Aims: To provide an historical understanding of the development of politically committed culture (literature and film) in the post-1945 era in both Eastern and Western Europe. To take account of the factors which led to the growing disillusionment on the part of creative intellectuals regarding the value of their efforts to bring about 'socialism with a human face': the dominance of Stalinism during the Cold War, the crushing of reform movements in Eastern Europe (especially the Prague Spring in 1968), the general scepticism in Western Europe since the 1960s about the value of committed culture. To study some examples of the post-engagement culture in Russia and Eastern Europe since the collapse of communism. The close study of works by leading authors of the post-1945 period will provide the focus for the seminars which form the core of the unit.
Learning Outcomes:
Students who complete this unit successfully will have gained an awareness of why 'political commitment' remained an issue for writers and film-makers in Eastern and Western Europe in the post-1945 era; they will understand the factors which have gradually led writers and film-makers to reject any restrictions on their creative independence; they will have developed their analytical and comparative skills through their in-depth study of their chosen works.
Skills:
Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit.
Content:
Introductory lectures on the issue of commitment and a range of national responses to it in Eastern and Western Europe. A selection from the following works: Camus The Plague; Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Perec: Things; Makanin: Baize-covered Table with Decanter; Loach, Land and Freedom; Becker, Goodbye Lenin!
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