20th-Century Personality Cults

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

Delivered at:

Department of History

Course type:

Elective course

When:

2 year, 3 module

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The objective of the course is to introduce the issue of the personality cults of political leaders, on the basis of the materials of the 20th century . The cult of personality is a global phenomenon that allows one to look at the particularities of the political development of different societies in terms of their inter-connectedness, inter-contextuality, similarity and distinction. The course will examine the practices of sacralization of widely known leaders such as Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler and Mao Zedong, as well as less famous ones such as Alexander Kerensky, Nelson Mandela and Evita Perón. The concept of the ;modern cult of personality, introduced by Jan Plamper, will be the object of the discussion in the class. By analysing both sources (narrative and visual) and current historiography, participants will be able to address the question of the multiplicity of the historical contexts of contemporary cults of personality.