Russia and the Forging of Empires: Vikings, Mongols, and Slavs
Fall, 2014 (http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/russia)
Faculty:
Patricia Krafcik, Sem. II, A 2110 (867-6491);
Robert Smurr (coordinator), Sem. II, C 3112 (867-5056);
Note: This is designed as either a stand-alone single term program, or as the first term in
a fall/winter/spring continuing cultural, historical, and literary survey of Russia
and Eurasia from the 9th century to the present. We strongly encourage students
to continue with us for all three terms. Registration officials will help us do this in
class near the end of our Fall Term.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE:
Tuesday: Lecture/Film 9:00-11:00 SEM 2, C1107
Russian (Pat) 11:30-1:00 SEM 2, C3109
Seminar 1:00-3:00 SEM 2, C3105 (Rob) & C3109 (Pat)
Russian (Rob) 3:00-4:30 SEM 2, C3109
Wednesday: Film/Lecture 9:00-12:00 SEM 2, A1105
Russian (Pat) 12:00-1:00 SEM 2, C3109
Russian (Rob) 5:00-6:00 SEM 2, C3109
Friday: Lecture/Film 9:00-11:00 Lecture Hall 5
Russian (Pat) 11:30-1:00 SEM 2, C3109
Seminar 1:00-3:00 SEM 2, C3107 (Rob) & C3109 (Pat)
Russian (Rob) 3:00-4:30 SEM 2, C3109
* Underline = 12-credit-only students attend the program during all of these times
* Italics = only for Russian language students for extra 4 credits toward the 16 total
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Our fall, winter, and spring programs offer an interdisciplinary approach to Russian and Eurasian history, literature, culture, geography, and film. Each quarter is worth either 12 or 16 credits. This Fall Term program offers an interdisciplinary approach to Russian and Eurasian history, literature, culture, and geography in the earliest stages of empire development across the region. Our extraordinary multicultural journey will take us across all of the vast territories that once comprised the Russian and Soviet empires – territories that today make up more than fifteen independent states. In lectures, seminars, film analyses, and discussions, we will travel from the fjords of Norway to the thriving cities of Constantinople and Baghdad; from the windswept grasslands of Mongolia to Moscow’s magnificent Red Square; from the ice-bound Arctic Ocean to the sweltering marketplaces of Central Asia; from the soaring peaks of the Caucasus Mountains to the arid deserts of Uzbekistan. Our focus is the rise and fall of empires in this region, beginning with two that no longer exist – the Viking and the Mongol empires – and one that in many senses still does – the Russian empire.
We will investigate the development of the Russians and their nation through history, beginning with Viking invasions of Slavic territories in the 9th century to Russia’s thriving imperial era in the 19th century. The diverse ethnicities that had cultural, political, social, economic, and religious contact with the Russian Slavs– the Vikings, Mongols, Greeks, Tatars, Turkic peoples, and Native Americans, among others – will all play key roles in our examinations. Students will read early Russian literature, including works by Pushkin, Lermontov, and Gogol. They will write essays, take part in small group presentations and are encouraged to participate in the study of beginning Russian language offered within the program.
Two multi-overnight field trips: One double-overnight field trip in week three, and a second triple-overnight trip in week seven. Full details below.
Note: This Fall Term will be followed by two continuing Russian and Eurasian programs, both of which will again be taught by Pat Krafcik and Rob Smurr. In winter we will teach Russia Falls, the USSR Rises: Beauty, Turmoil and Tragedy in Eurasia, a chronological continuation of this Fall Term program, and in Spring Term we will bring our studies up to the present day by offering The USSR, its Collapse and Beyond: Stalin, Gorbachev and Putin.
TEXTS FOR FALL 2014 (in approximate reading order): Because we will examine these texts closely, and to avoid complications from varying pagination, we prefer that you either buy or find library copies of the editions as listed below, all of which are available for purchase at the campus bookstore. You may be able to find the same editions at better prices through various on-line dealers such as abebooks.com; half.com; amazon.com, etc.
Books labeled with an * will be used for more than one term. The TESC bookstore orders as many used copies as possible, but routinely orders fewer copies of each book than faculty request, so to make absolutely certain that you have the books you need in time to prepare them for the assigned classes, consider ordering early and on-line.
*1. Russia and the Russians: A History, 2nd edition. Geoffrey Hosking (Harvard University Press,
2011)
*2. Cultural Atlas of Russia and the Former Soviet Union. R. Milner-Gulland (Checkmark
Books, 1998)
*3. A History of Russian Thought: From the Enlightenment to Marxism. Andrzej Walicki
(Stanford University Press, 1979)
*4. Russia Under the Old Regime. Richard Pipes (Viking Penguin, 1997)
*5. A History of Women in Russia: From Earliest Times to the Present. Barbara Clements
(Indiana University Press, 2012)
*6. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7th edition. Mary Lynn Rampolla (Bedford/St. Martins,
2012)
7. Ibn Fadlan’s Journey to Russia. Richard Frye (Markus Wiener, 2005)
8. The Tale of the Campaign of Igor. Robt. C. Howes, trans. (Norton & Co., 1973)
9. Russia and the Golden Horde. Charles J. Halperin (Indiana University Press, 1985)
10. The Time of Troubles: A Historical Study of the Internal Crisis and Social Struggles in
Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Muscovy. Sergei Platonov (University of Kansas Press, 1985)
11. The Wreck of the Sv. Nikolai. Kenneth N. Owens, ed. (Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Pr., 2001)
12. The Captain’s Daughter and Other Great Stories. Alexander Pushkin (Vintage Books, 1965)
13. A Hero of Our Time. Mikhail Lermontov (Ardis Publishers, 1988)
14. Nikolai Gogol, The Collected Tales. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, eds.
(Everyman’s Library, 2008)
TEXTS FOR BEGINNING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE STUDENTS ONLY:
*1. Sold as a package: Live from Russia, Vol. 1 Textbook (second edition, plus DVD). Maria Lekic, Dan Davidson, Kira Gor (ACTR, 2008) and Live from Russia, Vol. 1 Workbook (second edition, plus CD). Maria Lekic, Dan Davidson, Kira Gor (ACTR, 2008)
REGISTRATION:
Make sure you are registered for 16 credits in our fall-term program if you wish to take the main program and Russian language or a special seminar within the program entitled “Makers of Modern Drama: Chekhov, Ibsen, and Others.” We strongly encourage all students to study Russian, but you may still earn 16 credits by participating in Tom Rainey and Marla Elliot’s Evening/Weekend Studies program, “Makers of Modern Drama: Chekhov, Ibsen, and Others,” in which 12 of our students will be welcome to participate in a single weekly seminar led by Tom on Tuesdays from 6-10 p.m. Check the “Makers” program in the online catalog for details—contents of the program, booklist, etc.
Beginning Russian Language (4 credits each term):
Beginning Russian acquaints students with the basic grammar of the language and guides students in developing all the language skills: speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing. This segment begins in fall term and builds incrementally through all three quarters of the Russian programs. It is not possible to join Beginning Russian in winter or spring term unless you have the preparation for it in terms of language study equivalent to one or two terms of college-level Russian.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE:
Lectures: Students will normally have two faculty lectures per week, usually given by Pat and Rob on a rotating basis. Lectures cover Russian history, literature, culture (music, art, etc.). In addition, we will have some guest lecturers visit in all three terms.
Seminars: One or two per week based on the particular week’s reading(s).
Films: One or two per week, depending on length and content. Students will preview and lead discussions on feature films.
Focus Groups: Whenever the need arises. Initial emphasis during fall term will be on distinct geographic regions of the Former Soviet Union and their associated cultures/natural environments.
Field Trips: Our first field trip in week three will take us from the mouth of the Columbia River at Oregon’s Fort Stevens State Park to Washington’s Maryhill Museum, 200 miles upriver. At Fort Stevens we will examine early Russian and American fur trade practices, and at Maryhill Museum we will view their icon display. We spend our second night near St. John the Forerunner Orthodox Women's Monastery in Goldendale, Washington, and visit the monastery and its women monastics writing (painting) icons in the traditional manner.
A second trip in week seven will take us to the Olympic Peninsula. We will stay one night at the Camp Ramblewood Environmental Learning Center (ELC) located near Sequim, Washington on the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and spend our two additional nights in the Quileute Nation’s coastal village of La Push. We will seminar on the Russians' arrival to the North American continent in the 18th century and also explore the beaches and region at La Push where a 19th-century Russian vessel wrecked.
Campus Disability Policy:
If you have a health condition or disability that may require accommodations in order to effectively participate in this class, please do one or both of the following:
- Contact the faculty after class
- Contact Access Services in Library 1407-D; 867-6348, or Meredith Inocencio at
Information about a disability or health condition will be regarded as confidential.
Campus Smoking Policy:
Evergreen is a smoke free campus, excluding the several designated smoking areas. If you do smoke, make sure to educate yourself about the potentially fatal risks to yourself and others who inhale your smoke and consider quitting. If you can’t or choose not to quit, please use the designated areas only.
Classroom Personal Technology Policy:
In an attempt to keep distractions to a minimum, your faculty do not permit the use of the following items during any of the scheduled class meetings (lecture, seminar, film, or workshop) without their prior approval:
- laptop computers
- music listening devices (i-pods, etc.)
- email devices
- cell phones
ASSIGNMENTS: Students must complete all of the assignments below in order to receive course credit and a course evaluation. An approximation of the amount of credit to be lost if assignments are not submitted and in the case of absences is spelled out in more detail in the Program Covenant.
1. Three in-class map quizzes. Quizzes 1 (Fri., Oct. 24); 2 (Fri., Nov. 7); 3 (Fri., Dec. 6)
2. A 3-5-page expository essay (Essay 1) on some aspect of our class readings from a choice of themes announced on Friday, Oct. 10. All essays should be in WORD DOC OR DOCX FORM ONLY!) and 10-point font, double-spaced), sent in digital form to Pat, but given in hardcopy to Rob. DUE: Tues., Oct. 21, by 5 p.m.
3. A take-home 3-5-page midterm essay (Essay 2): a synthetic analytic essay on choice of topics selected by the faculty, announced on Friday, Oct. 21. DUE: Tues., Nov. 4, by 5 p.m. in digital form to Pat, hardcopy to Rob.
4. A third 3-5-page expository essay (Essay 3). Topic choices distributed Tues., Nov. 4. DUE: Tues., Nov. 18, by 5 p.m. in digital form to Pat, hardcopy to Rob.
5. Book seminar text quizzes. Short quizzes on assigned readings in order to verify
your comprehension of the material; given at random seminars.
6. Participation in a group film review and one individual written film critique (2-3 pages: DUE on day of your film's screening) based upon a particular film. Students will select one film per quarter to preview, introduce it to the class, and lead small group discussions after the film. The written critique is not a summary of the film, but rather your impressions and thoughts about it. You may use your segment of research as part of your critique. Guidelines for this writing will be at our Canvas site.
7. A final examination. Show us what you have learned. Given in class Weds., Dec. 10.
8. One official TESC student self-evaluation. DUE: end of fall term. Submit online as directed.
9. One official TESC seminar faculty evaluation. DUE: end of fall term. Submit online as directed. We are requiring a faculty eval in this program.
10. Your course portfolio is largely digital for Pat and will be compiled as you submit your papers when they are due. Rob will collect hardcopies. Do not discard or lose hardcopy papers or map quizzes. A folder with hardcopy material (map quizzes, class and reading notes) should be submitted to your seminar faculty on the day of the final exam, Weds., Dec. 10.
CREDIT POLICY AND REQUIREMENTS:
1. Full and conscientious participation; on-time completion of all readings, writing assignments, and examinations; attendance at all program activities, including films and film discussions. SEE THE COVENANT.
2. No late essays. If you anticipate a problem, see your faculty before the essay is due.
3. No plagiarism. If you know what it is, don’t do it. Ever. If you don’t know, ask, or read about TESC plagiarism policy here: http://www.evergreen.edu/advising/academicpolicies.htm
4. An end-term portfolio, as described above.
5. A signed covenant of responsibilities and obligations (last page of this syllabus).
SEMINAR: Everyone should come with their book in hand, prepared to speak, argue, and discuss relevant themes in seminar. Use your short response notes, taken during your reading, as a jumping off point for discussion. The more closely and critically you and your colleagues read the assigned texts, the more effective and enjoyable will be our time spent in seminar. Students may have short quizzes during any of the seminars.
FILM: This is an integral and required aspect of our program. We expect all students to come to the films on time and with a critical eye. Over the course of our year-long study, we will view a wide array of Russian and American feature films and documentaries, a great number of which are considered classics of their genre. Once per term students will be required to join a small group in which members will preview, introduce, and lead group discussions on a particular film of their choice. Additionally, all students will write a short (2-3 page) critique of their chosen film. The following library and internet resources, among others, will help you in this process:
- Magill’s Survey of Cinema, Foreign Language Films (TESC Ref, PN1993.45.M34)
- “ ” , English Language Films (TESC Ref, PN 1993.45.M3)
- Huffhines, Kathy Schulz. Foreign Affairs: the National Film Society of Film Critics’