SLAVIC 144: Communism and the Politics of Culture: Czechoslovakia and the Cold War in Eastern Europe

Professor Jonathan Bolton
Tu Th 10:30 am - 11:45 am
Robinson 107
Fall 2026

What was Communism, and how did it shape the intellectual life of East Central Europe after World War II? How do artists and writers counter the ideological pressures of the state? What role, if any, can literature, film, and art play in political liberation? This course will examine the literature and film of Czechoslovakia within the larger context of European history during the Cold War, with a focus on how the intense political pressures of revolution, invasion, and occupation can shape a country’s literature, drama, art, and music.

Starting from the 1948 Communist takeover in Prague, we will learn about the show trials of the 1950s, the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion of 1968, the rise of the Czech "New Wave" in film, the music underground and dissident movement in the 1970s, and the Velvet Revolution, a hallmark of the peaceful overthrow of Communism in Europe in 1989. We will examine institutions of cultural control like censorship and the rise of the opposition publishing networks known as samizdat (and we'll have the opportunity to see and handle authentic examples of samizdat from the collections in Widener Library). This course will introduce you to the history of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, with special attention to key problems in the study of ideology, aesthetics, and politics.

All readings are in English, and no prior knowledge of Czech history or East European history is required. When the course was last taught, it received Q scores of 4.89 for "course overall" and 5.0 for "Instructor overall." 

Here is the full syllabus for fall 2026, which we will discuss briefly at our first meeting on Thursday, September 2 at 10:30 a.m. in Robinson 107. I will be filling out the syllabus on this website as we go, linking relevant readings and providing additional links and information. Please feel free to contact me at jbolton@fas.harvard.edu if you have any questions!

Introduction to the Course

Th, Sept. 2. Communism as Economic Theory, Philosophy of History, and Political System
Reading: *Zdeněk Mlynář, Nightfrost in Prague, 1-23; *George Breslauer, "Marxism; The Vision" and "Leninism: The Instrument," 33-42.

Tu, Sept. 8. Historical Background: The Interwar Republic, the Munich Agreement and WWII
Reading: *Madeline Albright, Prague Winter, 207-228; Heda Margolius Kovály, Under a Cruel Star, 5-104

Culture and Political Repression: Stalinism, 1948-1956

Th, Sept. 10. “Victorious February”: The Communist Take-Over in February 1948
Reading: *William Hitchcock, “Behind the Iron Curtain: Communism in Power, 1945-1953,” 98-125; Josef Škvorecký, “Spectator on a February Night,” 123-164

Tu, Sept. 16. Spectacles of Power: The Show Trials
Reading: Melissa Feinberg, “The Trial of Milada Horáková” from Elusive Equality: Gender, Citizenship, and the Limits of Democracy in Czechoslovakia, 1918-1950 (211-222); Igor Lukes, “The Rudolf Slánský Affair: New Evidence,” 160-187; finish Margolius Kovály, Under a Cruel Star, 105-163
Viewing: A Trial in Prague (dir. Zuzana Justman, 84 min.), available under the "Library Reserves' link to the left
Viewing in class: Archival clips from the Slánský trial

Th, Sept. 18. Socialist Realism, Censorship, and Official Propaganda
Reading: Melissa Feinberg, “Fantastic Truths, Compelling Lies: Radio Free Europe and the Response to the Slánský Trial in Czechoslovakia" (107-125)
Viewing: East Side Story (dir. Dana Ranga, 78 min.), available under the Panopto link to the left
Viewing in class: "They Shall Not Pass," a Czechoslovak Army propaganda short film from the 1950s