Arts and Cultures of Central Europe

3 credits · Undergraduate credit

The course is an introduction to the rich cultures of the peoples of Central Europe (Croats, Czechs, Hungarians, Jews, Poles, Serbs, and Slovaks) seen against the background of two world wars, communism and its recent disintegration. Culturally vibrant, Central Europe reveals the tragic destiny of twentieth-century civilization which gave rise to two totalitarian systems: fascism and communism. The course will outline the ethnic complexities of the region, with special attention to Jewish culture and its tragic destruction during the Holocaust. The traumatic effects of the war and of ideological coercion on the civilian population will be documented by contemporary films. The course will examine the fate of culture under totalitarianism and study subterfuges used by novelists, dramatists, and artists to circumvent political control and censorship.