Students will learn about transnational transformations and processes which take place in Eastern Europe and which link Eastern Europe with the world at large, and will become familiar with theoretical and methodological premises of transnational anthropology.

The course addresses people’s transnational lives in Eastern Europe and beyond in an anthropological perspective. We will draw on transnational anthropology by locating Eastern Europe in the context of global transformation and interconnectedness. We will discuss how everyday transnationalism manifests in labor mobilities, intimate relations, class (in)equalities, religious practices, gender and family-making. We will also deconstruct the Iron Curtain imaginaries and explore transnational linkages of Eastern Europeans already during the Cold War period. Drawing on multi-sited ethnography, we will focus on lived experiences of individuals with Polish and Russian backgrounds. In lectures and seminar, students will engage anthropologically with various types of sources, including people’s narratives, posters, animated movies, and icons.

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

The course consists of attending lectures, reading, and discussing at seminars. Writing an essay will be the primary means of assessment (graded on a scale of 1 to 5).