Annotation
Nationalism is certainly the most successful movement in the history of Europe. Starting with the French
Revolution, it conquered the hearts and minds of broadest strata of the European population. Depending on the historical setting and the social groups it embraced, it changed its character – from emancipatory through reformist to integral-discriminatory.
In this course we will discuss the transnational history of nationalism in Europe from its be-ginnings until the present times and ask why this movement was (and still is) so successful. Starting from theoretical considerations, we will take a closer look at how nationalism inter-acted with different groups of society, how it was communicated and how it affected sectors like politics, economy and culture changing notions of citizenship and identity. The course will cover all of Europe, but especially the development in its Central and Eastern parts – from the
Bohemian lands/Czechoslovakia through Germany to Poland.