Admission requirements
N/A
Description
Russia is the world’s largest country. It is also one of the most important geopolitical, military, and economic actors on the global stage - and yet this outside impact can obscure just how poorly understood and studied it truly is in the West. In fact, Russia is a country and society that in the West is largely treated in terms of stereotype and rumour: distorted pictures that filter back to us from a far-off place. From the country’s centuries of history to expansive territorial, political, cultural, and religious depths, however, the Russian Federation is a place well deserving of extensive and multidimensional study.
This course represents the first step towards this study, providing a top-level view of modern Russian history, politics, society, and economics and contextualizing current developments in their historical and global contexts. In part, it serves as a basis for further study in the BA - Russische Studies, highlighting many of the topics that will be studied at greater length in the programmes’ following years. Instead of a traditionally structured introductory course built around geographic or discinplinary lines, however, it introduces students to 12 objects of material culture, broadly understood, from the fur coats (shuba) worn by many Russians in the winter to the standard entranceway into Russian apartment buildings (pod’’ezd) to chocolates designed in Moscow but meant to evoke the Turkmen desert. Using these material objects as lenses with which to understand modern Russia, the course contextualizes and expands outward from each object, showing how the modern state of and society of Russia has developed and expanded over the centuries.
Course objectives
Having completed this course, students will:
Demonstrate knowledge about modern Russian culture, society, history, economics, and politics;
Be able to contextualize economic, political, and social phenomena in Russia in their earlier historical and societal development;
Show the ability, through written assignments and examinations, to analyse political and economic changes in Russia and identify their causes.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lecture
Assessment method
Assessment
This course is assessed through a combination of a midterm essay (50%) and a final exminaton (50%). The midterm essay is assessed on four parameters: clarity of focus, strength of argument, reference to course materials, and referencing, all weighted equally. The final examination consists of five open-ended questions, all of which must be answered in writing, and all of which are weighted equally. More information about both the midterm assignment and examination will be provided in the course syllabus.
Resit
If the final examination grade and final weighted course grade are insufficient (i.e., less than 5.5), then the final examination may be resat, with the resit grade replacing both insufficient grades.
Inspection and feedback
Reading list
TBA in the course syllabus.
Registration
General information about registering for courses and exams can be found [here] (https://www.student.universiteitleiden.nl/en/your-study-programme/courses-and-exams/enrolment/humanities/russian-studies-ba?cf=humanities&cd=russian-studies-ba#tab-1)
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of À la carte education (without taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Remarks
All other information.