Syllabus
Cohen, Gary B. and Feichtinger, Johannes: Understanding Multiculturalism (eds.): The Habsburg Central European Experience, New York 2014.
Judson, Pieter M.: The Habsburg Empire: A new history, Cambridge 2016.
Judson, Pieter M.: Guardians of the nation: Activists on the language frontiers of imperial Austria, Cambridge 2006.
Judson, Pieter M. and Rozenblit, Marsha L. (ed.): Constructing nationalities in East Central Europe, New York 2005.
King, Jeremy: Budweisers into Czechs and Germans: A local history of Bohemian politics 1848-1948, Princton 2002.
Unowsky, Daniel L.: The pomp and politics of patriotism: Imperial celebrations in Habsburg Austria ; 1848 - 1916, West Lafayette 2005. vondracek@mua.cas.cz
Annotation
The Habsburg monarchy was a multi-ethnic empire and Europe’s second largest state. In spite of strong tensions between ethnic groups, it did not collapse until its military defeat in 1918.
We will take a closer look at ethnic conflicts in the Czech lands between Czechs, Germans und Jews and examine the solutions pursued to solve these tensions in the age of nationalism, industrialization and bureaucratization. We will focus on the different nationalist movements, at the same time analyzing anti-Semitism and the roots of the Nazi movement in the Czech border regions. The seminar will be strongly text-based. You will be asked to read one to two texts and answer in-depth questions at each session. vondracek@mua.cas.cz