The forthcoming issue of History of Communism in Europe will focus on the Avatars of Intellectuals under Communism. The very relationship between intellectuals and the totalitarian State is of outstanding importance for anyone willing to understand the fate of academia and culture under Communism. The circulation of ideas in the public space and its subsequent shaping of the political and social bodies depended upon the aforementioned interaction. The Communist states witnessed very diverse reactions towards the ideological monopoly of the Party: outspoken resistance, quiet refusal, forced exile, passive collaboration, vocal support, and many other intermediary approaches. The next issue of the HCE welcomes original contributions on this topic. Ideally, the authors should address the role of the intelligentsia from a comparative viewpoint. The editors encourage young scholars, in particular, to assess the recent historical, cultural, and political findings within the former Soviet Bloc: Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Poland, former GDR or various states of the former USSR or Yugoslavia. Equally, we welcome any contribution that describes the attitude of Western intelligentsia towards the birth, the growth, and the historical decay of the Communist utopia.
Senior scholars, researchers and PhD students are invited to submit their proposals on one of the following topics: Intellectuals and the Communist Party: doctrinaires, utopian revolutionaries, critiques, and dissident thinkers. Dissidence vs. collaboration. Case-studies and overarching narratives about the relationship between intellectuals and the Party nomenclatura and the Secret Police. In particular, we welcome discussions prompted by the recent archival revelations (responses formulated under pressure in terms of personal voice, voluntary betrayal, blind loyalty, etc) Eastern European intellectuals and the civil society. How was the 1989 event prefigured by the cultural circles of Poland, Hungary, Russia, and Czech Republic? Which were the first nuclei of civil society under communism and how did the Eastern European intellectuals coined the concept of civil society along their pursuits of an alternative political praxis? The alternative culture vs. official culture under Communism (this may also include reference to recordings and archival documents about the activities of various literary and artistic bodies).
Scholarship Application Deadline: 1 May 2011
Further Scholarship Information and Application
