POLS215 Политически идеи и практики в новата българска история
Анотация:
COURSE ANNOTATION AND AIMS:
Bulgaria seems to be a country, inhabited by two distinct nations. One of them endeavors to reintegrate in Europe and tries to rely on an authentic national tradition, whereas the other is subconsciously submitted to everything coming from Russia. This paradox is hardly understandable without a deeper knowledge about the basic processes, events, and ideas, which led to the emancipation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule and which shaped the fate of the country to the present day.
The issue becomes even more complicated by the fact that Bulgarian humanities, in general, and Bulgarian historiography, in particular, are still dominated by the passions and phobias, which characterized the Bulgarian society in the early Modern Period. True enough, since the early 19th century Bulgaria was subject to an accelerating Westernization, but this process was put an abrupt end to by the Soviet invasion in September 1944. Stalin and his emissaries had great difficulty in imposing Communism on a predominantly peasant and still patriarchal society, but for the same reasons it is nowadays even more difficult for the Bulgarians to get rid of the Communist legacy. Moreover, the end of Soviet rule apparently revived a number of ancient inferiority complexes. Within this framework the main political philosophies and doctrines of Conservatism, Liberalism, and Socialism took in Bulgaria surprisingly peculiar and distorted forms.
The aim of this course is to provide the students with a deeper knowledge about the historical roots of the post-Communist distortions, as well as of the ideas and reactions in present-day Bulgaria to the challenges of globalization and European integration.
Преподавател(и):
проф. Пламен Цветков д.н.
Описание на курса:
Компетенции:
After completing successfully this course the students will:
1) know:
- more deeply about the place of modern Bulgaria in Europe, as well as about the basic events, which shaped the fate of Bulgaria after the end of Ottoman rule to the present day. ……....
2) be able to:
- re-examine critically the Bulgarian national myths and especially those myths, which are accepted even by scholars as axiomatic truths.
Предварителни изисквания:
English language proficiency; a minimum of knowledge about the history of modern Bulgaria.
Форми на провеждане:
Редовен
Учебни форми:
Лекция
Език, на който се води курса:
Английски
Теми, които се разглеждат в курса:
Course Syllabus:
1.Myths and Realities of the Bulgarian National Revival.
2.The Beginnings of Modern Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Exarchate between Conservatism and National Liberalism.
3.The Constitution of Turnovo as the Triumph of Liberalism.
4.From the Unification to the Proclamation of Independence.
5.Bulgaria during the 1912-1918 Wars.
6.The National Catastrophe Myth and Political Radicalization.
7.The Soviet Threat and the Conservative Response.
8.The Fall of Democracy within European Context.
9.Bulgaria and World War II.
10.Bulgaria as a Soviet Dependency.
11.Bulgaria and the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
12.Conservatism, Liberalism, and Socialism in Post-Communist Bulgaria.
13.Bulgaria, NATO, and European Integration: The End of Transition?
14.Defense of Essays.
15.Test.
Литература по темите:
SUGGESTED READINGS:
Black, C.E. The Establishment of Constitutional Government in Bulgaria (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970)
Crampton, R.J. A Short History of Modern Bulgaria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989)
Crampton, R.J. A Concise History of Bulgaria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
Groueff, St. Crown of Thorns (Lanham, MD: Madison Books, 1987)
Jelavich, B. History of the Balkans. Vols.1-2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983)
Tzvetkov, Pl.S. A History of the Balkans: A Regional Overview from a Bulgarian Perspective. Vols.1-2 (San Francisco: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1993)
Средства за оценяване:
Students should prepare a short essay, not exceeding 100Kb. The essay should be sent to the MOODLE system under this course, where indicated. It should be defended, i.e. students should answer questions, asked by the professor about the essay. There will be also a test at the end of the course. The grade results from the average grade of the defense of the essay and of the test.
Active participation in the forum under this course in the MOOODLE system will give a bonus of one unit, added to the final grade. The forum consists of answering questions, asked by the professor and of debating various subjects, related to the topics of the seminars.
Two students should not write an essay on one and the same subject.
CONTROL DURING THE SEMESTER:
TEST - 35%
PARTICIPATION IN SEMINARS - 10%
ESSAY - 35%