Communism and the Politics of Culture: Czechoslovakia and the Cold War in Eastern Europe

Harvard FAS

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…