Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
EU20091 Russian politics & society 2A: Soviet Russia 1917-1985 |
| Credits: 3 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: CW 33%, ES 67% |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: The main aim of this unit is to examine the character and evolution of the communist political order in the USSR from 1917 to 1985, focusing particularly upon controversies of evidence and interpretation in order to develop skills in historical and political analysis. A second aim is to help students improve their essay and seminar techniques.
Learning Outcomes: Students who complete the unit successfully will: * have a clear understanding of the historical evolution of the Soviet political and social order; * 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; * have gained experience in analysis of primary and secondary sources; * have shown they can present an effective analysis of a particular controversy to a seminar 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, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are taught and assessed in this unit. Skills in effective learning 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 Communist Party in the 1920s; Stalin's drive for industrialization and rule by terror 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. Key texts: G. Hosking A History of the Soviet Union 3rd edn (Fontana: 1996), M. McAuley Soviet Politics 1917-1991 2nd edn (Oxford: 1992). |