Fall 2003
Michael C. Hickey Office: 130 OSH, x4161 Hours: M-W, 2:00-3:00; T-Th, 2:00-3:30 hickey@bloomu.edu
Navigate this page: Course Description Assignments and Evaluation Required Texts
Paper One Paper Two Paper Three
Hickey's Russian and Soviet Resource Page MAPS
On Plagiarism vs Quoting On Disruptive Behavior On Endnote Form
Course Description: This course surveys 1,000 years of Russian history, from the end of the 9th to the early 20th century. Much of our time and attention will go to periods that constitute turning points in Russian history, such as the formation of Muscovy, the Petrine Reforms, the reign of Catherine II, and the Great Reforms of the 1860s. Among the themes we will follow are:
This course is designed as a reading seminar. We will read and discuss books, essays, and documents that deal with major themes in Russian history. I will provide you with discussion questions for most of these readings (posted as links to this web site). These will serve as a starting point for our seminar discussions.
Please read the linked statement regarding plagiarism
Assignments and Evaluation
Your grade will be based upon participation in class discussion (20 percent) and three assigned papers (20 percent, 30 percent, and 30 percent). Participation=200 points possible; Paper 1=200 points possible; Paper 2=300 points possible; Paper 3=300 points possible
Class Participation will account for 20 percent of your grade. Complete all assigned readings on time, take notes that answer the discussion questions (on my web site), and be prepared to discuss them in class. Ask and answer questions, but also be a good listener. While I am concerned with the quality rather than the quantity of your contributions, I do expect you to join in the discussion as often as possible. Your grade will be based upon attendance (your grade will fall in direct proportion to your absences) and the quality of your contributions.
Group presentation: I may at points divide the class into groups of four or five students and assign each group to be discussion leaders for particular class sessions. Each group will then work together on "its" class session and prepare questions or other in-class assignments for that session’s readings. In these cases, group members should communicate their plans, questions, etc., with each other (and, if desired, with me) via e-mail in advance of their class sessions.
Papers: You will write three papers.
Paper 1 (20 percent of your grade) will be an essay on an aspect of Russian history in the period 860-1689;
Paper 2 (30 percent) will deal with the period 1689-1860;
Paper 3 (30 percent) will deal with the period 1860-1914.
You will pick from the topics listed below. Your essays must consider all relevant assigned readings and you are required to consider background material from one of the assigned textbooks on library reserve.
Your papers must have a clear thesis (an answer to the question or a solution to the problem). They must utilize evidence that supports or proves the thesis. Each essay must be at least seven pages long, typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins and no cover page. Use endnotes to document your use of sources.
Grades will be based upon the paper's clarity, logic, and use of evidence.
Your final grade is based upon a 1,000 point scale. A=1,000-920; A-=919-900; B+=899-880; B=879-820; B-=819-800; C+=799-780; C=779-720; C-=719=700; D+=699-680; D=679-600; E=599-0
Required Texts:
Anton Chekov, Five Plays: Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vania, Three Sisters, and the Cherry Orchard (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
James Cracraft, ed., Major Problems in the History of Imperial Russia (Lexington MA: Heath, 1994).
Daniel H. Kaiser and Gary Marker, Reinterpreting Russian History: Readings, 860-1860s (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
Semen Kanatchikov, A Radical Worker in Tsarist Russia: The Autobiography of Semen Ivanovich Katanatchikov, translated and edited by R. Zelnik (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1986).
Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).
ON RESERVE IN LIBRARY: (reserve number x1786-x1790, as well as other reserve numbers--ask at desk for reserve material from 42.356, Hickey)
David Mackenzie and Michael Curran, A History of Russia (various editions)
Nicholas Riasanovsky, A History of Russia (various editions)
If you wish to purchase a copy of either of these books, I suggest that you obtain used copies the most recent editions through Amazon.com, Powells.com, or a similar used-book service.
Web-linked study questions.
There are several on-line overviews and chronologies or Russian history that you may find useful. See, for instance, the History pages at http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/index.html, or browse the many history-related links at Hickey's Russian and Soviet Resource Page. Remember that not all historical surveys are of equal quality or value!
PAPER ONE. Due Friday 10 October.
Pick one of the questions listed below and write an essay that answers this question using all relevant assigned readings as well as material from at least one of the textbooks on library reserve.
Your paper must have a clear thesis (an answer to the question or a solution to the problem). It must utilize evidence to prove this thesis. It must be at least seven pages long (not counting endnotes), typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins and no cover page. Use endnotes to document your use of sources.
Your grade will be based upon the paper's clarity, logic, and use of evidence.
Choose one:
A) There is on-going debate among Russian historians over the relationship between the civilization of pre-Petrine (pre-1689) Rus'/Muscovy and the civilization of Europe. Is it best to consider "Russia" before 1689 as belonging to European civilization, as an Asiatic culture, or as "something else"? Use the sources we have read in common to take and defend a position in this debate.
B) Many historians argue that the political history of pre-Petrine Russia (Rus and Muscovy) is characterized by the development of a strong centralized autocratic state; they argue that we should understand the rise of the autocracy as a continual process that began in Kievan Rus' and continued into the reign of Peter the Great. Other historians argue that this perspective is far too over-simplistic, and that there are several important discontinuities. Which position would you take in this debate? Use all of the sources we have read in common to take and defend a position in this debate.
C) Many Russian historians argue that Russia was followed a path of economic and social development similar to that of Europe until the Mongol invasions and the the two-century long imposition of the "Mongol Yoke" (beginning in the mid 13th century). According to this argument, the Mongol Yoke shattered Russia's economy and society to such a degree it subsequently lagged centuries behind Europe. Other historians have argued that the Mongols did not cause such terrible destruction, and that in fact the Mongols contributed a great deal to the development of Russia's culture, economy, and state. How would you access the impact of the Mongol Yoke? Us all the sources we have read in common to take and defend a position in this debate.
D) Another of the frequently debated "big questions" in Russian history is: Why was it that serfdom was consolidated as a legal and economic system in Russia in the 1600s, at the very point in time at which serfdom was beginning to fade away in Western Europe? Use all of the sources we have read in common to explain the causes of "late" consolidation of serfdom in Russia.
PAPER TWO. Due Week XI, Weds, 12 November.
Pick one of the questions listed below and write an essay that answers this question using all relevant assigned readings as well as material from at least one of the textbooks on library reserve.
Your paper must have a clear thesis (an answer to the question or a solution to the problem). It must utilize evidence to prove this thesis. It must be at least seven pages long (not counting endnotes), typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins and no cover page. Use endnotes to document your use of sources.
Your grade will be based upon the paper's clarity, logic, and use of evidence.
Choose one:
A) Historians often debate the degree to which Peter the Great's reforms actually transformed Russian society. If we compare Russian society at the time of Peter the Great to Russian society in 1800, do we find that Peter's reforms had a great effect? Use all of the sources we have read in common to take a position on the question of whether the Petrine reforms resulted in the transformation of Russian society in the 18th century.
B) Many historians argue that the reforms instituted by Peter the Great and his 18th century successors (including Catherine the Great) created a great rift in Russian society between the "world" of the nobility and that of the peasant majority. Would you agree? Consider all of the sources we have read in common and explain why you do or do not agree with this argument. Explain.
C) Many historians argue that attempts at reform in Russia during the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century were paradoxical and could not succeed. The reason, they argue, is that the tsarist regime tried to establish a system based upon "rule of law" without giving up its own claim to stand above the law. Instead of resulting in a stronger state, these "attenuated" efforts at reform created a gulf between the state and the educated population. Based upon all of the sources we have read in common, do you agree? Explain.
PAPER THREE. Due at Final Exam Session (WEEK XVI, Weds 10 December).
Pick one of the questions listed below and write an essay that answers this question using all relevant assigned readings as well as material from at least one of the textbooks on library reserve.
Your paper must have a clear thesis (an answer to the question or a solution to the problem). It must utilize evidence to prove this thesis. It must be at least seven pages long (not counting endnotes), typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins and no cover page. Use endnotes to document your use of sources.
Your grade will be based upon the paper's clarity, logic, and use of evidence.
Choose one:
A) One of the remarkable features of the history of Russian intellectual life is that by the mid-nineteenth century the Autocracy faced exceptionally broad opposition from Russia's educated "elites." Based upon our readings for the period 1825 to 1860s, and in particular the depiction of young educated Russians in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, what objections did educated Russians have towards the Autocracy circa the mid-1800s.
B) Many historians argue that the central goal of Alexander II's Great Reforms was to create a more dynamic society under the guidance and control of the Autocracy, so that the Autocrat could more effectively mobilize and utilize the energies of Russian society to preserve the Russian State's status as a "great power." Based upon all of the sources we have read in common for the period 1860-1905, do you think that the reforms were a success or a failure? Be sure to discuss specific reform measures and their results and to explain what about the subsequent five decades of Russian history leads you to your conclusion.
C) Intellectuals in late Imperial Russia debated the nature of the Russian "working class." Some contemporaries argued that Russia's factories were filled with peasants who showed little sign of evolving into a "proletariat" in the Western European sense (in their ways of life and of thinking, they were still peasants). Others argued that not only did Russia have a working class, but that this working class was increasingly politically mature and radical. Which of these two positions would you support? Based upon the Kanatchikov memoir and other sources we have read in common, take and defend a position on this long-standing debate.
D) Historians argue over whether Late Imperial Russian society was becoming more stable or more fragmented in the decades before World War One. Some historians hold that the development of a market economy and the autocracy's resistance to reform were fragmenting society--setting the educated public against the state and the "lower classes" against both the propertied classes and the state. Other historians argue that the Great Reforms, the industrialization process, the spread of education and other public institutions, and then constitutional reforms following the 1905 Revolution actually made Russian society more cohesive and stable. Traditionally, historians' views on this debate have shaped their understanding of the 1917 Revolution. Do you thin that Russian society was becoming more stable or more fragmented in the decades leading to World War One? Based upon the sources we have read in common--and in particular on the depiction of Russian life that you find in Chekov's plays--take and defend a position in the debate on social stability.
Weekly Schedule
Note--Click on the links for the reading assignments to get the study questions. Also, I'll be posting suggested additional web-based readings at various points during the semester.
Week 1 Introduction, "Russia" before Rus'.
Cracraft, pp. 4-21; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 3-20.
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 1-2 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 1-2
Week 2 Kievan Rus'
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 3-4 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 3-6
If you want to read some of the Kievan-era law codes in their entirety, see http://web.grinnell.edu/individuals/kaiser/Trans.html.
Week 3 Post-Kievan Rus' and the "Mongol Yoke"
Cracraft, pp. 21-31; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 79-145
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 5-6 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 7-8
If you want to browse links to documents on the post-Kievan and Mongol era, see http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1old.html.
Week 4 Foundations of the Muscovite State (I)
Cracraft, pp. 37-78; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 147-171
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 7-10 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 9-14
If you want to read longer excerpts of several documents in our week 4 and week 5 readings (and other important Muscovite sources), see http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dml0www/Russhist.HTML
Week 5 Foundations of the Muscovite State (II)
Kaiser and Marker, pp. 172-222
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 11-14 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 15-19
Week 6 The Petrine "Revolution"
Cracraft, pp. 81-126; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 223-229, 334-336
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 15-16 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 20
Week 7 Impact of Petrine Reforms/From Peter to Catherine [see study questions for individual assignments!]
Cracraft, pp. 127-165; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 230-237, 246-250, 268-289, 312-318, 339-350, 362-369
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 17 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 21
Week 8 Catherine's Russia (I) Everyone should do ALL of the assigned readings (no groups)
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 18 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 22
Week 9 Catherine's Russia (II) [Please see study questions for individual assignments]
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 19 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 23-24
Week 10 Alexander I and Nicholaen Russia [Please see study questions for individual assignments]
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 20-23 OR Riasanovsky, chapters 25-28
Begin reading Turgenev, Fathers and Sons.
Week 11 The Great Reforms
Discussion of Turgenev, Fathers and Sons.
Cracraft, pp. 313-359; Kaiser and Marker, pp. 428-445 Note revised assignment!
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 24 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 29
Week 12 Counter Reforms and Russia as Empire Note group assignments!!
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 26 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 30
Week 13 Rural Society, 1861-1905
Cracraft, pp. 344-58, 491-493, 520-527 See study questions for group assignments
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapter 25 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 32
Begin reading Kanatchikov, A Radical Worker in Tsarist Russia (early sections on rural life) [Everyone should read to page 50 and be ready to discuss the study questions on rural life and on the experiences of labor migrants!]
Week 14 Workers and Urban Society, 1880s-1905
Cracraft, pp. 442-454, 494-503
Kanatchikov, A Radical Worker in Tsarist Russia.
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 27, 29 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 33
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This is the week of Thanksgiving and there are no Weds night classes.
We will discuss the week 14 readings in the first hour of our week 15 session.
Week 15 The 1905 Revolution and Its Aftermath
Discuss Anton Chekhov, Five Plays.
Background: Mackenzie and Curran, chapters 28 OR Riasanovsky, chapter 31
Look at some of the photos at http://cmp1.ucr.edu/exhibitions/russia/russia.html and at http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/.
Maps
If you want to look at some good quality maps to help find locations, try
the map of Russia in 1723 at http://www.bell.lib.umn.edu/historical/hmap2.html (click on the map to enlarge any specific region)
the 1820 map of the Russian Empire at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/russian_empire_1820.jpg (a very large file)
the 1882 maps of the Russian Empire at http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~feefhs/maps/ruse/mapiruse.html, which are broken down into various regional maps.
There are "period" maps of Moscow in the 1500s and 1600s and of St. Petersburg in the 1700s at http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/russia/russia.html that you might find interesting.
See also the links to various maps sites in the MAPS section of my Russian and Soviet History Resource Page at http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/hickey/Russian%20and%20Soviet%20History%20Resource%20Page.htm#Maps
