Modern Dissent in Central Europe: The Art of Defeat

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THIS COURSE TAKES PLACE AT NYU-PRAGUE. Individual or minority revolt against for the time being prevailing majority position, religious interpretation or political rule is an important but often forgotten part of history. Modern Political Dissent class covers this phenomena combining findings from several fields like psychological response to extreme situations, modern history, political and communication theory, art and culture in opposition against perceived injustice and case studies and analyses of important examples of modern political dissent. From interpretation of holocaust or torture survival ordeal and Stockholm syndrome students are led to analyze the context – both psychological and historical – in order to search for possible remedies. Conditions that made totalitarian ideologies so widely acceptable are studied within the context of thought reform and cult manipulations. Works of Robert J.Lifton, Stanley Milgrams and Phillip Zimbardo are used to explain importance of individual responsibility versus obedience to authority. Role modeling and differentiation in communicating minority or dissent values to majority society give a possibility to adjust complex strategies for change.