Everyday Totalitarianism

4.0 credits

In this course we will compare everyday life in the Soviet Union under Stalin, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy. Topics we will discuss include the extent and location of popular support for these regimes, ordinary people's survival strategies, mass consumption, state efforts to manipulate family life and their success or failure, and gender roles. We will also analyze the concept of 'totalitarianism' and discuss its value (or lack thereof) as a heuristic device.