LARTS 330 — Totalitarianism

3 credits
Fall
Gonzalo Sanchez

Totalitarianism is a political program of absolute control over state, society, and individual life that was born in 20th-century Europe and which led to wars, campaigns of mass extermination, and the subsequent loss of millions of lives. This interdisciplinary Academic Honors course will examine the two most fateful examples of totalitarianism in the 20th century, the Leninist regime in Soviet Russia and Hitler’s Nazism in Germany. Our approach is both historical and theoretical, trying not only to define what sort of “ism” totalitarianism is, but also to determine whether it is a dying phenomenon or still has a future. We will address questions of political ideology, culture, group identity, technology, violence, human rights, resistance, and conformity. Readings—by Hannah Arendt, George Orwell, Arthur Koestler, and other writers—include works of history, political science, social theory, fiction, and memoirs.