RES 295-01 - Special Topic: Defeat Evil with Good: Solidarity’s Non-violent Struggle, 1980-1989

2 credits (Spring)

Poland was the first country in the Soviet block to successfully emancipate itself from oppression, paving the way for others. A result of a long non-violent struggle unlike any other, it involved the world’s biggest trade union ever, the ten million-strong Solidarnosc, a tradition of intellectual dissidence, and a Catholic church embodying both nationalist ideals and an almost Socialist social teaching. They joined forces against a morally and politcally bankrupt Communist party, which still represented one third of the country’s population, and a military revered yet officially subordinated to the interests the Soviet Union, which was itself in terminal decline. The course will examine the principle actors and their interests and goals, the great strike of 1980, the military coup of 1981 and the round table compromise of 1989, as well as the practicalities of resistence and oppression, the main ideological debates, the impact of the conflict on culture, society and everyday life, and the long-term consequences of the struggle.

Prerequisite: None.
Note: Dates: April 4 to May 11. Half-semester deadlines apply.
Instructor: Staff