Course Title: Back to the Future? The US-Soviet Cold War
Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Brooks, PhD
Brought to you by Odyssey
March 26, 2025 - April 30, 2025 (6 Sessions)
Wednesday, 6:00PM ET - 7:00PM ET
Virtual via Zoom
Course Description: This course explores the clash between the two dominant forms of political and social organization from the end of WWII to the fall of Communism: the bureaucratic state order established by Lenin and Stalin, and the democracies of the US, Europe, and the post-colonial states. Students will consider six aspects of the conflict: 1) the totalitarian paradigm of Lenin and Stalin; 2) the western response under Truman and Eisenhower; 3) Khrushchev’s thaw and project of a new post-Stalinist Russia; 4) the domestic and ideological foundations of the Cold War; 5) the nuclear standoff and the space race after Khrushchev; and 6) the collapse of communism and the legacy of the Cold War in today’s geopolitics.
The course will focus on ideas and ideologies as well as personalities. Students will read and discuss three books by leading historians of the Cold War. Students will also consider some contemporary news reports from the press and TV available online. We will discuss several films, including the Fall of Berlin (1950). No written work is required, and we will have ample opportunity to discuss the assigned materials.
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