Processes of globalization seemed to feature a North-South Geography. Yet, during the last decades flourishing research has profoundly enriched our understanding of 20th century globalization processes. Research on the global Cold War, and more specifically on connections and encounters between the post-colonial and the socialist worlds has revealed a much more dynamic and complex set of relations and a diversity of globalization projects in competition. How these translate into the 21st century is a topical, yet still poorly understood, question.

As a result, both Eastern Europe and the Global South have been repositioned in narratives of the history globalization. While they seem to share a sense of peripherality, experiences of empire and decolonization, challenges to and alliances with Western globalization projects their relations to each other have been far from equal, harmonious and unambiguous. Yet, the history of these relations beyond the Cold War framework and into an ever more complicated 21st century helps, firstly, to revisit assumptions about what “globalization” is and entails and where its centres and peripheries lie; and, secondly, to more fully grasp the history of the respective world regions, often perceived as marginal in global history. 

The seminar starts with the collapse of empires both in Eastern Europe and the Global South, as in these moments societies in those parts of the world were profoundly challenged (and saw new opportunities) to reposition themselves in the global condition. From there, the seminar traces connections which were forged by actors from Africa, Asia or Latin America with their counterparts in Eastern European during the 20th century to mobilize resources and allies for their respective globalization projects. This will lead us into questions of economic, military, educational, developmental, and cultural cooperation – and the manifold tensions, e.g. with regard to questions of race, rights, and (de)colonization. 

Students will work in research teams studying cross-cutting dimensions, among them: actors and their mobilities; portals of globalization; travelling concepts; legacies. The result of the group work will be presented and discussed in class (poster presentation) and provide the basis for the essay. 

Recommended introductory reading:

 

James Mark/ Paul Bett (eds.): Socialism Goes Global. The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the Age of Decolonisation. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2022. 

James Mark/ Artemy Kalinovsky/ Steffi Marung (eds.), Alternative Globalizations. Eastern Europe and the Postcolonial World, Bloomington: Indiana University Press 2020.

 

Requirements: Portfolio 

- Active participation, which includes the preparation of reading material and the presentation of one text in one session, as well as giving guidance for the respective discussion (15%)

- Active participation in research teams, and presentation of its findings in class (25%), 

- Essay (60%) 


Semester: SoSe 2022