identity, national question and self-determination.

Readings/Bibliography

Readings can change before the beginning of the course due to their availability at the "Ruffilli" Library.

Compulsory readings:Ivan T. Berend, Central and Eastern Europe 1944-1993. Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery, Cambridge UP, 1998 ; Second mid term exam: Robert Strayer, Why Did The Soviet Union Collapse? Understanding Historical Change, M.E.Sharpe, New York, 1998; Robin Okey, The Demise of Communist East Europe. 1989 in Context, Arnold, London, 2004; Final oral exam: Geoffrey Swain and Nigel Swain, Eastern Europe since 1945, St. Martin's Press, New York, 1998. Additional reading/reference:  An Historical Atlas is highly suggested as a reference: Paul Robert Magocsi, Historical Atlas of East Central Europe, University of Washington Press, 1995 oppure su Gérard Chaliand. Readings in addition to the Students who can not attend regular classes. Please select ONE of the following option : a) East Central Europe: Ladislav Holy, The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996. Betty Miller Unterberger, The United States, Revolutionary Russia and the Rise of Czechoslovakia, Texas A&M Univ. Press, College Station, 2000; Dennis Deletant, Romania under Communist Rule, The Center of Romanian Studies, Oxford, 1999. b) South East Europe: Florian Bieber and Carsten Wieland, Facing the Past, Facing the Future: Confronting Ethnicity and Conflict in Bosnia and Former Yugoslavia, Longo, Ravenna, 2005; Anna Krasteva ed., Communities and Identities in Bulgaria, Longo, Ravenna, 1998; Marco Dogo and Guido Franzinetti (eds.), Disrupting and Reshaping. Early Stages of Nation-Building in the Balkans, Longo, Ravenna, 2002; Luisa Chiodi (ed.), The Borders of the Polity. Migrations and Security Across the EU and the Balkans, Longo, Ravenna, 2005; Mient Ian Faber (ed.), The Balkans. A Religious Backyard of Europe, Longo Editore Ravenna, 1996. Stefano Bianchini, George Schöpflin (eds.),State Building in the Balkans. Dilemmas on the Eve of the 21st Century, Longo Editore, Ravenna, 1998. Dusan Janjic (ed.), Ethnic Conflicts and their Managements. The Case of Yugoslavia, Longo Editore, Ravenna. Further suggested readings: History and Politics Francois Frejto, Histoire des Democratie Populaires, Ed. du Sevil, 1952; Norman Neimark and Leonid Gibianskii (Eds.), The Establishment of Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe, 1944-1949, Westviev Press 1997; S.J. Ball, The Cold War. An International History 1947-1991, Arnold, 1998; Lannie P. Johnson, Enemies, Neighbours, Friends, Oxford UP, 1996; Ivan T. Berend, Central and Eastern Europe 1944-1993. Detour from the Periphery to the Periphery, Cambridge UP, 1998; Reneo Lukic & Allen Lynch; Europe from the Balkans to the Urals. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, Oxford UP, 1996; R. Craig Nation, War in the Balkans 1991-2002, US Army War College, 2003; Dimitri Pentzopoulos, The Balkan Exchange of Minorities and its Impact on Greece, Hurst, London, 2002; Robert M. Hayden, Blueprints for a House Divided. The Constitutional Logic of the Yugoslav Conflicts, Michigan, 2000; Mark Biondich, Stjepan Radic, the Croat Peasant Party, and the Politics of Mass Mobilization, 1904-1928, UTP, 2000. Henry Huttenbach and Francesco Privitera (eds.), Self-Determination. From Versailles to Dayton. Its Historical Legacy, Longo, Ravenna, 1999. Post-Communism Geoffrey Pridham & Paul G. Lewis (Eds.), Stabilising Fragile Democracies, Routledge, 1996; Herbert Kitschelt, Zdeneka Mansfeldova, Radoslav Markowski, Gabor Toka, Post Communist Party System. Competition, Representation and Interparty co-operation, Cambridge UP, 1999; Tomas Kostelecky, Political Parties after Communism. Development in East-Central Europe, John's Hopkins UP, 2002; Jean Blondel and Ferdinand Mueller Rommel (Eds.), Cabinets in Eastern Europe, Palgrave, 2001; Marie Lavigne, The Economies of Transition. From Socialist Economy to Market Economy, St. Martins' Press, 1995/00; Ben Fowkes, The Post-Communist Era. Change and Continuity in Eastern Europe, MacMillan, 1999; Minton S. Goldmann, Revolution and Change in Central and Eastern Europe. Political, Economic and Social Challenges, Sharp, 1997; Michael D. Kennedy, Cultural Formations of Post-Communism. Emancipation, Transition, Nation, and War, University of Minnesota Press, 2002; Gill Jaeme,The Dynamics of Democratisation. Elites, Civil Society and the Transition Process, NY, St. Martins Press, 2000. Katherine Verdery, The Vanishing Hectare: Property and Value in Post-Socialist Transylvania, Cornell, UniPress, 2003; Jerald Creed, Domesticating Revolution from Socialist Reform to ambivalent Transition in a Bulgarian Village, Pennsylvania State UniPress, 1998; AA.VV., The Inflexibility Trap: Frustrated Societies,Weak States and Democracy, Centre for Liberal Strategies-Institute for Market Economics, Sofia, 2003.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures with an active participation by the students.

Assessment methods

Assessment is based on two different tests, one for each module and a final oral exam.

Each test consists in a written examination based on the readings provided for each of the modules.

The fist test is based on a 3 questions/free answers. The second one is based on a specific topic referring to the second module. Each test will last 120 minutes.

In case, students could not attend one of the tests, they will be required to be assessed for the specific module at the oral exam. The same, in case of a possible failure of the test (less than 18/30).

In case of double failure or double missing of the test, the whole readings will be assessed during the oral exam.

Oral exam will consist in one/two questions regarding the final reading and a topic selected by the students among those in the syllabus. The oral exam's weight is about the 25% of the final evaluation, which includes the tests' evaluations too. Students can upgrade the tests average between two marks approximately.

In case of failure at the January/February sessions, students are not allowed to be assessed before September. Only one of the two sessions is available.

Teaching tools

Maps on power point. Occasionally, photos, movies and music.

Timetable

History of Eastern Europe

MARCH

06/03 (1/2)

Introduction to the course

07/03 (2/4)

Mapping Eastern Europe. Geography and landscape

08/03 (3/6)

The question of modernity in East Central Europe

13/03 (4/8)

The State and the Nation

14/03 (5/10)

The Bolshevik revolution and its external dimension

15/03 (6/12)

East Central Europe in the Interwar period

20/03 (7/14)

WWII and the Soviet Union

21/03 (8/16)

From Teheran to Potsdam

22/03 (9/18)

Soviet Victory and the establishment of Peoples Democracies

APRIL

10/04 (10/20)

I Midterm Exam

11/04 (11/22)

The Stalinisation of East Central Europe

12/04 (12/24)

The Cominform and Yugoslav Break

17/04 (13/26)

The end of the Stalin’s era and the XX Congress

18/04 (14/28)

Cold war from the soviet perspective

19/04 (15/30)

Khrushchev reforms

24/04 (16/32)

The Cold War Race and the Cuba affairs

26/04 (17/34)

GDR and the Berlin Crisis

MAY

02/05 (18/36)

The “Rolling” Sixties

03/05 (19/38)

1968 the Prague Spring and the end of the illusions

08/05 (20/40)

The Communist experience in Romania and Bulgaria

09/05 (21/42)

Brezhnev and the Stagnation

10/05 (22/44)

Solidarnosc and the Polish Crisis

15/05 (23/46)

Gorbachev and the soviet challenge

16/05 (24/48)

USA-USSR bilateral relations

17/05 (25/50)

II Midterm exam

21/05 (26/52)

The Soviet crisis

22/05 (27/54)

Breaking the wall. The end of the soviet era

23/05 (28/56)

The German unification

24/05 (29/58)

The Yugoslav and the Soviet Union dissolution compared

25/05 (30/60)

Political Changes in East Central Europe and the path to democracy

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Privitera