BA History and Sociology

This course unit explores the creation, evolution and subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union, as well as the emergence of a new Russia from the wreckage of the world’s first socialist state. Emphasis is placed on key political, social and cultural developments, seen within the context of Soviet, post-Soviet and, more broadly, European history.

• to help students develop a solid understanding of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian history;
• to provide students with the necessary analytical skills to achieve this understanding;
• to develop students’ skills at analysing and understanding primary sources;
• to develop students’ skills at presenting cogent arguments, both in writing and orally.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• critically evaluate different approaches to and interpretations of events in Soviet and post-Soviet Russian history;
• make effective use of relevant resources;
• present their written work in a coherent, well-structured and well-articulated form;
• present and defend their views orally;
• manage their time effectively.

• Week 1: The Russian Empire on the Eve of Revolution
• Week 2: The Bolshevik Revolution and the Civil War
• Week 3: The New Economic Policy and the rise of Stalin
• Week 4: Stalin’s ‘second Revolution’
• Week 5: The ‘Great Patriotic War’ and its aftermath
• Week 6: The Khrushchev ‘Thaw’ and the dilemmas of de-Stalinisation 
• Week 7: ‘Re-Stalinisation’ and the Reassertion of Control
• Week 8: The ‘Era of stagnation’ and its legacy
• Week 9:  Gorbachev and perestroika 
• Week 10: The collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of post-Soviet Russia
• Week 11: The Putin era

One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week.

The Blackboard site will contain an extensive range of materials including the course syllabus; lecture handouts and slides; seminar assignments; supplementary readings and audio-visual materials; and coursework assignments and guidance on how to complete them.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• understand the historical development of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia;
• have a clear knowledge of the different periods of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian history;
• understand the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union;
• understand the form of political and societal systems which emergedin post- Soviet Russia.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    explore a variety of texts on Soviet and post-Soviet history;
•    differentiate between varying interpretations of historical events;
•    understand the Marxist ideas that underpinned Soviet social and political attitudes and approaches;
•    understand the concept of ideology and how it differs from one society to the next.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

•    analyse and understand primary and secondary sources of various types;
•    make effective use of primary and secondary sources to develop cogent arguments, both in writing and orally;
•    present their written work in a coherent, well-structured and well-articulated form;
•    work successfully in groups with others.

•    the ability to gather, synthesise and organise material from a  variety of sources and to critically evaluate their significance;
•    the ability to construct and defend arguments, both in writing and orally;
•    the ability to work in a team, recognising different opinions and approaches and using them to best advantage;
•    the ability to work to deadlines.

Resit Assessment:

Essay

1. Peter Kenez, A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy, 3rd edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016)
2. Robert Service, The Penguin History of Modern Russia: From Tsarism to the Twenty First Century (London: Penguin, 2015)
3. Ronald Grigor Suny, ed. The Cambridge History of Russia, Volume 3: The Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)
4. Seventeen Moments in Soviet History: An on-line archive of primary sources (2015) http://soviethistory.msu.edu