The course provides a kind of continuation of last year’s very successful "Access to Information" by focusing on the documentary heritage of political parties. Preserving and making such documentation available for research is part of the historical process of opening up the past and also understanding recent history, especially the political character of the one party system.
The course offers the possibility for participants to become acquainted with the existing legislative models, including both West and Central-East European solutions, which can guarantee the distinction between public and private information generated by political parties. It also examines the pitfalls of archival legislation by confronting legislative measures and practical archival considerations.
Besides the theoretical framework, the course wants to narrow the topic to the archives of the former communist parties because the use and interpretation of such resources still requires careful consideration. It should be noted that source criticism cannot stop at the national level but the "network" of Communist Parties", taking into consideration the relations with western communist movements as well, has to be assessed as a whole.
The structural analysis of the archives of the Communist Parties and organisations could help in developing a new approach to understanding the operational rules that secured the leadership of the CPSU within the world communist movement from the 1920s on and within the "Socialist block" from 1945 to 1989.
Without being too ambitious the course only covers the archival problems relating to party archives rather than studying the history of communism and Communist Parties.
Course level, target audience
Due to its interdisciplinary nature the course is not strictly designed for archivists. It does not require advanced knowledge of archival administration because its focus more on the content of the archives, and how historical research can rely on such documentation. Historians, political scientists, librarians and journalists are also expected to consider party archives in the broader context of politics and history.
Completed CEU Summer University Application Form
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