Course description

The course has two dimensions. On the one hand, it is historical, and so it discusses one historical event, the communist persecution. On the other hand, it is a philosophical course, and so it explores the possibility of forgiveness in the context of historical trauma.

Students are encouraged to consider this course an occasion for searching for the good of this world. While it is about one of the darkest historical period of humankind, it also occasions moments of brightness, which remind us that people who lived through hell on earth may remain victors., As Rady Gyr, one of the poets of Romanian prisons said, “You’re not defeated when you bleed, nor when your eyes are full of tears; the real defeats are giving up your dreams.”

Four sessions:

Session 1

WWII and the emergence of communism in Eastern Europe

The Story of Fr. George Calciu

Session 2

The Seven Homilies to the Youth

Session 3

The Resistance against Communism in the Făgăraș Mountains

Session 4

Suffering, forgiveness and human dignity. One’s responsibility for the other and for the world.

Students will participate in lectures and have various activities. The course would take place indoor.