17406		9:30-10:45	TR			EKLOF
A portion of the above section reserved for majors
Above section carries culture studies credit
Above section open to undergraduates only
D308: REEI graduate students register for REEI-R 500

This course examines the Russian Empire under the Romanov tsars, from
Catherine the Great to Nicholas II and World War I (1762-1917). 
Students are introduced to basic events and themes in the country’s
political life, to the biographies of leading statesmen,
revolutionary men and women, and writers such as Chekhov, Tolstoy,
Dostoevsky (how their works depicted contemporary reality, but also
how their personal lives reflected the issues and ambiguities
plaguing Russian society).  Certain key events are treated in closer
detail: the Decembrist revolt, the Crimean War and Great Reforms, the
assassination and crisis of 1881, the Russo-Japanese War and the
Revolution of 1905 and World War I.
 
Attention is also given to policy dilemmas and ideologies:
liberalism, revolutionary socialism, conservatism, Panslavism and
anti-Semitism, and to changing relations between the state and
society, issues of empire, Russia as a Great Power in the modern
world, and the changing daily life of Russia’s diverse population
(its peasantry, factory work force, middle classes, and nobility).
 
Requirements:  (the mix changes from year to year, depending upon
size of class, thematic focus, and availability of books); 1) weekly
responses (1-2 pages each, single-space) and a final write-up paper,
OR  2) (your choice) a midterm and final (mixed format)
 
Readings for purchase: (I choose from this list each year)
 
"Catherine the Great: A Short History," by Isabel DeMadariaga 
(background)
"Russia in the Age of Reform and Reaction," by David Saunders
"A Sportsman’s Sketchbook," Ivan Turgenev
"The Abolition of Serfdom," David Moon
"Five Sisters:  Women Against the Tsar," B. Engel
"A Radical Worker in Revolutionary Russia," Kanatchikov
"Late Imperial Russia, 1890-1917," John F. Hutchinson
"Russian Women, 1698-1917: Experience and Expression," ed. by Robin
Bisha et. all
 
Prerequisites:  Good students with no background in this course can
do well, but it is recommended that you do some background reading
from a basic text on Russian history before 1801, especially from the
time of Peter the Great (readings are available on the E-Res list,
password “states”-- see especially by Acton)