EVSb1002 Europe in the 20th Century

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Romana Burianová (seminar tutor)
PhDr. Vladimír Černý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Vladimír Černý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Tue 16:00–17:40 P21a
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! EVS101 Modern Pol. History of Europe && !NOW( EVS101 Modern Pol. History of Europe )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course introduces Europe's political, social, and partly economic history in the 20th century. Its main objective within the bachelor's program is to provide a solid foundation for further courses focusing on contemporary European politics or integration. The course consists of twelve thematic units covering European history from World War I to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet bloc in Central and Eastern Europe. The course's primary focus is on the history of Western and Central Europe after 1945, with attention divided equally between the liberal democracies of Western Europe and the socialist dictatorships of Central and Eastern Europe. The course combines traditional approaches to political history, focusing on knowledge of key historical events, with a social science emphasis on understanding and comparative analysis of medium- and long-term economic and social history processes.
Learning outcomes
upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the history of Europe in the 20th century.
Understand relations among political, economic, and social-historical processes.
Compare trajectories of political development of Post-War Western and East-Central Europe.
Evaluate the impact of 20th-century historical developments on present European politics.
Analyse secondary historical sources.
Demonstrate academic writing skills.
Syllabus
  • 1) What is Europe and what is contemporary history
  • 2) The concert of Europe and the road to World War I
  • 3) The First World War and its consequences
  • 4) Ups and downs of European politics in the period between two World Wars
  • 5) Totalitarianism and the Second World War
  • 6) „Zero Hour“ and the Division of Europe
  • 7) Post-war in Western Europe
  • 8) Emerging socialist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe
  • 9) Western Europe in the period of troubles (1968-1978)
  • 10) Crises of socialist regimes before and after 1968
  • 11) Emerging neo-liberal Western Europe
  • 12) Transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
  • 13)
Literature
    required literature
  • DAVIES, Norman. Evropa : dějiny jednoho kontinentu. Translated by Kateřina Keilová. V českém jazyce vyd. 1. Praha: Prostor, 2000, 1365 s. ISBN 8024201704. info
  • GERWARTH, Robert. Poražení : světová válka byla jen jedna. Translated by Ludvík Gréc. Vydání první. V Praze: Paseka, 2018, 431 stran. ISBN 9788074328954. info
  • GILBERT, Felix and David Clay LARGE. Konec evropské éry : dějiny Evropy 1890-1990. 1. vyd. Praha: Mladá fronta, 2003, 654 s. ISBN 8020408878. info
  • JUDT, Tony. Poválečná Evropa : historie po roce 1945. Translated by Dalibor Výborný. V Praze: Slovart, 2008, xiii, 986. ISBN 9788073910259. info
  • VINEN, Richard. Evropa dvacátého století. Translated by Monika Vosková - Vladimír Novák. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2007, 556 s. ISBN 9788070217351. info
  • WEGS, J. Robert and Robert LADRECH. Evropa po roce 1945. Translated by Radka Edererová. Vydání první. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2002, 371 stran. ISBN 8070215070. info
Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures. Part of the workload is writing of term paper aiming at interpretation of a selected problem issue of modern European history.
Assessment methods
Students must write a seminar paper with a minimum length of 21,600 characters. The final exam will assess students' knowledge of the subject matter. The overall assessment will include a final test (max. 50 points), a mid-term test covering the topics covered so far (10 points), and a seminar paper (max. 40 points). Students must obtain a minimum of 60 points to complete the course successfully.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2025/EVSb1002