The End of One's World: Facing Geopolitical Collapse

How do ordinary people navigate the sudden collapse of a political regime? What is it like to wake up in a non-existent country? This course explores the profound, often painful and disorienting, personal and collective experiences of individuals living through seismic geopolitical transformations across the globe with a primary focus on the Eastern Bloc. Engaging with texts that blend personal testimony with historical reflection, this course invites students to critically consider how art and storytelling illuminate the human dimensions of political collapse and the enduring search for meaning in radically transformed worlds.