T 4:00P-6:00P BH018

Topic: Russia: Empire and Ethnicity

Obtain on-line authorization from Instructor.

This colloquium offers a study of Russia and the Soviet Union as a
multinational empire, stressing the period since the mid-19th century.
The course will begin with a brief examination of the nature of Russian
emperialism.  This will be followed by a comparative evaluation of tsarist
and Soviet nationality policies (the view from the center).  The bulk of
the course will offer a comparative study of the major nationalities of
the Russian Empire and the USSR (the view from the non-Russian
borderlands), seeking to classify their political, socioeconomic, and
cultural development and to provide a meaningful basis for generalization
about Russia's ethnic diversity.

Weekly meetings will focus on a discussion of common readings.  Written
work will consist of book reviews and historiographical essay.