Our course teaches the basics of cultural studies and their application
in the Baltic Sea region. Special attention is dedicated to the cultural
situation of post-socialist countries like Russia, Poland, Estonia or
Latvia. In contrast to Norway, Denmark, Sweden, or Finland, which are
considered prime examples of the Scandinavian success story of
"capitalism with a human face" and enjoy the admiration of the global
public, the post-socialist Baltic societies are much less present but
not less interesting, in particular, from the perspective of the global
South or developing countries. With the help of canonical theories such
as structuralism, Marxism, feminism, theories of memory, or
post-coloniality we will address this region with its specific double
experience of transition from communism to capitalism. Practicing our
theories in relation to the cultural and socio-political reality of the
post-Soviet Baltics as closely as possible, our seminar will also look
for insights relevant to our Western (post)modernity.
- Dozent/in: Roman Dubasevych