The course focuses on the complexity of social change East Central Europe in the period between the fall of Communism and the accession to the European Union. It emphasizes the mutual interrelations between social, economic, and political developments. Special attention is paid to the external influence of the EU accession on these processes. The course is organized into four thematic parts. The first part covers socioeconomic changes in the region, including changes in the national economy, social structure, poverty distribution, social mobility, education, and housing. The second part deals with voting behavior, the development of national party systems, and issues of local democracy in relation to region’s history, cultural diversity, development of social structures, ethnic relations, and electoral laws. In the third part, gender issues and value changes are discussed. In the concluding part, the hypothesis of East - West convergence in political, social, economic, and regional development is tested. An important part of the course consists in a project, which is conducted by students on topics related to the course. The course consists of in-class lectures, reading (30 to 40 pages weekly), presentations and discussions. Course requirements: active class participation, midterm and final test, oral presentation of project, essay (10 to 20 pages) based on project. Class meets twice a week for total of 3 class hours per week.

Tomáš Kostelecký

Dr. Tomáš Kostelecký, Senior Researcher, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Science studied demography and geography at the Charles University in Prague, where he also received his Ph.D. in Social and Economic Geography. He was awarded several renowned fellowships (Residential Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C.; Marie-Curie Intraeuropean Fellowship, SciencePo, Bordeaux, France; Fulbright-Masaryk Fellowship, USC, Los Angeles) to carry out his research projects most of which are by their nature interdisciplinary. He lectured at the Charles University and served as a Research Director at the Prague branch of the Gallup Organization. His main research interest covers issues of social change, electoral behavior, comparative party systems, and the development of metropolitan areas.