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Jump to: [Map Assignment] [Doc Project] [Class Participation] [Midterm Exam] [Paper Assignment] [Final Exam] [Due Dates]

Evaluation:

Map assignment (10%)

In order to understand the history of the former Soviet Union, you need to familiarize yourself with the geography of the region. This assignment is designed to kill two birds with one stone—get you into the library and orient you to Soviet geography. This assignment has two parts: (1) you must locate a contemporary political map (one that shows 15 former Soviet republics and their current capital cities). The more recent the better, but it certainly should not be more than 15 years old. You can go to the library and find a current atlas, or find a map online. For example, the University of Texas has an extensive, publicly accessible online map collection. In the Main Library, there are no doubt atlases in the reference department. If at a total loss, consult a reference librarian at the Reference Desk of the Main Library; (2) DRAW or TRACE the map on a blank piece of paper. Your map must include:

· the names of the 15 republics

· their current capitals

· 3 major rivers: the Don, the Volga, and the Amur

· 2 mountain ranges: the Caucasus and the Urals

· in Russia, you must indicate four major cities in addition to Moscow. One must be St. Petersburg, and at least one must be east of the Ural Mountains.

Somewhere on your map you need to provide a citation for your source. Include either full bibliographic information or the full URL.

No, this is not an art class, but you will be rewarded for taking this assignment seriously and meeting it with enthusiasm. You may not, under any circumstances, merely print off a map and color it in. You MUST draw it freehand or trace it. Give thought to how the map you are using as your source uses color or shading to distinguish between different republics. Think about how capital cities are indicated differently than major cities. Tight spots, like the Caucasus, can be labeled using a key, or a box that “blows up” the image. Take you cues from the map you use as a model in terms of how to best render the maps in a way that is clear and useful. A beautifully executed example is available here. Due September 10, 6 p.m. in class.

Primary document research project (10%)

This project is designed to give you a taste of what professional historians do in archives: encounter documents and try to extract meaning from them. The central questions of the assignment are straightforward: (1) what does document X tell us about Russia during the Revolution or Civil War? And (2) what does document X tell us about the American perspective on these Russian events? Within certain parameters laid out below, you will each find your own primary document X and share it with the class. You must tease out whatever clues there are from a single document in order to tell us as much as possible about what this document has to say to address these two questions. In order to do that, you will need to think about things that range from seemingly simple questions (date, author) to more complicated ones (audience, objective).

The Main Library holds a microfilm collection entitled Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1910-1929 (Main Media Services Film 29467). This collection contains 177 reels, but we will limit our investigation to reels 8-43 and 169-170. In discussion section you will be assigned a specific reel. More than one student may be assigned to any given reel. In order to assure that the full range of relevant reels (which are arranged chronologically) are covered, it is important that you fulfill the project using your assigned reel.

Here’s what you do:

1. Go to media services in the Main Library. It is located on the first floor, near the south circulation desk.

2. Check out your assigned reel from this collection. Some reels are longer than others, but most contain at least 100 pages in documents that range from a single sheet of paper to many pages long. Some documents are merely a couple of sentences. These will not likely be the richest ones to analyze. Look through the reel to find something substantive and informative. Every reel contains some document that is meaty and rich. We assign the reel, but you pick the document and it is up to you to find one that offers fodder for analysis. Don’t be lazy and just pick the first document in the reel. Skim the reel until you find something you can sink your teeth into.

3. Once you’ve chosen the document you want to analyze, scan it as a PDF file.

4. After careful reading, write up a 1 ½ to 2 page, double spaced analysis of (a) what light this document sheds on the Russian Revolution or Civil War and (b) the American perception of and interests in these events. It is by no means required, but you may supplement your reading of this document with additional research if necessary. For example, if the author’s name is given, or if an individual is mentioned in the document, you could try to find out who that person was. You must be sure, however, to maintain your focus on this one primary document and to give proper citation to any additional sources you use to inform your analysis of this source.

5. In discussion section, you turn in your analysis to the TA and will present your document and your analysis to your classmates and the TA.

6. Each discussion section will choose the two documents that the students think was the richest and most interesting of the bunch and that document will be presented during the Thursday evening class. The due date for this assignment is the week of September 14, with presentations to the entire class on the evening of September 17.

Class Participation (15%)

Discussion sections are an important component of this course and active participation is essential not only to your understanding of the material, but to the success of the class. Your discussion section participation will be evaluated based on two component parts:

1. Worth two-thirds of your participation grade (i.e., 10% of your final grade) is your active participation in discussion sections. Each discussion session will begin with a quick, ungraded writing assignment to help you gather your thoughts and jumpstart discussion. On three occasions in the semester, at the TA’s discretion and without advance notice, these writing assignments will be collected and read in order to get a read on how the class is doing with the material. Attendance will be taken at each session and you will be docked 2 points off your final participation grade for each unexcused absence after the first absence. Please use the Registrar’s explanatory form for absence, available here: http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/forms/absence.pdf.

Let us be clear: just showing up will not earn you a good grade—you must come ready to discuss and do so. For the first couple of weeks, I have provided you some study questions for preparing for discussion. After that, you are expected to come with your own questions for discussion to supplement the TA’s agenda.

2. In preparation for your paper assignment (see below) you must turn in a title, thesis statement, and opening paragraph during your discussion section that meets the week of November 12. You must include somewhere, if only in a footnote, which two diaries (minimum) you intend to draw on. This assignment is intended to make sure you are on track for completing the assignment on time and properly. Your submission may not exceed one double-spaced page. You are urged to seek assistance in advance from the History Writing Center.

Midterm Exam (20%)

The in-class midterm is scheduled for OCTOBER 15 and will consist of two parts: (1)short answers and (2)an essay. For the short answer section, you will be asked to identify and give the significance, understood broadly, of five important terms. These terms will come exclusively from the PowerPoint presentations or handouts. They will not be obscure terms, but people, places, and events of historical significance, chosen to test your understanding of the lectures, films, and readings. Each short answer will be worth 10 points (50%) The essay, which will count for 50% of the midterm exam, and will be a single, synthetic question designed to test your ability to integrate the material in an original way. The midterm tests your knowledge of material covered through October 5, including all of the Kollontai book.

Paper Assignment (20%)

We will be reading a book called Intimacy and Terror, an edited collection of Soviet diaries from the 1930s. These diaries cover a broad range of subjects and give voices to members of different classes. Written by both men and women, the diaries explore the personal experiences of workers, peasants, writers, and others against the background of Stalinism. Your assignment is to write a five-page research paper on a topic of your choosing based almost exclusively on these diaries. One of the central problems faced by professional historians is how to understand and interpret the sources that survive. Diaries are one of the richest, and most problematic sources available to historians. For the paper you must try to understand the troubled and glorious years of the Stalin Revolution as seen through the eyes of several witnesses. For historical background to the events discussed, you may use the Suny textbooks. Some possible topics are:

The Terror

collectivization

industrialization

gender roles/relations

popular views of Stalin

Cultural Revolution

Soviet patriotism

daily life (of the peasantry, of the working class, etc.)

Other topics may be chosen ONLY IN CONSULTATION WITH THE PROFESSOR OR THE TA.

Your paper should be typewritten, 5 pages in length, 12-point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. You MUST use at least two of the diaries to explore your theme (and are encouraged to use more if relevant). You are to use no sources other than Suny and the Garros collection, with the emphasis squarely on Garros. Some questions possibly to consider in your analysis are: How do the authors understand the events they are caught up in? How does class shape their outlook on events of the day? Gender? In your conclusion you will want to speak to: How do these diaries shed new light on our understanding of the Stalin era? What are the pitfall and benefits of diaries as an historical source?

Papers will be graded on a variety of factors. Of primary importance is the clear presentation of a thesis. Organization should be clear and its link to the thesis explicit. How well you use the diaries to support your argument (without distorting them or taking them out of context) is central to the evaluation of your paper. Be sure to proof-read carefully and use your spell-checker. Grammar and style are important, because they are fundamental to making a clear, persuasive argument.

The paper is due November 19, 6 p.m. in class. I do not generally feel charitably toward lateness. If you turn it in after 6 p.m., you will be docked two points. For each weekday late thereafter you will lose three points unless you have a documented, legitimate reason. If you think you will be unable to turn your paper in on time you must let me know as soon as possible, preferably in advance, and there may be some wiggle room.

You are urged to make use of the excellent resources of the UI History Writing Center [http://www.uiowa.edu/~histwrit/].

Final Exam (25%)

The final exam will be the same format as the in-class midterm and is scheduled for December 18 at 4:30 p.m. No alternative test date or time will be possible unless you have an excuse acceptable to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. You will be given 5 short answers, each worth 10 points, and a 50-point essay. The essay question will be cumulative, take home, and open book. The short answers will emphasize material since the midterm exam, but will include some terms from the first part of the class as well.

Correlation between numerical and letter grades for this course are as follows:

A+	97-100	C	73-77
A	93-97	C-	70-73
A-	90-93	D+	67-70
B+	87-90	D	63-67
B	83-87	D-	60-63
B-	80-83	F	less than 60
C+	77-80

Due dates:

Map Assignment	September 10, 6 p.m.
Primary Document Project	Week of Sept 14 disc sect and Sept 17, 6 p.m.
Midterm Exam	October 15, 6 p.m.
Paper Title, Thesis, and Opening Paragraph	Week of Nov. 12, at the start of your discussion section
Paper	November 19, 6 p.m.
Final Exam	Friday, December 18, 4:30 p.m.

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