[home] [texts/study questions] [schedule] [resources] [requirements]

Course Schedule:

Unit I

Unit 2

Unit 3

Date	Topic
Unit I	Background: Overview of Soviet History
August 25	Introduction
September 1	Soviet History and Politics: 1945-64 Recommended Reading: Suny 337-420; 507-19 (latter in UPAC). As an alternative, you should read a detailed encyclopedia article on Soviet history. For example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_union, which offers hyperlinks to related subjects.
September 8	Soviet History and Politics: 1964-91 Recommended Reading: Suny 421-506. In-Class Exercise: Building an Interest Inventory (adapted from: Bruce Ballenger, The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers (New York, 2004): 27-30. Students will be asked to share with the instructor the products of this exercise: some possible research paper topics, which next week will be a starting point for our session at the library. [return to top]
Unit II	Postwar Soviet Life and Culture
September 15	Late Stalinism (1945-53) Reading: Gorsuch, Anne E. “’There’s No Place Like Home’: Soviet Tourism in Late Stalinism,” Slavic Review 62, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 760-85. (JSTOR) Exercise: Bring to class one question for discussion of the Gorsuch article Also, visit with librarian: How to find primary sources. We will meet in the Main Library, room4037, with librarian Ericka Raber
September 22	Reading: Bardach, Janusz and Kate Gleeson. Surviving Freedom. Exercise: bring to class 1-2 page, typed essay using Bardach book as your sole primary source in response to one of the study questions. These will be workshopped in class.
September 29	Destalinization(1953-64) Reading: Deborah Field, “Irreconcilable Difference: Divorce and Conceptions of Private Life in the Khrushchev Era,” Russian Review 57, no. 4 (Oct. 1998): 599-613. (JSTOR) Exercise: Bring to class one question for discussion of the Field article. Due: One-page paper proposal describing topic and research question.
October 6	Reading: Alexeyeva, Ludmilla and Paul Goldberg. The Thaw Generation. Exercise: bring to class 1-2 page, typed essay using Alexeyeva book as your sole primary source in response to one of the study questions. These will be workshopped in class.
October 13	“Stagnation” (1964-85) Reading: Bushnell, John, “The ‘New Soviet Man’ Turns Pessimist” in The Soviet Union since Stalin. Stephen F. Cohen, Alexander Rabinowitch, and Robert Sharlet, ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1980: 179-99. (UPAC) In Class: Film “Autumn Marathon,” (dir. Daneliia, 1979, 100 min.; 7049VHS) Due: Bibliography of primary and secondary sources
October 20	Glasnost, Perestroika, and Collapse (1985-91) Reading: Goscilo, Helena. “Domostroika or Perestroika? The Construction of Womanhood in Soviet Culture under Glasnost,” Late Soviet Culture: From Perestroika to Novostroika. Thomas Lahusen, ed. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993: 233-55. (UPAC) Exercise: Bring to class one question for discussion of the Goscilo article. In-Class Exercise: Brainstorming an artful lead to your paper (adapted from Ballenger, 195-200).
October 27	Reading: Alexievich, Svetlana. Voices From Chernobyl. Exercise: bring to class 1-2 page, typed essay using Alexievich book as your sole primary source in response to one of the study questions. These will be workshopped in class.
November 3	NO CLASS: Independent work on research papers
November 10	Post-Soviet Popular Culture Reading: Theresa Sabonis-Chafee, “Communism as Kitsch: Soviet Symbols in Post-Soviet Society,” Consuming Russia: Popular Culture, Sex and Society since Gorbachev. Adele Marie Barker, ed. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1999: 362-82. (UPAC) Exercise: Bring to class one question for discussion of the Sabonis-Chafee article. Due: Group I drafts [return to top]
Unit III	Writing A Research Paper
November 17	WORKSHOP DRAFTS: GROUP I Mike Durkin David Kadlec Brandon Porritt Andrew Swift Trevor Thomas Dusty Weeks Tyler Wheeler Due: Group II drafts
November 24	NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break
December 1	WORKSHOP DRAFTS: GROUP II Stephen Blecha Christopher Giragosian Zach Heit Alexander Jeschke Kevin Kaufman Eldon Schneider Tim Winger
December 8	FINAL PAPERS DUE [return to top]

[home] [texts/study questions] [schedule] [resources] [requirements]