Event

Thursday 06 March, 17:30

The Metamorphoses of Communism

Communism did not disappear after the Soviet bloc was dismantled, but rather acquired different aspects and nuances according to the historical, geographical and political circumstances of each country that had been subject to its influence.The aim of this conference is to analyse the legacy of communism and its transformations around the world almost twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This debate will address the influence of communist ideology on the political, social and cultural life of countries that lived through it, whether directly or indirectly. The debate will be conceptually structured according to the different contexts in which these changes have occurred, analysing the satellite countries of the former Soviet Union, those states that are currently governed by communist regimes (especially China and Cuba), and those regions which, without having experienced communist rule, have still received considerable communist influence (Western Europe and Latin America).

 

6 March

5.30 pm Welcome and introduction given by:Jacek Purchla, Director of the International Culture Centre of Krakow Josep Ramoneda, Director of the CCCB

6 pm Opening speech ·“Within the Revolution, Nothing ”Emilio de Ípola, Argentine philosopher and sociologist, Professor at the University of Buenos Aires.

7 pm The Landscape after Communism: The Former Soviet Bloc “The Legacy of Communism in Political Culture” Magdalena Vasaryova, Member of Parliament of the Slovak Republic (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party – SDKU-DS) ·“Communism’s Impact on the Culture and Religion of Post-Communist Europe”Stanislaw Obirek, Polish philosopher and theologian, Professor at the University of Lodz, former Jesuit priest.


7 March

5.30 pm The Communist World Today·“China between Mao and the Market: Problems and Paradoxes of Chinese Communism” Harriet Evans, researcher in Asian Studies at the University of Westminster ·“Kafka in the Tropics: The Metamorphoses of Communism in Cuba: Republic, Revolution and Dissidence”Iván de la Nuez, essayist of Cuban origin, author of Fantasía roja (Ed. Debate, 2006)
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7 pm Communism In Partibus Infidelium: Western Europe and Latin America ·“The Political Left in Latin America” Teodoro Petkoff, Minister of Planning in the government of Venezuela from 1996 to 1999, Director of the newspaper “TalCual” (Caracas), author de Hugo Chávez, tal cual (Ed. Los libros de la catarata, 2002)·“Western Intellectuals and Communism” Jorge Semprún, writer.

Credits

Organizer
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, Krakow International Culture Institute