Totalitarianism and totality: Thoughts on the grounds of totalitarianism and totalizing

This course is offered by the Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch and German, as a part of the Doctoral School in the Humanities. The course is offered during the spring semester of 2026 and on campus.

Course content

The course provides an in-depth understanding of thoughts and theories about totalitarianism in literature, film, philosophy, and social and political research from the 1920s to the present day. During the course, we study how totalitarianism as a historical phenomenon (Nazism, Fascism and Communism) can be understood based on totalizing tendencies in modern society, history, thought and art. Emphasis is placed on theoretical discussions about the relationship between totalitarianism and totalizing thinking in the post-war period and until today.

An important starting point is Hannah Arendt's theory in The Origins of Totalitarianism that totalitarianism must be understood based on the way that ideology provides a totalizing explanation of reality that undermines the thinking and experience of the individual. Against this background, we read philosophical, political and aesthetic writings from a wider spectrum of thinkers thematizing the grounds of ideological thinking in the Soviet 20s and 30s, in Nazi Germany and in Fascist Italy and Spain. What were the lessons drawn in a post-war era with its attempt to deal with the legacy of the past and break with it, and what is their relevance for the understanding of our today? In addition to Arendt, we will examine works of Eisenstein, Vertov, Benjamin, Jünger, Adorno, Marcuse, Blanchot, Levinas, Lefort. Important concepts studied are ideology, utopia, totality, political art and resistance.

The course brings together prominent researchers in a series of disciplines (Philosophy, Slavic cultural history, History of Ideas and Political Theory) and we hope to attract doctoral students from several subjects to a fruitful dialogue.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, students are expected to be able to:

account for the relationship between totalitarianism and totalizing modes of thought from the twentieth century onwards;
reflect on the works studied in the course with reference to theories of totalitarianism and totality in the modern era;
critically evaluate theories of totalitarianism, ideology, and totalizing thought;
demonstrate the ability to independently and in depth discuss relevant problems in theories of totalitarianism and totality in the modern era.

Practical information

Mandatory elements

Participation and oral presentation.

Examination

Written assignment.

Instruction

Campus (lecture and seminars)

Course dates:

Period 2

24 March–19 May

Language of instruction:

English

Course plan

Course plan pdf, 113.3 kB. (the document is in Swedish)

Apply to the course

Application

Applications for courses starting November 15 until December 15 2025. Notifications of acceptance are sent out as soon as possible after the final date.

All applications are sent by the supervisor to: doctoralschool@hum.su.se. Official transcript of records, or certificate of registration, verifying the applicant's status as doctoral student should be enclosed with the application.

All courses are free of charge, and they are open to all who are admitted to studies on PhD-level, regardless of faculty or university. Prerequisites and special admittance requirements may apply for some courses.

How do I apply?

The application form (document link below) is used to apply for a place in a course. The supervisor (or equivalent) must support the doctoral student’s application with a motivation as to why the doctoral student should participate in the course. The supervisor also submits the proposal to the following address: doctoralschool@hum.su.se.

Application form for place in a joint faculty course docx, 294.6 kB.

Who can apply?

The Faculty of Humanities’ doctoral students have priority for places, and external doctoral students (from Stockholm University or another university) can be admitted to a course subject to availability. External doctoral students will be registered in Ladok in order to enable the Board to monitor all participants in a course.

Last updated: 2025-12-16

Source: Områdeskansliet för humanvetenskap