Postwar

Catalog description

How did the catastrophic consequences of World War II shape the European continent and its place in the world? This course looks at the period from 1945 to the early post-communist period as the “Postwar” - in other words, a period where Europeans were shaped by the legacies of war and atrocity. It will examine the lingering influence of war in three interrelated cases. First, the role of international legal institutions in defining now-fundamental concepts such as genocide and human rights, and how these concepts and institutions in turn played a role in the dismantling of European colonial empires. Second, how the aftermath of war shaped and continued to play a role in the Cold War until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Third, how awareness and representation of the Holocaust developed over the course of the 20th Century - and both influenced and was shaped by larger political and social movements. Satisfies History major and minor requirement. Satisfies Historical Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community requirement.