University of Illinois
History 301 (LIR, Sociology 301)
Prof. Diane P. Koenker
Spring 2000



Republic of Labor: Workers and Class in the Soviet Union 1917-1945

April 17-19, 2000


I. The USSR as a laboratory of socialism

A. Workers' paradise or workers' prison?
B. Workers' state or workers' state?
C. Chronology of the development of the Soviet experiment: material realities
D. Social classes in the USSR--where do workers fit in?

II. Production

A. Incentive schemes
B. Stakhanovism

III. Politics

A. Role of the Communist party
B. Workplace authority
C. Conflicts and resistance

IV. Culture

A. Whose culture? World? Workers? Socialist? Russian?
B. Culture as investment
C. Culture as consumption

V. What happens to class in the classless society?




Back to Main Page