Gender and Sexuality in Eastern Europe

Catalog description

Did Eastern European societies built on the Communist model succeed in achieving women's emancipation? Were gender relations in postwar Eastern Europe liberated from religious or economic constraints? How did gays and lesbians (and queer and trans persons?) navigate contradictory ideologies of liberation and authoritarianism and heavily regimented social and political environments? Following a loose chronology and analyzing the role of modernization, industrialization, war and other conflicts, the course examines the role and shaping of gender and sexuality in 20th century Eastern Europe. Class materials introduce students to the origin of emancipatory and liberatory ideologies and relevant social movements in 19th century Europe; campaigns promising gender relations based on equality in the newly created Soviet Union and in the so-called Eastern European people's democracies post-World War II; and the legacies of progressive gender politics after the end of the Cold War. Students will place these dynamics within the context of larger historical trends, scrutinizing, for instance, 1960s protest movements that challenged socialist governments and called for liberation in new ways, or policy and cultural shifts resulting from the downfall of Communism in the late 1980s. The course is open to everyone and has no prerequisites. Course Website: https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/history/