SYLLABUS

THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN RUSSIA I

(1MRI8MWF)

FALL 2007

Texts: A History of Russia by Riasanovsky/Steinberg and Fathers and Sons by Ivan S. Turgenev

Instructors: Dr. Kenneth Olson & Prof. Tamara Muravitsky (rm. 101, tel. 357-3174 ext. 132)

Office Hours: MWF 12-2; T 9:15-10, 12-1; R 9:15-10, 12-1, 3-4

Guided Study: Thurs. rm. 239

COURSE CONTENT

This course will address the origins of modern Russia, beginning with an overall survey of Russian history, and focusing on the events, personalities, philosophies, literature, and art of the 19th and early 20th centuries, which culminated in the revolutions of 1917.  Course material will be derived from the textbook and class lectures.  In the course of the semester we will read and discuss the novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan S. Turgenev

GRADING

Three exams (on approximately 21 Sep., 24 Oct., and 16 Nov.) will count for a fourth of the grade.  Material for these exams will be taken from the textbook and class lectures.  Class participation, particularly with respect to discussions of the novel, will count for a fourth of the grade.  A term paper on a topic of the student's choosing (with the instructors' approval) will count for a fourth of the grade.  This paper is due on 3 Dec. and will be presented orally before being turned in. A late penalty of 10 points per day will be assessed.  A comprehensive final exam will count for a fourth of the grade.  A=90%-100%  B=80%-89%  C=70%-79% D=below 70%.

ATTENDANCE

Tje attendance policy as specified in the Academic Handbook applies here.  Additionally, any work or exam missed as a result of an unexcused absence will receive a grade of "0."  Each unexcused absence will be assessed a 5-point deduction from the semester grade, and each unexcused tardy will be assessed a 2-point deduction from the semester grade.

SCHEDULE

1st Week

Course introduction and historical background.  The origins of the Russian state and the foundations of autocracy.

2nd Week

The reigns of Catherine II (the Great), Paul I, Alexander I, Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and the Decembrist revolt.

3rd Week

Russia's greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin.

4th Week

Begin Fathers and Sons.  Emancipation of the serfs.  Nihilism.  Narodnaya Volya (People's Will).

5th Week

Assassination of Alexander II.  Pan-Slavism.  The reign of Alexander III.  Exam.

6th Week

Tchaikovsky.  Fathers and Sons.

7th Week

Film documentary Nicholas and Alexandra.  Fathers and Sons.

8th Week

Film continued.                                                   Fathers and Sons.

9th Week

Russo-Japanese War.  The revolution of 1905.   Mussorgsky and Rachmaninov.

10th Week

Review.  Exam.

11th Week

Rasputin.  World War I.

12th Week

The February Revolution. Abdication of the tsar.  Kerensky and the Provisional Government.

13th Week

The Bolshevik Revolution.  Exam.

14th Week

Film: The Barber of Siberia.

15th Week

Student presentations.

16th Week

Review