Rice 307

Rice 317 H. Hogan

Office Phone: x-8527 Spring 2003

E-mail: Heather.Hogan@oberlin.edu

Office Hours: Mon.11-12; 1:30-3:00,

Wed. 11-12; 1:30-3:00, Fri. 11-12

and by appt.

#108 - Russian History II

Our course begins with the reign of Alexander II (1855-1881) and the era of Great Reforms (1860s) and then proceeds to study Imperial Russia’s struggle with "modernity:" the problem of industrialization and the creation of an urban working class; the impact of industrialization on the village; the emergence of ‘middling classes’ which began to demand civil rights; and the problems of maintaining a multi-ethnic empire. Next we examine the revolutionary crisis of 1905 and its aftermath, the descent into World War I and the Revolutions of 1917. The second half of the course studies the Soviet period, with emphasis on the process of state-building and the transformation of society and culture under Stalin; Soviet Russia’s experience in World War II; and the origins of Cold War. The course concludes with a brief examination of post-Stalinist attempts at reform and suggests some of the reasons for the dramatic collapse of the regime in 1991.

Course Requirements

1) Students are expected to attend all lectures. Active and regular participation is an essential part of the course; the instructor welcomes questions at any point.

2) Papers and Examinations. This course is offered for Writing Proficiency.

Three essays, approximately 5-7 pages in length, based on the assigned readings.

Assignment #1 will be due on March 7
Assignment #2 will be due on April 4
Assignment #3 will be due on May 2

Each essay will constitute 20% of the grade.

All students will be required to take a final examination covering the work of the entire semester. The final will constitute 40% of the grade and will be given on Wednesday, May 14, 7pm.

Late paper policy:

For an extension to be considered, the student must consult with the instructor in advance of the due date.
If the student presents a valid excuse, an extension of up to one week will be granted.
No more than one extension will be granted, that is, the other two papers must be turned in on time.
Unexcused late papers will be penalized a grade step for each day late, that is, A goes to A-, A- goes to B+, etc.
Credit for the course will not be given if all written work is not turned in.

3) Reading Assignments: All books and articles assigned in this course are available on Reserve or ERES. The following books have been ordered for purchase:

Freeze, ed. Russia, A History

Smith, The Russian Revolution

Engel and Posadskaya-Vanderbeck, A Revolution of Their Own

Kozhina, Through the Burning Steppe

Kotkin, Armageddon Averted

4) To supplement the course I intend to show several films. Since each lasts longer than 50 minutes, I would like to show them Monday evenings 7:00- 8:30.

5) Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor during office hours or by appointment to discuss any aspect of the semester's work.

Students may also wish to explore some cites on the World Wide Web relevant to Russian history. The following are a few places to begin:

History Department‘s Internet Resource Page - http://www.oberlin.edu/history/links/links.html -check out Oberlin's History Department web page--lots of useful information is to be found here; see the section on Russia which contains a variety of links to Russian-related material as well as the web-page I maintain.

Oberlin Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Home Page — http://www.oberlin.edu/creecas - contains a variety of links, including information on jobs and internships, contemporary art and culture, language and literature

Russian History on the Web- http://www.russianhistory.org/

- provides a critical guide to hundreds of web resources relating to Russian history.

Internet Resources for Russian Studies — http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/link/index-e.html - probably the most comprehensive index site in Slavic Studies.

Russian History — http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian

-a resource page maintained by Bucknell, includes a useful chronology of Russian history, links to exhibits and photo collections.,

A final note: Please turn off cell phones, pagers, beeping watches and the like for the entire class period; once class has begun, please refrain from taking breaks and leaving the room.

Lectures and Readings (Approximate Schedule)

Feb. 3: Introduction

Recommended: Freeze, pp. 157-169

Feb. 5 -12: The Crisis of the Nicholean System; Mid-Century Reforms and Response of Society

Freeze, pp. 170-191

Emancipation Manifesto [ERes/ Dmytryshyn, pp. 307-311]

Field, "A Year of Jubilee" [ERes]

"Demands of the Narodnaia volia" [ERes/Dmytryshyn, pp. 355-363]

Feb14--26: The Dilemmas of Modernity

Freeze, pp. 200-230

Kanatchikov, A Radical Worker in Tsarist Russia, pp.1-79 [ERes]

"A Secret memorandum of Sergei Witte on the Industrialization of Imperial Russia" Journal of Modern History XXVI (March 1954): 60-74.

"Pobedonostsev’s Criticism of Modern Society" [ERes/Dmytryshyn pp. 382-399]

October Manifesto [ERes]

Film to be Scheduled: Mother

First essay due: March 7

Feb 28-March 21: War and Revolution in the early 20^th century

S. A. Smith The Russian Revolution , pp 5-100

Lenin "April Thesis" [ERes]

Holquist, "Information Is the Alpha and Omega…" Journal of Modern History, LXIX, 3, (Sept. 1997) pp. 415-450.

Martin, "An Affirmative Action Empire" in A State of Nations, pp. 67-90 [ERes]

Zamyatin, "The Cave" [ERes]

March 21-March 30: Spring Break

Second essay due: April 4

March 31-April 7: Early Soviet Polity and Society

S. A. Smith The Russian Revolution , pp. 100-168

Begin reading Engel and Posadskaya-Vanderbeck., A Revolution of Their Own

Film to be Scheduled: Turksib

April 9-April 23: Stalin’s Russia

Freeze, pp. 291-318

Scott, "A Day In Magnitogorsk" [ERes]

Continue reading Engel and Posadskaya-Vanderbeck., A Revolution of Their Own

April 25-April 28: World War II and Late Stalinism

Freeze, pp. 319-346.

Kozhina, Through the Burning Steppe (entire)

Continue reading Engel and Posadskaya-Vanderbeck, A Revolution of Their Own

Film to be Scheduled: The Battle of Russia

Third essay due: May 2

April 30- -May 2: Reform and Retreat: The Khrushchev and Brezhnev Eras

Kotkin, Armageddon Averted, pp. 1-57

Brodsky, "In a room and a half" [ERes]

Finish Engel and Posadskaya-Vanderbeck, A Revolution of Their Own

May 5-May 7: Reform, Collapse and New Directions?

Kotkin, Armageddon Averted, pp. 58-196

May 9: Last Class