D314/H509 (C420)

Soviet Social and Cultural History

W 5:45-8:25 PM (Cavanaugh Hall 219)

Martin J. Blackwell

Visiting Lecturer – Department of History – IUPUI

mjblackw@iupui.edu

Course Books: (Available for purchase in the IUPUI Bookstore)

1) John Thompson, A Vision Unfulfilled: Russia and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth Century. (Boston: D.C. Heath, 1996) ISBN 066928291

2) Ronald Suny, The Structure of Soviet History: Essays and Documents. (Oxford University Press, 2002) ISBN 0195137043

3) Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard, (Dover Publications). ISBN 0486266826

4) Eugenia Ginzburg, Journey into the Whirlwind, (Harcourt/Harvest Books, 2002) ISBN 0156027518

5) Yuri Trifonov, The Exchange and Other Stories, (Northwestern University Press, 2002) ISBN 0810118602

Course Description: This course will help you achieve an understanding of some of the key moments in Russia’s history during the twentieth century. We will concentrate first on the choices made by Russia’s leaders in a country known for having political power concentrated at the top. We will also look at the social currents from below that influenced these decisions. Finally, we will concentrate on the cultural trends that influenced the decisions of Russia’s leaders and its people—trends that were products of the system but not always recognized as being so. A combination of documents, recent scholarly essays, and literature will help us accomplish this goal of better knowing Russia’s past. Because of the many written assignments you will prepare before class, our meetings should benefit from having prepared students in the classroom. I hope that all of you will be ready each week to discuss openly why at different times Russians at different levels of society made the decisions they did—ones that created the country and its people that we see acting on the world stage today.

Course Objectives: The main objective here is for all of us to come to a better understanding of how the Russia of today came into being. Another objective is for us to become more active learners, better critical thinkers, and top-notch writers—goals IUPUI’s statement on the “Principles on Undergraduate Learning” require us to achieve (see www.jaguars.iupui.edu/gened/gnedprin.htm). Still another objective is for you to gain some idea about how historians go about actually writing history—something you will achieve by completing the five response paper assignments where you come to enlightened conclusions about real historical documents as well as some well-known scholarly articles. Finally, this course also provides consistent deadlines for you to meet—as in the “real world”—and there will be much opportunity for you to improve at all of the above skills during this semester.

Course Requirements: 1) Five 400-word Response Papers 20% 2) Chekhov four-page paper 15% 3) Mid-Term 20% 4) Trifonov four-page paper 15% 5) Final Exam 25% 6) Quality participation and attendance 5%. (Graduate students do not have to do the response papers or the Trifonov paper. Instead, they will write a 15 page historiographical paper on a topic they have consulted with the instructor about well beforehand.)

Course Grading: The exams will take place in Cavanaugh Hall on the days mentioned in the syllabus. We will review (with the help of exam review sheets I hand out in advance) and I will answer your questions on the Wednesday before the exam takes place. The response papers are due on the day noted on the syllabus and should be typed in a double-spaced format. The discussions will often be about questions you have already spent some time thinking about while composing your response papers. Quality participation in our discussions will positively affect your final grade.

Course Policies: Come to class on time. Those who arrive late distract us all from learning. I will give make up exams in emergencies—but only if you tell me about your absence before the actual exam takes place. In case of sickness, I require that you give me written proof of a visit to a medical authority about your condition before you take your make-up. The same rule applies to receive an excuse for an absence from class. On the response papers, I will not accept any e-mails of these in lieu of hardcopies handed in at the end of class. I will also not accept late response papers. Please note that there are three more “optional” response papers near the end of the course—these are chances for you to make up for any of the papers missed earlier. You can also do a sixth response to erase the lowest grade you receive on a prior paper. Please read the IUPUI policy on plagiarism before doing your first response paper. The policy is located at www.jaguars.iupui.edu/studcode/stucode.htm . The penalties for plagiarism range from a reduced class grade, to failing the class, or further academic disciplinary action. I may alter this syllabus later. In addition to this syllabus, a week before the first response paper is due I will distribute a guide to completing the response paper assignments.

D314/H509 Course Schedule

20 August – Introduction to Course

27 August – Political Movements and Economic Modernization to 1905

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 1 (pp. 19-62), Chekhov (Finish)

Assignment: Chekhov Paper Rough Draft Due (Optional)

3 September – Social Discontent and Nationalism, 1905-1914

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 2 (pp. 63-101).

Assignment: Chekhov Writing Assignment Due

10 September – The First World War and the Revolutions of 1917

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 3 (pp. 103-145), Suny – Chapter 1 “The Revolution of 1917”

(pp. 22-47).

Assignment: Response Paper #1 (Optional)

17 September – The Bolsheviks Take Control, 1917-1921.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 4 (pp. 147-192), Suny – Chapter 2 “Civil War, Socialism, and Nationalism” (pp. 62-82).

Assignment: Response Paper #2 (Optional)

24 September – The NEP, other Experiments, and the Power Struggle at the Top, 1921-1928.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 5 (pp. 193-232), Suny – Chapter 3 “Politics, Society and Culture in the 1920s” (pp. 93-128).

Assignment: Response Paper #3 (Optional)

1 October – The Stalin Revolution and the Great Breakthrough, 1928-1934.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 6 (pp. 233-272), Suny – Chapter 4 “The Stalin Revolution – Selections” (pp. 164-187), Ginzburg (Begin).

Assignment: Response Paper #4 (Optional)

8 October – The Stalin Revolution and the Creation of “Totalitarianism,” 1934-1941.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 7 (pp. 273-321), Suny – Chapter 4 “The Stalin Revolution”

(pp. 232-240), Ginzburg (Finish)

Assignment: Response Paper #5 (Optional) (On Ginzburg)

15 October – Mid Term, CA 219, 5:45-8:25PM

22 October – The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 8 (pp. 323-372), Suny – Chapter 5 “Dangers and Opportunities: The Comintern, World War and Cold War” (pp. 267-273, 285-315).

29 October – High Stalinism at Home and the Cold War Abroad, 1945-1953.

Readings: Suny – Chapter 4 “The Stalin Revolution” (pp. 198-209, 251-262) and Chapter 5 “Dangers and Opportunities: The Comintern, World War and Cold War” (pp. 273-285, 315-325).

Assignment: Response Paper #6 (Optional)

5 November – Khrushchev and the “Thaw,” 1953-1964.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 9 (pp. 373-418), Suny – Chapter 6 “From Autocracy to Oligarchy” (pp. 330-338, 340-356), Trifinov (Begin).

Assignment: Response Paper #7 (Optional)

12 November – Brezhnev and the “Stagnation,” 1964-1985

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 10 (pp. 419-465), Suny – Chapter 7 “Stagnation” (pp. 360-399) Trifinov (Finish).

Assignment: Trifonov Rough Draft Due (Optional)

19 November – Gorbachev’s “Perestroika” and the Collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1991.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 11 (pp. 467-510), Suny – Chapter 8 “The Road to Revolution” (pp. 406-475).

Assignment: Trifinov Writing Assignment Due

26 November – No Class – Thanksgiving

3 December – Yeltsin, Putin, and the “New Russians,” 1991-2003.

Readings: Thompson – Chapter 12 (pp. 511-557), Suny – Chapter 9 “The Second Russian Republic and the Near Abroad” (pp. 478-525), Chapter 10 “Summing Up” (pp.533-578).

Assignment: Response Paper #8 (Optional)

10 December – Final Exam (5:45-7:45PM)