Postwar Europe Main topics Political evolution of Western Europe: division of Europe, comparison of both blocs, remaining western postwar dictatorships, radical sixties, the triumph of social democracy, Detente, and Ostpolitik, crumbling of the Soviet bloc and actual situation Economy: postwar reconstruction, expansion of Western Europe to the global market in the 1960s, the crisis of 1973, the collapse of the Soviet economic model and new opportunities for the West Society: demography, emigration and immigration, working habits, living standards, urbanization and countryside, tourism, education, media, religion, gender Foreign affairs: inter-European relations, security policy, European integration, relations with World, decolonization, globalization Recommended Bibliography: DINER, Dan. Catactlyms. A History of the Twentieth Century from Europe's Edge. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2008. FULBROOK, Mary (ed.). Europe since 1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. HOBSBAWM, Eric. Věk extrémů: krátké 20. století 1914-1991. Praha: Argo 1998. JOHNSON, Paul. Dějiny 20. století. Praha: Rozmluvy, 2014. JUDT, Tony. Poválečná Evropa: její historie od roku 1945. Praha: Prostor, 2017. LUŇÁK, Petr. Západ (Spojené státy a Západní Evropa ve studené válce). Praha: Libri 1997. MASON, David. S. A Concise history of Modern Europe. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011. VYKOUKAL, Jiří, LITERA, Bohuslav, TEJCHMAN, Miroslav. Východ. Vznik, vývoj a rozpad sovětského bloku 1944-1989. Praha 2000.
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The seminar Postwar Europe summarizes the evolution and changes of the European continent from the end of the Second World War until the present time. The main focus will be on Western Europe in this time frame and comparison of its development with the one behind the Iron Curtain. It will not present the history of individual states but an outline of political trends of the western bloc and emphasis on other topics like economy, society, European integration and foreign relations. The seminar is taught in the form of a Flipped classroom, which means that students will watch a lecture at home and in class we will discuss the topic.
After the course, students should be able to understand thoroughly the development of Europe after the Second World War. Not only as a summary of the most important historical events but also its integration of these processes into the continental context. Besides, students will understand the change of European influence in the World. They will also be able to interpret properly this acquired knowledge.
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The main intention of this course is to present to the students the development of postwar Europe from different perspectives: politics, economy, society and foreign relations. There are no previous requirements to pass this course because one of the other goals is to widen commonly known facts or those obtained during the high school. During the course, we will talk especially about the evolution of Europe from its division to its cohesion from the perspective of various countries like France, West Germany, Great Britain, Italy, or Spain. An integral part of the course is also students' video project and its presentation where students will practice interaction with political, diplomatic and academic officials.
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