Third Paper Assignment (Due December 4 in class)

Please choose one of the following topics for your 4-5 page paper:

1. Write a paper describing how laughter and forgetting are, or are not, necessary for understanding East European history in the twentieth century.  Rely on Kundera in order to describe what laughter and forgetting mean (and demonstrate that you have an understanding of what they mean for him); rely on a range of other sources for evidence for your point of view. 

2. “One cannot comprehend the history of Eastern Europe without grasping the notion of litost.”  Agree or disagree with this statement, defending it by specific reference to events that have occurred in Eastern Europe between 1914 and 1989.  Be sure to offer an explanation of what litost is!  Hint: one question you may need to grapple with as you look for evidence is whether litost is primarily a Czech phenomenon.

3. Vaclav Havel writes that the East-European experience under state socialism was a “warning to the West, revealing to it its own latent tendencies” (170).  Why?  Compare and contrast Havel’s view of the relationship between Eastern Europe and the West with that of Drakulić, Kundera, and any other class source you may think relevant.  Which, if any, of their views do you agree with, and why?

4. In his essay “What is Central Europe?” Kundera writes that “Central Europe is not a state: It is a culture or fate” (220).  How does The Book of Laughter and Forgetting portray Central Europe in this way?  Compare and contrast this idea with the perspective on Eastern/Central Europe offered by Berend and/or Wolff at the beginning of the course.

I will accept alternative topics, but they must be cleared with me in advance.

Whichever topic you choose, remember that your essay should demonstrate a close reading of the text(s) under consideration.