Master
2022/2023
Historiography of Soviet Societies: An Introduction to History and Anthropology
Category 'Best Course for Career Development'
Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'
Type:
Elective course (Global and Regional History)
Area of studies:
History
Delivered by:
Department of History
When:
1 year, 2 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of all HSE University campuses
Master’s programme:
Global and Regional History
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
40
Course Syllabus
Abstract
What are main approaches in history and anthropology of the Russia Empire and Soviet society? What are this field’s classic debates and new issues? How do they differ thematically and methodologically? This course offers a historiographic introduction to this field of study. The course focuses of key case studies that has defined Russian/Soviet studies as well as on its emerging research agenda.
Learning Objectives
- To familiarize students with main events and phenomena of Soviet history
- To develop understanding of historical processes and ways of their interpretation
- To discuss main historiographical debates and approaches to Imperial/Soviet history
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Knowing main classic and novel historiographic approaches
- knowledge of how to analyze key features of text and narrative as historical sources, including the issues surrounding texts’ authorship and edition, and its status as original or copy.
Course Contents
- Late Russian Empire to Early Soviet Project
- Soviet national policy in interwar period
- Soviet gender order
- Ideology of Space/Scape of Ideology
- Materiality
- Cold War Soviet
Assessment Elements
- DiscussionStudents attend classes and participate in discussions
- Review essayTo successfully complete the course, students must submit a review of a selected book or two (and more) articles related to the scope of the course but beyond the obligatory reading list. This work piece should meet the following criteria: the review critically discusses the main topic, scope, arguments, and thesis/conclusions of the selected piece. What does this work say? What is its main field/topic/scope? Who is the author? What arguments do the author suggest? How can you evaluate them – are they reliable, debatable, contributing to the historiography/our knowledge? Make sure that you discuss rather than retell. the review should give advice on whether the reader is worth addressing this research piece or not. In other words, conclude your review with a recommendation to read or neglect this work. the length is between two and three pages (Times New Roman, 12) you can use additional secondary and primary sources to support your criticism.
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Suny, R. G. (1997). Chapter 11: The Russian Empire. In After Empire (978-0813329642) (pp. 142–154). Taylor & Francis Ltd.
- The structure of Soviet history : essays and documents, , 2003
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- The Cambridge history of Russia. Vol.3: The twentieth century, , 2006
- The Soviet experiment : Russia, the USSR, and the successor states, Suny, R. G., 1998