How do empires differ from other states?
What features do empires share in common?
	This course will address the questions above through a
detailed comparative study of the Russian Czarist and Manchu Qing
empires, from the seventeenth century through the early twentieth.
We will consider imperial aims, the rationales for building empires,
the role of rulers, the significance of administrative structures,
the cultural implications of conquest, conflicts between empires,
anti-imperial uprisings, and finally the political aftermath of
empire.  The course will combine theoretical readings with historical
works on Russia and the Qing.