HIST 337(S) Empires, Nations and Nationalism in East-Central Europe, 1870-1945

At the dawn of the 20^th century the political map of central Europe was totally unlike that of today: instead of ‘nation-states’ there were three empires, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. By the end of World War I, these empires collapsed and were replaced by new, unstable states that were supposed to more faithfully represent the peoples that had lived in the empires. But rather than satisfy the demands of nationalists, the new regimes proved widely unpopular and the interwar years witnessed the radicalization of nationalism on all sides. World War II helped unleash nationalist violence on an unprecedented scale, and in 1945 the map of the region would be re-drawn once again. This course explores the origins and development of modern nationalist movements in central and east-central Europe from 1870 to 1945.  It will begin with a discussion and comparison of theories of nationalism and nation-building. These will then be used to analyze and discuss how various individuals, governments and institutions defined and described national identities and histories. Readings will focus principally on Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Jews, and, to a lesser extent, on Croatians, Roma, Romanians, Serbs, and Slovenians. Although the principal themes of readings and discussions is nationalism, the course will also explore the ways class, gender, religion, region, and economy affected the ways in which nationalism was formulated and national identities were constructed and expressed.

Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, an oral presentation, a short paper, research paper, and final exam.
No prerequisites. No enrollment limit (expected: 15-20).  

Hour: BEILIN