SDEb1003 Czechoslovakia 1945-1989

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Tomáš Dvořák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Ondřej Haváč, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Tomáš Dvořák, Ph.D.
Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of History – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course will enable students to understand the history of Czechoslovakia and Czech society from the end of World War II to the end of the communist dictatorship from the perspective of the results of existing historical research. In addition to describing the basic political structures and processes, students will also learn about the main trends in the development of society and its transformations. Attention will also be paid to the main themes and controversies of the scholar and public debate.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: - place the contemporary history of Czechoslovakia in an international context and explain the changes in the country's post-war functioning - identify key topics in the scholar historical debate and collective memory and existing political myths - characterize the different stages of the development of post-war Czechoslovakia - describe the economic and social consequences of the February coup d'état and the August invasion by Warsaw Pact troops - explain the changes in the functioning of the communist regime and the formation of the opposition - describe the various areas of friction in Czech-Slovak relations leading to the disintegration of the common state
Syllabus
  • 1. Continuities and discontinuities of post-war statehood (constitutional development; legal continuity vs. revolution; Czech-Slovak question; foreign policy orientation) 2. The Third Republic between democracy and dictatorship (deformation of political culture, "people's democracy", National Front, national committees, paths to "February") 3. The National Revolution and the socialist experiment (expulsion and further migration, Czechization, from ethnic cleansing to class cleansing, property interventions, planned economy, mobilization of labor) 4. The Czech road to communist dictatorship from the Central European perspective. The Third Republic and political mythology 5. "February 1948". The first five-year plan - the peak and the collapse of the experiment. Consolidation and the crisis of dictatorship. Social protest. The question of the"Third Resistance". Repressions 6. Social transformations. The liquidation of the trades and the socialisation of the countryside. The long shadows of Czechoslovak Stalinism 7. The Golden Sixties? Social and economic development in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s 8. The Prague Spring in the international context, the August invasion of Warsaw Pact troops and its consequences, Czech-Slovak relations and the federalization of the Czechoslovakia 9. The accession of Gustáv Husák to the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the so-called normalisation in Czechoslovakia 10. Opposition to the Communist regime and the Czechoslovak exile 11. From perestroika to the Velvet Revolution, causes and consequences of the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia 12. Evaluation of seminar papers
Literature
    required literature
  • PRŮCHA, Václav a kol.: Hospodářské a sociální dějiny Československa. 1918-1992. 2. díl. Období 1945-1992. Brno, Doplněk 2009.
  • PERNES, Jiří. Velké dějiny zemí Koruny české. Vydání první. Praha: Paseka, 2022, 807 stran. ISBN 9788076372146. info
  • RYCHLÍK, Jan. Československo v období socialismu : 1945-1989. Vydání první. V Praze: Vyšehrad, 2020, 415 stran. ISBN 9788076013346. info
  • KOCIAN, Jiří, Jaroslav PAŽOUT, Tomáš VILÍMEK, Stanislav BALÍK and Vít HLOUŠEK. Dějiny Komunistické strany Československa IV : (1969-1993). Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2020, 591 stran. ISBN 9788020031747. info
Teaching methods
lecture/seminar, seminar paper
Assessment methods
graded seminar paper (40 %), graded participation in class discussion (10 %), progress test (10 %), oral exam (40 %)
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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