Cultural Theory and Criticism in Eastern Europe

This course is a history of cultural theory in Eastern Europe, offering students an overview of the major movements in the region that came to define theory globally in the twentieth century. The course examines both movements that emerged from the revolutionary politics of the Eastern Bloc and as well as ones developed by those who fled it: Marxism, psychoanalysis, Formalism, Structuralism, and semiotics. The course offers an overview of the East European intellectual tradition with works from Czech, Hungarian, German, Russian, Polish, and Estonian. All readings provided in English.