In our course, we will learn the basics of cultural studies and their application in the Baltic Sea region. Our focus will be on the cultural situation of post-socialist countries like Russia, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia. In contrast to Norway, Sweden, or Finland, which are considered success stories of Scandinavian "capitalism with a human face" and hence enjoy the admiration of the global public, the situation of the post-socialist Baltic societies is much less visible. With the theory canon of cultural studies such as structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, and post-colonial or memory studies we will deal with this specific double experience of communism and capitalism. In addition to applying the theoretical methods as practically as possible, our seminar will also focus on insights relevant to global (post)modernity in general and war-torn Europe in particular.
- Dozent/in: Roman Dubasevych