HST 372 - Eastern Europe under Communism and After

This course examines the history of Eastern Europe from 1930s to the present. The course will concentrate on the political and socioeconomic factors that led to the rise of nationalism, totalitarianism, communism in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Albania, and Czech and Slovakia, as well as the unique situation of Yugoslavia (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, and Montenegro). The role of the region in WWII, the postwar era (the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact), the religious conflicts, and its struggle to adopt Western democratic and economic principles following the collapse of the Soviet Union will be examined as well. The objective of the course is to familiarize students by introducing them to primary and secondary sources, watching films and discussions in order to explain a part of Europe, which was and continues to be a zone of conflict.
Lecture
Credits: 3
Prerequisite: ENG 120 or Honors Status.
Core Course
DCCG: Human Diversity
Offered in Alternate Years