European Cultures studies at the University of Wrocław is the best choice!

Obligatory subjects:

Historian as a priest or acraftsman? Historiography in Europe through centuries

Historiography in Europe through centuries Program Content The classes concern the key issues of the methodology of history and the history of historiography. Among undertaken topics should be mentioned: Antic beginnings of European historiography: theology, leisure and the past, diversity of Medieval approach toward History, Global and (early) national histories – Middle Ages and Renaissance. Between Rome and Wittenberg, Historical visions of Europe in Early Modern Times, Regions and Kingdoms as Narrative Frameworks of Modern European Historiography? The 18th c. Breakdown of Histriographical Tradition? Philosophy and History – Systems and Historical Laws, critical historiography of the 19th c. period of Europe’s disruption?

Nations and histories in the 20th c. Post-modern or Nonclassical Historiography – Did or Does it Exist? Writing History Today – Why

Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic age: the first Western globalism

Presentation of the great political and cultural breakthrough in the ancient world made as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great and political, economic, religious and cultural changes in the Mediterranean and Central Asia in the Hellenistic era.

The Origins of Theatre

The lecture will be devoted to discuss following problems: the
Root Techniques Today: Bali and Tibet descend of the performer, Paleoperformances, Theatre of the Text, neurology of the performer, Dance as a source of the Ancient Greek Theatre, the Ancient Roman Theatre, the
Second Birth of European Theatre in Medieval Monasteries, the Roots of the Elizabethan Theatre, back to the Sources: Performative Turn in the Modern Theatre

Introduction to Methodology of Social Research

The objective of the course is to introduce undergraduate-level students to the most common approaches to social research so that they are able to identify basic methodological approaches and describe the general role of methods in building sociological knowledge. Program contains following problems:
the basics of research design, paradigms in qualitative and quantitative research, conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement in social science, sampling in quantitative research, introduction to experiments, survey design, and data collection techniques and measurement tools in quantitative
research, coding the data in qualitative/quantitative research, introduction to qualitative/quantitative data analyses, qualitative research design: sampling and data collection, qualitative/quantitative research: technical and methodological/paradigmatic differences

Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

The course will introduce to the core concepts, theories and methodologies of socio-cultural anthropology; will explore classic and contemporary issues in the anthropological study; will help students to understand not only other cultures but also their own.

Program contains the following problems definition of socio-cultural anthropology? Short history of disciplinem, methods in socio-cultural anthropology, research areas of socio-cultural anthropology, looking at the self: defamiliarisation, social organization: kinship, marriage and family in classic and contemporary studies, magic and religion – meaning in traditional and modern societies, rituals and myths – meaning in traditional and modern societies, challenges of the modern world: culture assimilation, acculturation, globalization, race and ethnicity, the cultural construction of identity.

Introduction to the History of European Art

The aim of the course is to present basic terminologyconcerning European iconography, architecture, painting,sculpture as well as methods of description of works of arts. Some classes are organised in monuments, museums and galleries of Wrocław.

Optional subjects

Warfare and Society in Ancient Greece and Rome

Class will deal with the fundamental problems of the history of wars and the military of the ancient world, with particular emphasis on Greece and Rome. Students are introduced to the fundamental aspects of Greek and Roman military history and become familiar with the specifics of the sources used in the study of them. Classes/lectures deal especially with the social aspects of military science and the influence of the military on ancient civilization as a whole.

Health and Illness in Europe through centuries

The aim of the course is to present the participants conditions (both biological, medical and epidemiological as well as cultural and religious) affecting the health of the European population and the perception of health and its value. By presenting the factors determining the health and living conditions of the population and the process of their change, the biological dimension of the existence of various social strata in Europe from antiquity to the 19th century will be illustrated. On the other hand, presenting the way of perceiving life, health and body in a broad cultural context will make it possible to observe and understand the changes taking place in the mentality of the discussed epochs. During the course, changes in views on the value and meaning of life, health and disease in the period from antiquity to the 19th century will be outlined. Participants will be familiarized with the most important biological, sanitary and epidemiological conditions affecting the health of the society. The views on the source of good health and the cause of diseases prevailing in past eras will be presented, as well as sanitary and epidemiological recommendations of the time. Participants of the classes will gain knowledge and skills that will give them the opportunity to compare biological and medical factors as well as cultural and religious factors affecting the perception of the meaning of life, health and disease in the past.

Obligatory subjects:

Introduction to Polish History and Culture

The classes present the essential elements of the history and culture of the Polish state, from the baptism of Poland to the present, with an emphasis on turning points in the development of Polish statehood, starting from the Middle Ages, multiculturalism and multinational character, as well as religious diversity of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the fight for independence and the formation of a modern society Polish in the nineteenth century. A separate place is occupied by issues related to the emergence and development of the Second Polish Republic and the fate of Polish society during World War II and the communist period. Classes include historiographic discussions on various problems of Polish history.

Introduction to Intercultural Education

The course is designed to explore racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic groups to gain an understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion in communities and education. Program contains among others: theories of multiculturalism, postcolonial legacies, the Conservative and Liberal Critiques of Multiculturalism, national models of citizenship across the West, societal complexities: individuals, families, communities, education settings: education, competition, and cultural development, oppressions and intersectionality, impacts on education, culturally responsive pedagogy: linguistic diversity, ethnic diversity

Introduction to Classical Archeology

Course objective: familiarizing participants with the most important works of ancient Greek and Roman art. Program content:

Periodization of Greek and Roman Art

Greek Art of Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods

Roman republican and Imperial Art

“The Polish School of Animation. History, meaning and impact of the Polish animated film from Lucanus Cervus to Tango and beyond. “

The main course objective is to gain knowledge about Polish animation as a genre, technique and specific style created by Polish artists, with particular emphasis on the Polish School of Animation and its presence and influence on the world animated film. The subject of analysis will be the work of artists such as Władysław Starewicz, Franciszka & Stefan Themmerson, Włodzimierz Haupe & Halina Bielińska, Stefan Schabenbeck, Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, Mirosław Kijowicz, Ryszard Czekała, Witold Giersz, Daniel Szczechura, Zofia Oraczewska, Julian Józef Antoniszczak, Jerzy Kalina, Jerzy Kucia, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Piotr Dumała, Marek Skrobecki, Tomasz Bagiński, Dorota Kobiela and others.

Methodology of Art History

The main objective is the understanding of the stories and significance of art through the lenses art methodologies. The following methodologies will be discussed during lecture: formalism, iconography, biography, critical theory, feminism, etc.

Obligatory subjects:

Postsocialism in Central/Eastern Europe

The course aims to present the transitional process in Poland and other Central/Eastern European countries after 1989. In particular, it discusses specificity of anthropological analytical perspectives as compared to other social sciences and humanities which have attempted to theorize “postsocialism” in the region. Furthermore, it shows how different people, differently situated within different social structures negotiated “postsocialism” in their everyday discourses and practices, and, effectively, how they destabilized homogenizing concepts and ideas of both popular and scholarly narratives.

Multicultural Education: Theory and Practice

The course is designed to contextualize multicultural perspectives in society and their impact on the education system. Program contains the following problems: roots of Cultural Diversity in Europe, perspectives on culture, gender, class, and exceptionalities, teaching in a multicultural society, making sense of education for diversities: criticality, reflexivity and language, inequality, religious diversity and the public school systems in Europe.

History of Nationalism

This course addresses the origins and concepts of nationalism as an intellectual project and ideology. During the seminar we will consider the relation between nationalism and selected issues, such as: propaganda, violence, religion gender etc. from a transnational and comparative perspective. Case studies will cover different examples of development of nationalism in particular countries as well as among stateless nations. There will be discussed among others the differences between various types and definitions of nationalism, as well as fascism and Nazism; the basic aspects of nationalism, nation and national identity; the development of nationalism from the 19th to the 21st century; different forms of nationalism across Europe.

Work of Art and its Context

This course aims at providing students with an in-depth insight to the most important works, processes and phenomena observed in Medieval and Early Modern European art. The course will adopt the perspective of the artwork – its characteristics, the process of its creation, its materiality, formal and stylistic features, agency, functioning in space and in changing social and historical contexts, as well as its other, including non-artistic functions (e.g. as a historical source, an instrument of propaganda, emancipation, manifestation of power). In order to capture, most effectively, the complexity and diversity of objects being qualified as works of art, the history of painting, architecture, sculpture, printmaking, arts and crafts and urban planning will be addressed in their broadest sense. It will be accompanied by a methodological reflection, taking into account the range of methods used in material heritage research since the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on the most recent ones (postmodernism, poststructuralism, genders studies, posthumanities). What is more, the course will familiarise students with archival, bibliographic and art historical resources for Medieval and Early Modern European art.

Cross-cultural psychology

During lectures the following problems will be discusses: cross-cultural psychology – concepts, terms, phenomena, understanding of human behaviour in the light of cultural and evolutionary approaches, evolutionary psychology of emotions, cross-cultural psychology of language and gossip, ‘Mating mind’ strategies and its cultural extensions, cross- cultural Psychology of religion and morality Cross-cultural Psychology of art and aesthetics

Optional subjects:

Warfare and Society in modern European History

The lecture is aimed to familiarize students with the correlation between social structures and the organization of the army throughout history, at indication of the role of the army in different communities, familiarizing the student with the evolution of the military state and fundamentals of military sociology. The impact of technical changes on the organization of the army and the conduct of war will be discussed.

European History of Travelling

The lectures will contain among others: presentation of the most important motives and ways of traveling in European history from ancient times to the 20th century; illustration of some changes in the functioning of transport and the function of travel in society; indication of the impact of technological and social changes on the range, frequency and manner of travel; discussion of the most important problems related to the topic according to the state of the latest historical research.

Private life in Ancient Greece and Rome

The lectures will be devoted on private life in Greek and Roman antiquity and in late antiquity (early Christianity). They will be focused on the following issues, sorted “chronologically” according to the successive stages of human life: childhood, adolescence, intimacy, family and marriage, the status of women, old age and dying of women and men, as well as analyzes of those categories of sources that are relevant in this regard. most helpful. As part of them, fundamental aspects of this aspect of the history of ancient civilization will be discussed, especially in the field of the history of customs and mentality of the people of antiquity.

Women in the European Public Sphere (18th-20th centuries)

The lectures will be focused on problems of women in Early Modern (Western) Europe – legal position and social practice, women in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – legal position and social practice, women in the Polish-Lithuanian Political Life, women in Old Regime France, women of the French Revolution, women in British Society and the Enlightenment, Elite Women in British Politics of the 18th Century, ‘Woman question’ in France 1789-1849 –Conceptions, Discourse, Reality, Polish Women under Foreign Governance 1795-1914, British Women’s Militancy 1800-1866, ‘Woman Question’ in France 1850-1914 – Conceptions, Discourse, Reality “Deeds, not words” – suffrage movement in Britain 1866-1914 and representations of the suffragettes in movies.

Obligatory subjects:

BA Seminar

BA seminar will lasts 3 semesters and will be conducted by
tutor.

Qualitative methods in social sciences

This course is designed to provide knowledge and develop skills regarding qualitative research methods, with a focus on research in multicultural contexts. Detailed introduction to five key qualitative strategies, i.e. ethnography, case study, phenomenology, biographical-narrative method, and grounded theory will be the core of the course developments. It will also consider qualitative strategies for validity and reliability, and the relevance of standard evaluative criteria.

Great Discoveries of Modern Archeology

It frame of the lectures there will presented and discuss the top archeological discoveries from the fifteenth century to the present times in the area of Europe, Africa and Asia

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th- 18th centuries – culture and society

The lectures will discuss the most important issues related to the everyday life of kings, noble and bourgeois elites of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16th to the 18th century. Therefore, the following content will be discussed at the seminar: funerals of the Polish-Lithuanian state elites, ceremonial entries of the Polish elite, memoirs, diaries, Jews in the Republic of Poland, clothing of the Polish-Lithuanian state elite, culinary preferences in the 16th-18th century Poland, witch hunts in early modern Poland, presentation of the elite in foreign-language relations, magic places in modern Poland, tradition and culture, folklore, legends,
journeys of the Commonwealth’s elites in the 16th-18th centuries, the role of women in the Polish-Lithuanian state.

Polish Cinema–History, Culture, Industry

Proposed course will offer an introduction to Polish cinema and present it within the cultural and industrial context. We will cover all of the most important phenomena in the history of Polish film: from silent patriotic epics and romantic comedies of the pre-WW2 period, through the emergence of
crucial currents such as Polish Film School and the Cinema of Moral Anxiety, to contemporary arthouse favorites, including Ida and The Lure, as well as blockbusters in the vein of Letters to Santa. The course will focus on films
directed by, inter alia, Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Roman Polański, Krzysztof Zanussi, Wojciech Jerzy Has and Paweł Pawlikowski.

“Performativity of art & science. History of performance art and its liaisons with new technologies in US and Europe in the Cold War era.”

The main course objective is to gain knowledge about common paths of art & science and its aesthetics of performativity. Analyzed case studies will be considered in the context of history of performance art and its liaisons with new technologies in US and Europe in the Cold War era. Program contains: collaboration between art and technology, artists and scientists, academia and market industry in such projects as Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) and 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering , the Art and Technology Project at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (A&T), the Artist Placement Group (APG) and Cybernetic Serendipity in the United Kingdom.

Optional subjects:

Everyday life in Greek and Roman Antiquity

The course schedule will cover the main aspects of Greco- Roman daily life, starting with basic urban infrastructure and housing. Then we’ll cover some key topics: public spectacles (gladiator shows, arena hunts, and chariot races); baths (therms) and baths; taverns and food; latrines, toilets and personal hygiene. While the main focus will be on daily life in Greece and Rome, the main categories of our sources on ancient history will also be covered, including literary and sub-literary (epigraphic, papyrus) sources. The basic texts will be discussed separately.

Shared or Separate Past(s)? Medieval East Central Europe

In this class we explore the medieval history of Central Europe. We discuss the very definition of the region. We read excerpts from source texts and try to look at the processes in Central Europe in a broader European and global context. We discuss legends and historical myths, diverse religions, great battles, the Northern Crusades, heresies and many more. We consider what Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Lithuania, Rus or Serbia (i.a.) have in common in historical and cultural terms, as well as what constitutes the unique features of their history

Communication strategies and means of persuasion in modern era. Case: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Course objective:
The aim of the course is to present social communication as an important factor shaping the cultural space as well as social customs and attitudes. Methods of communication will be presented, the most important technological conditions affecting the range and possibilities of communication, communication strategies adopted by the elite, as well as the most common methods of self-promotion and persuasion. Program contains presentation of the most important factors influencing the ways of communicating content in modern society, with particular emphasis on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, illustration of the most important vectors of changes in the functioning of social communication, indication of the impact of technological changes and the promotion of reading skills on the range and manner of communicating content.

Work of Art in Period of Transition. Art History around 1900 in Central Europe

During the lectures will be discussed the phenomena of art at the turn of centuries, especially in field of painting, including academism, impressionism etc.

Memory studies – history and practice

Familiarizing students with the history of research on collective memory; basic terms and theories related to collective memory; introducing the tasks and specificity of anthropology of memory. To acquaint students with the ways of using the notion of collective memory on the ground of historical, sociological, anthropological, literary studies, in psychology. Using knowledge of collective memory management processes in public activities, conducting awareness activities, identity activities, using memorial techniques.

Work of Art in the Digital Era

The aim of the course is to introduce the relationships that exists between contemporary art and digital media. These issues will be placed in the broader historical and socio- economic context of the development of the new digital age and the increasingly rapid development of artificial intelligence and its application to the creation of art and design works. Program contain introduction to digital art and new media, the history of digital art, digitization of art, digital performing arts, interactive art, digital sound art, generative and algorithmic art, art and digital games, digital art and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and art, art in the age of social media, digital art and the creative industries, digital preservation and archiving of art, digital presentation and collecting of art, digital art and the future.

Obligatory subjects:

Intercultural communication

The course is designed to explore cultural self-awareness, other cultural awareness, and the dynamics that arise in interactions between the two, to understand how communication processes differ among cultures, i.e., in Western – Eastern cultures, etc. , to identify challenges that arise from these differences in intercultural interactions and learn ways to creatively address them.
The program includes some problems concerning:
intercultural communication – concepts, terms, phenomena (types of intercultural communication), communication as a process, definition of intercultural communication
S. Huntington’s concept of the clash of civilizations, the theory of hidden dimensions of culture by G. and G. Hofstede and many others.

Poland in the in the Era of Partitions (1772-1918)

The lectures will provide the knowledge on the history of Poland from WWI till the end of WWII against the background of the situation in East Central Europe. The lectures will be focused on the following matters the way to collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish lands after 3rd partition, Polish Legions in Italy, We and Napoleon, Duchy of Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland, Polish Risings, Organic work, Industralization and peasant question in the Polish lands, Germanization and Russification, Galician autonomy, Polish orientations before WWI

Europe and the United States until WWII

Acquainting students with the main courses of cultural, social and political relationship between Europe and the United States, their cultural communities and distinctions, training the ability to understand the transatlantic cultural, social and political dynamics, developing skills to define the European – U.S. common origins while at the same time to indicate divergencies in matters of culture, society, economy and politics. Among topics there are: historical development of cultural, social and political relationship between Europe and the United States since the colonial period until 1945, European origins of puritan ethic in America, transatlantic migrations, European perceptions of American society and culture in the 19th century, American social and political culture and its impact on the transatlantic relations until the Second World War, European cultural and political influence in the United States, isolationism and internationalism in American political tradition, social darwinism in the United States, European dimension of American social and cultural reforms in the 19th century and many others.

Polish-Jewish relations in the 20th century

The lectures will be focused on Polish-Jewish relations in the pre-war and post-war times. Much attention will be paid to the activities of the communist authorities, the assimilation of Jews, emigration and the remaining Jews in Poland

East Central Europe under the Soviet Domination (1945-1989)

After World War II, the societies of Eastern and Central Europe experienced Soviet political domination and the rule of communist parties. Classes focus on comparing the ideological influence of communism in the so-called “Soviet Bloc” from 1945 to 1989 and indicating the political, social and economic changes in these countries at that time. The course also discuss the attitude of societies towards the imposed communist system with an emphasis on social resistance efforts against communists in East Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia in 1953, Hungary and Poland in 1956, Prague Spring 1968, Poland 1968, 1970, 1976 and during the “Solidarity” period. The problem of the reasons for the decline and collapse of the communist system in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and its impact on the development of this region after the “Autumn of Nations” in 1989 is also analyzed.

Optional subjects:

History of Contemporary Art

Lectures cover two different periods of time – a/ the post-war period and modernity, b/ contemporaneity. They contain introductory remarks on Polish visual art, problems such as why the history of the former eastern bloc is extremely heterogeneous and it cannot be perceived as a homogenous whole? It would be discussed performans’ tradition in Wroclaw: how to make funny art out of nothing, Group of Krakow and Kantor’s “The Dead Class”, he small boy from the paintings by Andrzej Wróblewski – a victim or a revolutionary? Łódź – Muzeum Sztuki and its tradition (Strzemiński and Kobro), Szapocznikow and Abakanowicz – two very different female sculptors, neo-avant garde practices of the 70’s in Poland (i.a. Natalia LL, KwieKulik, Robakowski), Edward Dwurnik and the paradoxes of tradition: how to be progressive and traditional at the same time, nonchalantly appropriating the socialist culture, contemporary Polish artists adopting strategies of the 70’s and 80’s (Kulik, Uklański, Dawicki) and other topic.

East Central Europe in the Time of Empires and in the Era of World Wars (1815- 1945)

The seminar will present expanding knowledge on the history of East Central Europe from the time of Congress of Vienna order till the end of the Second World War. The following problems will be discussed: Congress of Vienna and new order, Spring of Nations in East Central Europe, concert of (three) empires, nationalism, industrialization and social changes, peasant question in East Central Europe, Eastern front during WWI, Revolution(s) in Russia, German hegemony and collapse, New states building, Conflicts between new states, The problem of violence in new East Central Europe, Social order in East Central Europe between the Wars, The economy – from stability to Great Depression, League of Nations and East Central Europe, Political systems
– from democracy to authoritarian regimes, in search of stability in international relations (mutual alliances of collective security), origins of WWII, Hitler-Stalin pact, German and Soviet occupation policy, Eastern front during WWII, beginning of communist East Central Europe.

Anthropology of Europe

The course will present the processes shaping the contemporary ethnic and cultural diversity of Europe; will show selected issues from both traditional cultures and contemporary phenomena emerging in European cultures; will draw attention to the different facets of contemporary
European socio-cultural identity.

Multispecies Studies: Ethics
and Aesthetics

Among educational aims of the course there are: presentation of theoretical/philosophical and empirical/artistic research in multispecies studies, preparation to an interpretation of everyday practices and artistic practices regarding their ethics and aesthetics, implementation of sensitization and storytelling creative techniques

Obligatory subjects:

Poland in the in the Era of World Wars (1914-1945)

In frame of the lecture the knowledge on the history of Poland from WWI till the end of WWII against the background of the situation in East Central Europe will be provided. The following topics will be discussed: reconstruction of the Polish state in autumn 1918, Polish Western Border after WWI, Polish-Soviet War, The Way to May 1926 Coup d’Etat, Poland under Piłsudski, Poland without Piłsudski, Polish Economy between the Wars, National Minorities in Poland 1918-1939, Polish Foreign Policy between the Wars, Polish Issue during WWII, Home Army, Polish government in exile, Warsaw Rising 1944.

Propaganda of the communist regime in Poland (1944-1989)

In frame of the lectures it will be provided the presentation of selected campaigns and propaganda institutions in order to get acquainted with the main content and forms of propaganda of People’s Poland and to develop an independent analysis of a selected propaganda message by students.

“From guerrillas to happenings”. History of the Democratic Opposition in Poland

The topic of the class is the history of the democratic opposition in Poland after World War II. We will begin our discussion of this issue from the summer of 1944 and end in 1989. The subject of our debates will be not only a reflection on the programs and forms of opposition, but above all we will look at the people who created it, the reasons, the circumstances in which they decided to oppose the communist authorities, paying for this, sometimes at a higher price. The class will be complemented by films and a trip to
the exhibition at the Depot History Center.

Selected topics of psychology

The course is designed to provide knowledge on selected psychological theories and research on the field of attitudes toward social inequality, authoritarianism, justice sensitivity, moral emotions, and helping, discuss basic concepts in motivation, volition and self-regulation, analyse some political, social and individual phenomena from psychological perspective, acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that increase psychological competence

Optional subjects:

Polish Theatre

The lecture will focuse on presentation of and discussion on the history of Polish theatre and the most recent performances. Among discussed topics there are: Staropolski Theatre, the Public Stage and the, Enlightenment, Romanticism, Jewish Theatre in Poland, Modernist Theatre,
Avant-Gardes, Political Theatres, Ritual Theatres, Tadeusz Kantor, Jerzy Grotowski, Polish Theatre of Holocaust, Polish Theatre of Transformation,
Theatre and Patriarchy, Women in Theatre.

Americanization and anti- Americanism in Europe after 1945

The classes are aimed at presenting the problem of cultural Americanization in Western Europe since 1945, implemented in various countries (Great Britain, France, West Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece). The second element of the course is an analysis of the causes of anti-Americanism in European democratic countries after World War II. Among discussed problem there is a comparison of these processes in countries behind the Iron Curtain, ruled by communists, on the example of Poland and the Soviet Union.

“Spring will be ours”. Poland in the Era of Communism (1944-1989)

The lectures will be focused on the problems connected with reality of Poland under communist regime in years 1944 till 1989. The attitude of the power center and society will be discussed as well as the main historical events.

Resistance, dissent & opposition in East-Central Europe. History and legacy

The aim of the course is to familiarise students with the specifics of the functioning of the opposition in Central and Eastern Europe under the communist system. Program contains the following topics: Post-war armed resistance, post-war political opposition, role of 1956 as turning point in the history of the opposition, specific of Soviet dissent, post- Helsinki accords opposition (Charter 77, Workers’ Defence Committee etc.), Solidarity movement, opposition in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and GDR in 1980’s, opposition in 1989, most important documents of the opposition movement, legacy of anticommunist opposition in post-1989 East-Central Europe.