Syllabus
Course schedule 1. Introduction: Central and Eastern European (CEE) popular culture between East and West (February 22) 2.
What is popular culture? (Reading: John Storey) (February 22) 3. Marxism and popular culture (Reading: Antonio Gramsci, film: Guy Debord) (March 7) 4.
From subcultures to postsubcultures (Reading: Andy Bennett, Keith Kahn-Harris) (March 14) 5. State socialism vs. postsocialism and East vs.
West (Reading: Boris Buden) (March 21) 6. Reading week (March 28) 7.
Consumerism in state socialism (Reading: Paulina Bren) (April 4) 8. Re-traditionalization and nationalism in CEE (Reading: Ladislav Holy) (April 18) 8.
Fanzines and subcultures in CEE (Reading: Zines archives) (April 25) 9. Tour de May Day festivals in Prague (May 1) 10.
DIY and constructing at home (Reading: Andrew Jackson) (May 9) 11. Mushroom foraging in Czech culture (Reading: Anna Tsing) (May 16) 11.
Colloquium with students´ presentations (May 30)
Annotation
The course provides an introduction to the phenomena of popular culture in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with special emphasis on the Czech social and cultural context.
Firstly, we introduce a range of theoretical approaches to studying popular culture, exploring the intersection between everyday life, mass media, and broader political and historical contexts within the CEE. We will discuss key theoretical readings in the study of popular culture in CEE, including ideology and hegemony, (post)subculture, Marxism, (post)socialism and nationalism.
Secondly, building on the knowledge of these conceptual approaches, we will examine a range of themes in popular culture in CEE such as consumerism in socialist society, re-nationalization and re-traditionalization, subcultures and fanzines, DIY, and mushroom foraging. These issues will be presented in the empirical case studies not only from contemporary Czech culture but also in Czech-Slovak comparison within the CEE context. The course will include a field trip on May 1 to study the festivals of May Day in Prague and a final colloquium with students´ presentations.