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 Academic Year: | 2017/8 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies |
| Credits: | 12 [equivalent to 24 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 240 |
| Level: | Intermediate (FHEQ level 5) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CW 10%, ES 45%, EX 45% |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | |
| Description:
| Aims: The first aim of this unit is to examine the character, evolution and collapse of the communist political order in the USSR and the subsequent construction of a post-communist political order in Russia, focusing particularly upon controversies of evidence and interpretation in order to develop skills in historical and political analysis. The second aim of the unit is to provide an overview of cultural developments in this period and to study key literary texts and films of the Soviet era in order to improve students' skills in literary criticism and cultural analysis. A third aim is to help students improve their essay and seminar techniques and their ability to read and understand modern literary texts in Russian. Learning Outcomes: Students who complete the unit successfully will: * have a clear understanding of the historical evolution of the Soviet political social and cultural order 1917-1991 and the Russian political and social order since 1991; * be familiar with the major academic debates about the nature of the Soviet polity and about the roles of actors, ideas and structures in its evolution and collapse; * be familiar with the major academic debates about the nature and problems of the postcommunist order and the factors driving its evolution; * be familiar with the major academic debates about the nature of Soviet Russian culture and with critical views of some leading writers and film directors; * have gained experience in analysis of primary and secondary sources and of reading texts in Russian; * have shown they can present an effective analysis of a historical controversy or cultural product orally and in essay form. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, cultural awareness, transferable skills and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit. Language skills are developed in this unit. Content: The establishment of Bolshevik power under Lenin 1917-1921; the New Economic Policy and the struggle for power in the 1920s; Stalinist rule in the 1930s-40s; the USSR in the Second World War; reform and its limits under Khrushchev and Brezhnev in the 1950s-70s; the structure and problems of the Soviet political system in the early 1980s; the origins, development and failure of Gorbachev's reform programme 1985-91; ethnic and social developments in the post-Stalin USSR and their bearing on the collapse of communism; Yeltsin's attempt to build a new political order in Russia; the character of postcommunist politics under Putin and Medvedev; the prospects for political development in Russia. The study of key texts in Russian by significant cultural figures including Zoshchenko, Olesha, Akhmatova and Eisenstein. This unit is taught in English. |
| Programme availability: |
PL20960 is Compulsory on the following programmes:Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
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Notes:
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