The left in postwar Europe: democracy, dictatorship and disorder
Peter Lentini and Steve Wright
12 points
* 2 hours per week
* First Semester
* Clayton
Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should develop an understanding of the political, historical and social contexts within which the postwar European left has developed; critically assess the distinctive strands of policy and political practice which have characterised the postwar left in Eastern and Western Europe; achieve an advanced level knowledge of the institutions, personalities and cultural which have defined the European left; distinguish the peculiar wealth - as well as limitations - which characterise primary source materials and to assess their broader significance within social science research.
Synopsis This subject is organised around two interwoven threads: one chronological, the other thematic. With the first, students will examine in detail a series of significant turning points in left politics after World War II, from the Hungarian events of 1956 to the collapse of Marxist-Leninist party rule in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. The second thread will chart the paths taken by the three major strands of the European left - social democracy, communism and the New Left - in their encounter with the question of political power, the meaning and purpose of social change the rise of social movements and the role of the left in arts and culture.
Assessment Essay (3000 words): 33%
* Essay (6000 words): 67%
Preliminary reading
Blackmer D and Tarrow S (eds) Communism in Italy and France Princeton U P, 1975
Fraser R and others 1968: A student generation in revolt Chatto and Windus, 1988
Lomax B Hungary 1956 Allison and Busby, 1976
Nugent N and Low D The left in France Macmillan, 1982
Potel J-Y The summer before the frost: Solidarity in Poland Pluto Press, 1982
Widgery D The left in Britain 1956-1968 Penguin, 1976
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