Week 6: Choices, Possibilities, and Concepts of Freedom
Section 1: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 5-8 pm

Blind Chance, Poland, 1981, Dir.: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Presented by Kevin Deegan-Krause

Blind Chance (Przypadek) tells the story of an earnest young Polish medical student, Witek, who, facing an unclear future, chooses to put his education on hold. What happens next emphasizes the role of chance and choice and follows the lives of an idealistic Communist Party member, an ambivalent dissident and a devoted healer and husband, all of whom bear some resemblance to Witek himself.

Dr. Kevin Deegan-Krause is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wayne State University. His research in comparative politics emphasizes central European politics, democracy, political institutions and nationalism. His book, Elected Affinities: Democracy and Party Competition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic (2006), received the WSU Board of Governors Recognition Award in 2007. He has published articles in a number of journals including Party Politics, the Journal of Democracy, East European Politics and Societies, and Communist and Post-Communist Studies. His on-going research concerns the origins and consequences of political divides in new democracies, including an edited-volume project on the structure of political space in Europe, and a research project on populism. Professor Deegan-Krause received the WSU President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2005.