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COURSE NUMBER: HIST 380
COURSE TITLE: A History of Modern Russia
NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: Dr Mark Sandle
CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to develop an understanding of the rise of Russia to world prominence. The course emphasizes political, social, and economic forces and institutions, the motives behind the Russian Revolution, the establishment of the Communist order, and Russia's role as a world power in the 20th century.

Prerequisites: HIST 204
REQUIRED TEXTS:J.N. Westwood, Endurance and Endeavour Russian History 1812-2001 (OUP, 2002)
MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:
Essay 1 (2500 words)25%
1921 crisis exercise25%
Essay 2 (2500 words)25%
Final Exam25%
100%
COURSE OBJECTIVES:By the end of this course students will:
  • acquire an in-depth knowledge of the key ideological, social, political, economic, spiritual and international developments between 1855 and 1991;
  • be able to analyse and interpret a range of primary sources from this period;
  • have an awareness of the main historiographical debates in this period 
  • develop their skills of critical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, communication and debate
  • further refine their Christian perspective and outlook through an extended engagement with the past
COURSE SCHEDULE: September 5– October 5

Russia 1855 – 1917: Understanding Russian History; Autocracy and Reform: the Emancipation of the serfs; Reform and Reaction; Bolshevism, Marxism and Communism; 1905 and 1917

October 10 – November 7

USSR: Building Utopia? 1917-1945 Bolshevism in Power 1917-24; Kronstadt and NEP; The Succession struggle after Lenin 1924-29; The Stalin Revolution; Terror and Dictatorship; The USSR at War 1941-45

November 14 – December 8

USSR and after: Decline, Fall, Recovery? 1945 – 2014 The Cold War; Khrushchev and Brezhnev; Dissidents; Gorbachev and Perestroika; Yeltsin and Putin; 


Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.

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