3rd International H/Story Seminar Communism in Historical Fiction

The 3rd International H/Story Seminar Communism in Historical Fiction examines how communism is represented, interpreted, and reimagined in historical fiction and related media.

Key Topics

• Philosophical, political, social, and psychological takes on communism
• Communism versus capitalism
• Memory and nostalgia for communism
• The rise and fall of communism
• Communist and anti-communist heroes
• Communism as oppression and colonisation
• Communism and its wars
• Identity formation under and against communism
• Public and private communism
• Tragic and comic interpretations of communism
• Communism’s values, ideas, and norms
• Legitimisation processes and propaganda
• Crimes of communism
• Historicising communism in narrative form
• Sympathies and fears evoked by communism
• Dismantling communism
• Fighting or embracing communism
• Environmental and industrial attitudes under communism
• Affects, agency, and everyday life
• Uses and abuses of communism in storytelling
• Communism as intellectual revolution, cultural movement, or substitute for religion

Who should Attend

• Scholars of historical fiction
• Researchers of communism and political history
• Experts in literature, film, and media studies
• Academics examining ideology, memory, and representation
• Cultural studies and humanities researchers
• Students exploring narratives of communism and 20th-century history