HIS 4190 History of Eastern Europe
Course Description:
This course is designed to give students a basic understanding of Eastern Europe as a politically and strategically sensitive region since the eighteenth century. It covers the most important phases of the historical development of the region in the last two centuries such as the period of Eastern Question in the wake of the rivalries among the great European Empires in the nineteenth century, the Russian Revolution and the spread of the communism in the region, the collapse of the Soviet Union and its broader aftermath, and the integration of the region into the European Union.
Learning Objectives:
The main objective of this course is to introduce the students to the historical importance of Eastern Europe in the world history of the last two centuries. It also gives a broader understanding of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent formation of the Soviet Union. Further, it gives the students an understanding of the historical dynamics of the region after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students should be able to
• Critically assess the historical larger historical importance of Eastern Europe in world history in the last two centuries
• Evaluate the global importance of the Russian Revolution and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union
• Identify specific aspects of the region that significantly influence world history
Course Content:
1. Course Description to Eastern Europe
2. Eastern Europe during the great empires up to the Napoleon era
3. The Post-Napoleon era
4. The Eastern Question at the end of 19th century
5. Collapse of the empire
6. Nation state formation
7. The Bolshevik Revolution and the emergence of the USSR
8. Westward expansion of the USSR
9. The Cold War and Eastern Europe
10. Perestroika and the end of the Cold War
11. Collapse of transnational state political entities – the cases of the USSR and Yugoslavia
12. Problems of post-Communist social political and economic order
13. Politics of Eastern Europe
14. The post-Cold War World Order
15. The EU and Eastern Europe
Assessment:
Attendance 10%
Midterm Test or Assignment 30%
Final Exam 60%
Recommended Readings:
Davis, N. (2007), Europe: A History, NY: Harper Perennial.
Catherwwod, C., (2004), The Balkans in World War II, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sabol, S. (2003), Russian Colonization of Central Asia and the Genesis of Kazak National Conscious, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sygdes, T. (2010), Blood (and): Europe between Hitler and Stalin, NY: Basic Books.
Glenny, M. (1999) The Balkan 1804 – 1999: Nationalism, War and the Great powers, UK: Granta.