Communism and the Politics of Culture: Czechoslovakia and the Cold War in Eastern Europe
SLAVIC 144
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
We will examine the literature and film of Czechoslovakia within the larger context of European history during the Cold War, with a focus on how the intense political pressures of revolution, invasion, and occupation can shape a country’s literature, drama, art, and music. Starting from the 1948 Communist takeover in Prague, we will learn about the show trials of the 1950s, the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion of 1968, the rise of the music underground and dissident movements in the 1970s, and the 1989 Velvet Revolution, a hallmark of the peaceful overthrow of Communism in Europe. This course will introduce you to the history of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, with special attention to key problems in the study of ideology, aesthetics, and politics (including censorship, samizdat, “underground” culture, dissident movements, and the “New Wave” in Czech film). Readings from Milan Kundera, Bohumil Hrabal, Václav Havel, Heda Kovaly, Eva Kantůrková, and others; films from Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Agnieszka Holland and others; music from the Plastic People of the Universe.
Course Notes
All readings in English; no prerequisite.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
