CONTENTS: 1 March 8 14.30–16.00 Introduction: cultural and political theories of identity 2 March 8 16.00–17.30 Cultural geographies of East-Central Europe 3 March 8 17.30–19.00 History, memory and forgetting: reworking identities 4 March 29 14.30–16.00 Race and ethnicity: ascribed and adopted identities 5 March 29 16.00–17.30 Nationalism and national minorities 6 March 29 17.30–19.00 Citizenship: exclusion and inclusion 7 April 19 14.30–16.00 Property, personhood, and community: selves and identities 8 April 19 16.00–17.30 Class cultures: vocational identity, flexibility, and mobility 9 April 19 17.30–19.00 Leisure, consumption, and situational identities 10 May 10 14.30–16.00 Gendered and generational identities 11 May 10 16.00–17.30 Rethinking the family: feminism and anti-feminism 12 May 10 17.30–19.00 Religious revival and emerging fundamentalism May 24 14.30–15.00 Final papers due The seminar focuses on the cultural production and reproduction of identities in East-Central Europe, especially after the end of state-socialism, in order to reveal various cultural patterns of continuity and change. The course starts with a thorough overview of theoretical approaches and historical legacies, and continues with the exploration of various forms of identities as they are presented and discussed in empirical case studies and ethnographic accounts. The format of the course is a combination of brief lectures and a controlled discussion of various assigned readings. The students should be prepared to give concise presentations on the readings during the class meetings and carry out brief research tasks between them. The class convenes every third week on Thursdays between 14.30 and 19.00. The assigned readings are available through the university information system (IS MU); however, thorough knowledge of additional literature might be required to complete the research tasks. The main source of case studies and ethnographic accounts are the following books: Katherine Verdery, What Was Socialism and What Comes Next (Princeton University Press, 1996); David D. Laitin, Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad (Cornell University Press, 1998); Michael Burawoy and Katherine Verdery, eds., Uncertain Transition (Rowman and Littlefield, 1999); and Daphne Berdahl, Matti Bunzl, and Martha Lampland, eds., Altering States (University of Michigan Press, 2000). The course grades will be based on written work and class attendance. Active participation in the class discussions and in-class presentations based on the course readings will account for 30 percent; the timely completion of a brief research assignment for 30 percent; and the final written examination on May 10 for 40 percent of the grade. Students taking the course for 15 ECTS will also have to submit a final essay paper in an electronic format; the deadline is at noon on Thursday, May 24. Teacher: Miklós Vörös Contact email address: miklos.voros@gmail.com