Courses

This course introduces students to some of the major themes of postwar reconstruction in Europe, between the end of World War II to the advent of the Cold War. This is a crucial turning-point in contemporary European history, yet its nature varies dramatically in different parts of Europe, while it also leads to a fundamental restructuring of the political, social and economic, and cultural relations in Europe as a whole. This period is therefore studied from a comparative as well as a transnational perspective. Students will acquire insight in the main historical events and processes, the historiographical debates on this period, relevant primary sources, and methods for studying contemporary history.