History 260 Prof.
Diane P. Koenker
Spring 2008 University
of Illinois
MWF, 10-10:50 am Room
328 Armory
A Survey of Russian History from Earliest
Times to the Present
This course will
examine the fundamental periods, questions, and debates in the history of
Russia and its empire, 800-2008.
Its big picture will be the
development of the vast multi-national Russian empire and Soviet Union,
exploring the changing relationship between the central state and a fractious
multiethnic society spread across eleven times zones. Along the way, we will examine key moments in the
development of the empire and explore in some depth how the experiences of
individuals related to the broad historical processes of Russian history. My objectives for the course
are (1) to impart a sense of the key problems of Russian history; (2) to
involve students in the actual practice of history by reading texts, studying images, and
developing their interpretations of the meanings of these texts in their
historical context; (3) to develop skills of reading, listening, viewing,
interpreting, and writing.
Books to buy.
Andreas Kappeler, The Russian Empire (Longman paper)
Serge A. Zenkovsky, ed., Medieval
RussiaÕs Epics, Chronicles, and Tales
(Meridian paper)
Anna Labzina, Days of a Russian
Noblewoman: The Memories of Anna Labzina 1758-1821 (Northern Illinois paper)
Leo Tolstoy, Hadji Murat (paper)
Fyodor Vasilievich Gladkov, Cement (Northwestern paper)
Vladimir Voinovich, The Life and
Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin (Northwestern paper)
A few other assignments will be
accessible electronically.
Monday, January
14 Introduction:
Gleb TravinÕs Bicycle Tour
Wednesday,
January 16 Land
and Peoples of the Eurasian Continent
Read:
Kappeler, 1-12
Friday, January
18 The
Conversion of Rus
Read:
Zenkovsky, 44-73
Monday, January
21 No
class (Martin Luther King birthday)
Wednesday,
January 23 Mongol
Expansion into Muscovy
Read:
Zenkovsky, 167-90 (Igor Tale)
Friday, January
25 The
Rise of Muscovy
Read:
Kappeler, 14-19
Zenkovsky,
101-105, 262-290
Monday, January
28 Ivan
IV and the Expansion of Moscow
Read:
Kappeler, 21-32
Wednesday,
January 30 Time
of Troubles I (1604-1613)
Read:
Zenkovsky, 401-448 (Avvakum)
Friday, February
1 Peter
I, Emperor of Russia
Monday, February
4 Europeanizing
Russia
Read:
Kappeler, 60-108
Wednesday,
February 6 Women,
Gender, and Sex in the Russian Empire
Read: Labzina, 3-64
Friday, February
8 Intellectual
Life and the Rise of the Public Sphere
Read: Labzina, 64-149
Monday, February
11 Crimea
and Expansion to the South
Read:
Kappeler, 44-51
Wednesday,
February 13 The
Colonization of Siberia
Read:
Kappeler, 33-44, 52-56
Friday, February
15 Serfdom
and the Peasant Question
Read:
Kappeler, 114-141
Monday, February
18 The
Decembrist Revolt
Wednesday,
February 20 Official
Nationality and Russian Nationalism
Read: Kappeler, 141-62
Friday, February
22 The
Problem of RussiaÕs Middle Class
Read:
Daniel Kaiser and Gary Marker, eds., Reinterpreting Russian History (Oxford, 1994), chapter 18, Part C:
ÒElite Culture and Educated Society, Nineteenth CenturyÓ (on e-reserve)
Monday, February
25 Emancipation
of the Serfs
Read:
Daniel Kaiser and Gary Marker, eds., Reinterpreting Russian History (Oxford, 1994), chap. 19: ÒThe Great
ReformsÓ (on e-reserve)
Wednesday,
February 27 The
Epoch of Great Reforms
Read: Kappeler, 168-208
Friday, February
29 Expansion
to the Caucasus and Central Asia
Read:
Tolstoy, first half
Monday, March 3 Realism
in Art and Culture (discussion of Tolstoy)
Read:
Tolstoy, second half
Wednesday, March
5 Revolutionary
Movements
Read:
Kappeler, 213-43
Friday, March 7 Modern,
Urban, and Imperial: Russia in 1900
Monday, March 10 Was
the Russian Revolution Inevitable?
Read: Kappeler, 283-323
Wednesday, March
12 The
Nationality Question and the Russian Empire
Read:
Kappeler, 247-79
Friday, March 14 No
class.
Spring Break
Monday, March 24 Revolutionary
1917
Read:
Kappeler, 328-66
Wednesday, March
26 Time
of Troubles II (1918-1921)
Read:
Gladkov, 1-104
Friday, March 28 Hothouse
of Nations: the Multinational USSR
Read: Kappeler, 370-382
Monday, March 31 Cultural
Revolution
Read:
Gladkov,
105-198
Wednesday, April
2 Communism
and Gender (discussion of Gladkov)
Read:
Gladkov, 199-311
Friday, April 4 The
ÒGreat TurnÓ
Read:
ÒSeventeen Moments in Soviet HistoryÓ 1929
http://www.soviethistory.org/)
Liquidation
of the Kulaks as a Class
Text:
Dizzy with Success
Video:
Confiscations in a Cossack Village
Making
Central Asia Soviet:
Context:
Formation of the Uzbek SSR
Video ÒDestroying the Old LifeÓ
Monday, April 7 Stalinism
and Everyday Life
Wednesday, April
9 The
Great Terror
Read:
Voinovich, 1-122 (Part 1)
Friday, April 11 What
Was ÒStalinismÓ?
Read:
Voinovich, 125-212
Monday, April 14 World
War and the Soviet Nation(s)
Read: Voinovich, 213-316
Wednesday, April
16 Stalinism
and Its Critics (discussion of Voinovich)
Friday, April 18 The
USSR in the World
Read:
ÒSeventeen Moments in Soviet HistoryÓ 1947
Read
any three topics for 1947, including supporting documents.
Monday, April 21 Communist
Revivalism in the 1950s
Read:
ÒSeventeen Moments in Soviet HistoryÓ 1961
Anti-Parasite
Law: texts, video, and music
Wednesday, April
23 Prisonhouse
of Nations or Communal Apartment?
Read:
Kappeler, 382-86
Friday, April 25 Reform
and Revolution in the Era of Stagnation
Monday, April 28 The
End of the Soviet Union
Read:
Kappeler, 386-92
Wednesday, April
30 The
Russian Idea: Return of the Empire?
Read:
TodayÕs news
Do all of the
assigned reading and be able to discuss the readings in class. Attendance is expected. If you must miss a class, please let me
know in advance or as soon as possible after the absence.
There are no
exams. Evaluations will be based
on 5 short (5-6 page) papers on each of the following books: the Zenkovsky
reader, Labzina, Tolstoy, Gladkov, and Voinovich. An assigned topic for the paper will be handed out two weeks
before the paper is due. Due dates
are noted in the syllabus. General
guidelines for paper formats will be distributed at the time of the first
assignment.
Extensions for
the written work are possible only with a doctor's or dean's affidavit. Late papers without a valid excuse will
be penalized by .33 of a letter grade for every day late.
Plagiarism is representing
the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic endeavor. Please see the university policy on
plagiarism for definitions and details (http://www.uiuc.edu/admin_manual/code/rule_33.html).
Plagiarism on any written work will be penalized by failure in the course.
I will set aside
several hours a week for meeting with students in this course and I encourage
you to stop by and discuss your readings, your papers, your concerns about the
course. If the scheduled office
hours are inconvenient, please see me to make an appointment for another time.
Diane Koenker
301 Gregory Hall
244-2083
Office hours:
Mondays 11-12,
Wednesdays 2-3
Assignments,
syllabus, additional links and information relating to the course can be found
on the course web site at:
www.econ.uiuc.edu/~koenker/hist260.html