Syllabus
Splendor and Misery of Détente
PhDr. Vít Fojtek, Ph.D.
Email: vfojtek@yahoo.com
Consultation Hours: via Email or after appointment on Thursday 16:50 -17:35, Room For External Teachers, U Kříže 8
Lecture 1. Origins of Détente.Bilateral cooperation during WW2 and its impact upon later US-Soviet relations.“Good uncle Joe (Stalin)” phenomena vs. Stalin’s real policy and strategic plans with (Eastern) Europe.
Lecture 2. Stalin’s goals and tactic towards the West after WW2 end. Kennan’s critique of FDR’s policy towards USSR. Position of Eastern Europe (viewed from the East and the West). Containment and its impact upon Eastern Europe.
Lecture 3. US Soviet policy after 1948 communist coup in Czechoslovakia. Stalin’s plans to invade Yugoslavia and Korean War influence.
Lecture 4. US 1952 presidential campaign and the Eastern Europe. 1953 death of Stalin and its impact. Beria and his USSR reforms. Upheavals in Eastern Europe in 1953.
Lecture 5. Successor fights in the USSR after Stalin.Khrushchev vs. Malenkov and nomenclature. Eisenhower’s Eastern European policy after death of Stalin. Kennedy and Eastern Europe. Liberalization vs. liberation. From “peaceful engagement” to “bridge-building” and its limits.
Lecture 6. Soviet military 1960s build-up and its impact. Czechoslovakia 1968 “Prague Spring“ and Soviet-led invasion.
Lecture 7. Projection of a 1967 Miloš Forman film "Firemen's Ball" and discussion about the film, the time it was made and allegories of the communist regime within the film.
Lecture 8. US concerns over 1968 “Prague Spring”. Soviet approach and the reaction of the West. 1968 moods in the West. The West, Brezhnev Doctrine and reality.
Lecture 9. Détente after 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. Unrest in Poland 1969/70, the West and Soviet response.
Lecture 10. 1980/81 Polish events and the West. Soviet policy of R. Reagan.
Lecture 11. Reagan, Western Europeans and Détente & corresponding problems relating to their relations towards the Soviet Union.
Lecture 12. The West and “annus mirabilis” of 1989. G. Bush vs. Gorbachev and Yeltsin
Course Requirements: 1. Book Review 50%, 1-2 pages (including footnotes, 1 page=1800 characters) Book: Pipes, Richard: Vixi. Memoirs of a Non-Belonger, Yale University Press, 2006. Deadline February 5th, 2024 2. Home-written paper 50%, 3-5 pages (including footnotes, 1 page=1800 characters, on the topic based upon the issues discussed in the course and obligatory literature; detailed instruction on Guidelines etc. at: http://stuter.fsv.cuni.cz/index.php/stuter/about/submissions#authorGuidelines. Deadline February 5th, 2024
Selected topics for a home-written paper:1. Origins of US-Soviet "Bilateral Cooperation." 2. The West and 1968 Soviet-led Invasion of Czechoslovakia. 3. NATO in the Aftermath of the 1968 Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia. 4. US - Czechoslovak Relations 1943-1968. 5. US- Soviet Relations under Johnson. 6. Yom Kippur War of 1973. 7. Cyprus Crisis of 1974. 8. Soviet -Chinese Relations in 1960s/1970s. 9. US- Chinese Relations under Nixon. 10. US- Soviet Relations under Nixon. 11. Charles de Gaulle and Détente, Entente et Coopération. 12. Willy Brandt's Ostpolitik. 13. Leonid Brezhnev and Détente. 14. 1979 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. 15. R. Reagan and his Soviet policy. 16. The West and 1989 changes in Eastern Europe. Other topics also possible in accordance with the lecturer.
Information about the films (film screening optional, if there is a mood):
Adelheid (https://eea.nfa.cz/en/films/adelheid/)Atentát/The Assassination (https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/en/film/396609/the-assassination)Obchod na korze/Shop on the Main Street (https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/en/film/396649/shop-on-main-street)Žert/The Joke (https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/256941-the-joke/)Intimní osvětlení/Intimate Lighting (https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/4621074-intimate-lighting/) 1. „Tmavomodrý svět“/“Dark Blue World“ (2002)
Dir. Jan Svěrák
Time period it describes: WW2, Czechoslovak pilots in Great Britain, 1950s communism
Review: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/04/11/dark_blue_world_2002_review.shtml
„Hoří, má panenko“/„Firemen’s Ball“ (1967), Dir. Miloš Forman, comedy
Time period it describes: 1960s Czechoslovakia, liberalization, Détente, communist régime allegory
Representative of the 1960s Czechoslovak Film New Wave,
Review: https://milosforman.com/en/movies/the-firemens-ball
„Pelíšky“ /„Cozy Dens“ (1999)
Dir. Jan Hřebejk, comedy
Time period it describes: 1968, Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Review: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167331/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
„Občanský průkaz“/ „Identity Card“ (2010)
Dir. Ondřej Trojan, comedy
Time period it describes: „normalisation“ after the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1970s, students
Review: http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/obcansky-prukaz-a-new-film-about-youth-rebellion-in-communist-czechoslovakia-premieres-in-prague
„Kawasakiho růže“/ „Kawasaki’s Rose“ (2009)
Dir. Jan Hřebejk
Time period it describes: „normalisation“ after the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1970s, communist secret police practices, dissidents
Review: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kawasakis-rose-film-review-29798 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/movies/24kawa.html https://fsv.cuni.cz/en/academics/exchange-and-visiting-students/change-of-grading
CHANGE OF GRADING SYSTEM AT FSV UK
Due to modifications of the internal regulations the Faculty of Social Sciences has changed the system of classification from 1-4 grading scale to internationally recognized A-F grading system, often referred to as ECTS grading. For easier understanding we offer an explanation of the individual grades:
A – Excellent. The student has shown excellent performance, originality and displayed an exceptional grasp of the subject.
B – Very Good. The student understands the subject well and has shown some originality of thought. Above the average performance, but with some errors.
C – Good. Generally sound work with a number of notable errors.
D – Satisfactory. The student has shown some understanding of the subject matter, but has not succeeded in translating this understanding into consistently original work. Overall good performance with a number of significant errors.
E – Sufficient. Acceptable performance with significant drawbacks. Performance meets the minimum requirements.
F – Fail. The student has not succeeded in mastering the subject matter of the course.
Z – Pass/Credit. Where a course is completed by a study requirement other than examination, it is not graded, but is recorded as “Zápočet (Z).” This is in effect a Pass in a two-tier Pass/Fail grading system.
The recommendation for using the A-F classification is as follows: To evaluate the student's performance in percentage (0-100 %) and providing the evaluation accordingly 0-50 % = F, 51-60 % = E, 61-70 % = D, 71-80 % = C, 81-90 % = B, 91% and more = A.
We hope that you will accept this change positively because of its undeniable advantages:
Simplified recognition of courses studied abroad (most European universities use the conversion scale A-F, the conversion from 1-4 grading scale was not quite accurate).
Refinement of the grading scale (6-degree scale gives the teacher the opportunity to more distinguish student performance than with the 4-degree scale).
Intelligibility for incoming/exchange students or international students studying at FSV UK (percentage or A-F grade scale is the most widespread).
Annotation
This lecture in English concentrates on East-West relations during the Cold War period of détente. Close attention is devoted to the Eastern European (and Czechoslovak) perspective of this phase of the East-West conflict. In terms of time, the course focuses on 1960s and 1970s. A broader perspective of the preceding and following period is, however, also included. It involves e.g. issues like the incorporation of Eastern Europe into the Soviet sphere of influence, Western and Soviet approaches towards several Eastern Bloc crises as well as their stands during the “surprise” of annus mirabilis of 1989.
Where are the origins of détente? What formed US-Soviet relations during and after WW2 with regard to the situation in the Eastern Europe? What were Soviet intentions and how did the West come to terms with them throughout the period? How did the Soviet Union and the United States view Eastern Europe? What formed the positions of the key politicians of the West? What were the specifics of French “Détente”, West German “Ostpolitik” or US “Bridge-building” and why? Was Leonid Brezhnev a true fan of détente? How did the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia influence détente and how was this event reflected throughout the West? What can we learn from the past situation in the context of current relations between the West and Russia? These are some of the issues that will be discussed.