This module provides an introduction to the history of Czechoslovakia, from the creation of an independent state in 1918 to the peaceful separation of the Czech and Slovak states in 1993. It concentrates on the main political developments and the various regime changes that defined the history of the region, with a focus more on Czech than on Slovak perspectives. The course makes use of the impressive range of general and specialist studies on Czechoslovak history available in English.

The history of Czechoslovakia offers a unique perspective on European history in the twentieth century: a product of the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire after the First World War, Czechoslovakia experienced a succession of political regimes and systems that defined the ‘age of extremes’, from liberal democracy to National Socialism and Stalinism. This half-course will introduce undergraduate students to the history of Czechoslovakia from the creation of an independent state in 1918 to the peaceful separation of the Czech and Slovak states in 1993. It will concentrate on the main political developments and the various regime changes that defined the history of the region, and will focus more on Czech than on Slovak perspectives. The course will make use of the impressive range of general and specialist studies on Czechoslovak history available in English (see the select bibliography below). In addition, key original documents available in English translation will be discussed. There will be weekly lectures (one hour) and classes (one hour). Students will have set readings to prepare each week, consisting of both scholarly articles or chapters and primary documents. Assessment will be by two coursework essays, each one of 2500 words and each one worth 50% of the final mark. The lectures and tutorials will make use of Mary Heimann’s Czechoslovakia: The State that Failed (New Haven and London, 2009) and The Czech Reader: History, Culture, Politics, ed. by Jan Bažant, Nina Bažantová, and Frances Stern (Durham SC and London, 2010).