Captive University: The Sovietization Of East G... -
In , the more thoroughly "Sovietized" universities remained loyal to the state until its collapse, with students largely absent from the 1989 revolution. Critical Reception
In and Czechoslovakia , students whose institutions remained somewhat autonomous eventually spearheaded major reform movements in 1968 and 1989.
: These early differences in educational control predicted later political movements. Captive University: The Sovietization of East G...
: The regime was less successful. Fear of losing expertise led the Polish Party to keep potentially disloyal "pre-war" professors in their positions, hoping they would train a new, loyal intelligentsia.
Scholars from Central European History and History of Education Quarterly have praised the book as a "pioneering" and "landmark" work for its use of newly opened archives and its complex, nuanced comparative method. Critics from ResearchGate note it provides a unique look at how "affirmative action" was used in Eastern Europe to reshape social classes through education. In , the more thoroughly "Sovietized" universities remained
: Attempts to create a worker-peasant majority in universities largely failed despite Stalinist pressure.
: The degree of successful transformation varied significantly between the three nations. : The regime was less successful
: Connelly emphasizes that a country's pre-war history and its specific experience during World War II heavily influenced how universities resisted or succumbed to Communist control.