Teaching Responsibility

LJMU Schools involved in Delivery:

Humanities and Social Science

Learning Methods

Online
Seminar

Module Offerings

6102HIST-SEP-MTP

Aims

This module introduces students to the political, social and cultural history of international communism during the period of the Communist International (Comintern) (1919-43). The world’s first global political party created with no lesser a goal than the promotion of Bolshevik-style revolution world-wide, the Comintern singularly failed to live up to the high ambitions which its creatoers had envisaged. But why did it fail? What sort of organisation was it? And what attracted thousands of ordinary men and women across the world to join communist parties in the era of the two world wars? Students will examine key debates in the history of international communism, such as the origins of the idea of communism and of revolutionary internationalism; the role of Lenin and the Bolsheviks in the Comintern; the influence of Stalin and the Soviet Union and the place of individual communist parties in their national political contexts.

Learning Outcomes

1.
Demonstrate a firm grasp of the historiography of the period.
2.
Engage in historical debate on a range of topics in the Communist International
3.
Demonstrate high level competence in analysing and evaluating primary source materials.

Module Content

Outline Syllabus:This module will explore the history of international communism in the period c.1917-c.1945 through a series of inter-related case studies. We will examine the life of Comintern officials in Moscow and their relationship with the Soviet government, but we will also move well beyond Russia to explore life in Communist parties around the world – though with a particularly focus upon Europe. In particular we will examine what it meant to be a communist in three political parties, the British Communist Party (CPGB), the French Communist Party (PCF) and the German Communist Party (KPD). In addition the module may examine the role played by Communists in the colonial environment and in China.
Module Overview:
This module introduces students to the political, social and cultural history of international communism during the period of the Communist International (Comintern) (1919-43).
Additional Information:The course will go beyond politics to examine communism as a social and cultural experience. Students will examine diaries, autobiographies and related sources to explore who the communists were and how they made sense of their ideological commitment.

Assessments

Portfolio
Essay