May Intersession 1999 Dr. Petya Nitzova
Class meets: Dale Hall Tower 423
MTWR 1:00-4:45 p.m. Tel: 325-6572
244 Copeland Hall e-mail: pnitzova@ou.edu
Office hours: by appointment
 

OVERVIEW

The purpose of the course is to investigate the reasons underlying the rise and fall of one of 20^th century’s major superpowers. It provides an in-depth study of the history of the Soviet Union in its various aspects: political, social, economic, and cultural. We will begin with an introductory survey of Russia’s imperial past and civilization, and proceed further with analysis of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, and the establishment of the Soviet Union. We will then consider the basis of the communist doctrine and its first implementation on human society. Our next major focus will be on World War II and the role of the USSR as a major superpower in the Cold War period. The course culminates in a detailed examination of Gorbachev’s attempts to reform the Soviet system, the subsequent coup of August 1991, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The course is complemented by extensive survey of Soviet literature and culture as they reveal the dynamics of history.
 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

The following required texts are available for purchase at the university bookstore:

• Geoffrey Hosking, The First Socialist Society, (Harvard University Press, 1992), ISBN 0-674-30443-8.
• Woodford McClellan, Russia: The Soviet Period and After, (Prentice-Hall, 1998), ISBN 0-13-646613-3.

• Boris Pasternak. Doctor Zhivago

• Alexander Solzhenitsyn. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

COURSE FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS

Class meetings will be conducted in a lecture-discussion format with emphasis on discussion when appropriate to the topic and readings for that session. The readings for every meeting should therefore be read before class. All members of the class are expected to participate in class discussions, and from time to time, members of the class will be asked to assist with discussions, either individually or in small groups. You are required to ATTEND class, frequent absences nearly always result in poor performance in the course.

The two EXAMS will be closed-book, based on the required readings and the lecture material, and substantial in volume (90 minutes each). The final exam will cover only the subject matter of the second half of the course. Every member of the class is expected to take the same exam at the same time as everyone else. In the interest of fairness, make-up exams will be given only in case of a verified serious illness or the verified death of a spouse, parent, or sibling.

Your PAPER will be a think-piece of approximately six to eight pages based on critical assessment of Soviet history, as reflected in one of the literary masterpieces recommended as course reading. Refer to Essay Assignment Guidelines. Your paper is due in class on Monday, May 24, 1:00 p.m. Any delays after the due time will result in reducing your grade with half a letter grade per day of delay.

The weight of each of these components in the final grade will be as follows:

first exam 25%

final exam 25%

essay 25%

participation 25%

The PARTICIPATION grade is based on a combination of regular attendance, a short presentation, and informed participation in class discussion. Final letter grades will be assigned according to a standard ten-point scale (A = 90 to 100; B = 80 to 89, etc.) Refer to list of presentation topics.

To be eligible for course credit, both exams must be taken and the research paper completed and turned in. Failure to take any of the examinations or to turn in the paper will result in failing the course. INCOMPLETES will be given only upon request and for good cause. Incompletes will not be given if the student has missed so much of the course that it is in the practical sense impossible to make up the work. If an incomplete is given, the student will be asked to sign an agreement specifying the work to be completed and the date the work will be due.

Any student in this course who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her potential should contact me personally as soon as possible, so that we can discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunity. University rules against plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct will be honored and enforced (See the OU Student Code). The general rules about plagiarism refer also to material found on the internet.
 
 

MAP

FILM: Discovering Russia

The Face of Russia: Icons
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from Hosking:

"Introduction" (chapter 1, pp. 15-34)

FILM: The last of the Czars, p.1 and 2
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from Hosking :

"The October Revolution" (chapter 2, pp. 33-56)

from McClellan: "Toward October" (chapter 1, pp. 1-13), and "The Bolshevik Coup D’Etat" (chapter 2, pp. 14-24)

FILM: The Last of the Czars, p. 3

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from Hosking:

"War communism," (chapter 3, pp. 57-92); "The Making of the Soviet Union" (chapter 4, pp. 93-118).

from McClellan:

"Civil War and Intervention" (chapter 3, pp. 25-36), "Building Communism" (chapter 4, pp. 37-44), "Reversing Course: New Economic Policy 1921-1927 (chapter 5, pp. 45-55), "Life in the 1920s" (chapter 6, pp. 56-68)

FILM: The Kremlin
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from McClellan:

"Stalin’s Revolution, 1924-1932 (chapter 8, pp. 78-88), "The Great Terror" (chapter 9, pp. 89-97)

from Hosking:

"Stalin’s Terror" (chapter 7, pp. 183-204); "Stalinist Society" (chapter 8, pp. 205-26); "Religion and Nationality under the Soviet State" (chapter 9, pp. 227-60).

FILM: Joseph Stalin: Red Terror (Biography)
 
 

FIRST EXAM

FILM: Burnt by the Sun (Nikita Mikhalkov)
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from McClellan:

"Foreign Policy in the 1930s" (chapter 11, pp. 109-122), "The Great Fatherland War" (chapter 12, pp. 123-138).

from Hosking:

"The Great Fatherland War" (chapter 10, pp. 261-95);

FILM: Stalingrad

The Red Star
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from McClellan:

"The Cold War" (chapter 13, pp. 139-149), "The Late Stalin Years" (chapter 14, pp. 150-163)

FILM: Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick)
 
 

COURSE PAPER DUE IN CLASS, 1:00 p.m.
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from McClellan:

"The Era of Stagnation 1971-1985" (chapter 20, pp. 224-240), "Foreign Policy, 1964-1985" (chapter 21, pp. 242-255)

from Hosking:

"Soviet Society Under "Developed Socialism" (chapter 13, pp. 363-401), and "Religion, Nationality, and Dissent" (chapter 14, pp. 402-446)
 
 

READING ASSIGNMENT:

from McClellan:

"Reluctant Revolution: Gorbachev, Glasnost, Perestroika" (chapter 22, pp. 256-266), "The New Time of Troubles: Crisis in the Gorbachev Revolution" (chapter 23, pp. 267-278), "Death of the USSR" (chapter 24, pp. 279-291), and "The Time of Troubles: Second Convulsion" (chapter 25, pp. 292-308)

from Hosking:

"The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Union" (chapter 15, pp. 446-502)

FILM: The Fall of Communism
 
 

FINAL EXAM