HIS 462SEM—The New Europe: 1945-Present

This seminar examines major themes in European history since the end of World War II. Through extensive readings of primary documents and secondary works, the course will cover the following topics: the transition from war to peace; the consolidation of a democratic West and a socialist East; the rise of mass consumer society in both blocs; the end of the European empires and transition to multilateralism; the challenges of political and ethnic violence; and the rise of a new cultural pluralism across the continent in the early twenty-first century. (EUR)