The module introduces students to the literary and cultural history of the lands that constitute contemporary Ukraine. As well as familiarizing themselves with...

Crossroads of Culture: Language and Identity in the Literatures of Ukraine from Crimea to the Shtetls (SEEE0012)

The module introduces students to the literary and cultural history of the lands that constitute contemporary Ukraine. As well as familiarizing themselves with the rich cultural history of the region, students will also be encouraged to think of literature beyond national paradigms and in terms of mutual influence and hybridity. Sessions will focus on particular regions/cities and look at how these places functioned as ‘crossroads’ of culture, where writers from different national traditions co-existed and interacted. These will be Kyiv/ Central Ukraine, Crimea, the Carpathian mountains and Galicia.

WOMEN&#039;S HISTORY|MODERN HISTORY|GENDER HISTORY|CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE|POLITICAL THOUGHT

This course serves as an introduction to the frequently overlooked but colourful history of women and women’s political thought in Central and Eastern...

Women and the Making of Central Europe: Texts and Contexts in the History of Political Thought 1750-Present (HIST0851)

This course serves as an introduction to the frequently overlooked but colourful history of women and women’s political thought in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Beginning with the Enlightenment, the aim is for students to explore a collection of primary and secondary texts that illustrate how women have engaged in politics, and how women (and others) have voiced, shaped, and organized ideas about the role of women in the region over the past two-and-a half centuries. The primary works selected will vary from political and philosophical treatises, pamphlets, as well as works of literature, art, and film. The topics broached will cover key issues relating to women’s political and social rights, drawing from the more traditionally studied spheres of education, suffrage, the gendered division of labour and the body, reproductive rights, and violence against women. However, these and similar topics will be examined in their various ‘national’ contexts within the CEE region, while intersections with transnational ideologies (e.g., liberalism, nationalism, conservativism, communism etc.) will also be emphasized in order to challenge commonly held assumptions about the East-West political divide, and the claim that Central and East Europe is a region characterized by ‘backwardness’ with regards to women’s rights and feminist thinking. Having said that, the course will also seek to consider less-explored topics, such as how women have related to questions of nationhood, war, and even reactionary authoritarianism and fascism. By probing these more uncomfortable avenues of women’s political thought, the course seeks to provide a more holistic understanding of the historical struggles and contexts through which women have engaged in politics, and even provide some insight into the challenges faced by women in the region today, including those posed by a resurgence of ‘anti-feminist’ ideologies after the collapse of the region’s communist regimes in 1989.

 