The course will look at the social and cultural complexities of the Eastern Europe in the context of its socialist past and post-socialist preset. It will introduce the Easter Europe from the anthropological perspective, privileging the perspective of “ordinary people” and everyday lives.  It will show how anthropology may help to account for the fall of the socialist system and the transformations the fall ensued. The course will shed light on the construction of the Eastern-Western Europe boundary in the academic and popular discourse and the similarities and differences across the Eastern European countries. It will help to understand the mechanisms of centrally planned economy and the everyday life under real socialism. It will address issues of “transition” to capitalism and democracy; changes in the intimate family and gender relations; the emergence of “new” social identity movements; new patterns of social stratification and exclusion; the ethnic and religious differences and meaning of nationalism in the post-socialist period. The course will also introduce the theme of transnationalism and external migration taking place throughout the region.

Priority is given to students in social anthropology, sociology and social psychology.

The course will consist of lectures, student presentations and a final essay.