Course Catalogue

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Over the course of the twentieth century Russian society has experienced repeated waves of revolution and transformation affecting not only political institutions and economic regimes, but also social structures and practices and the cultural politics which underpin relationships between, for example, urban and rural dwellers, men and women, intellectuals and workers. Processes of transformation and successive attempts at deliberate social engineering have both challenged and reinforced aspects of social inequality, impacting on people's livelihoods, opportunities, experiences and practices in diverse and sometimes unpredictable ways.

This course aims to explore experiences of social transformation and change 'from the bottom up'. Working chronologically through Russia's 20th century history, from pre-revolutionary society of the 1900s to the first post-Soviet decade of the 1990s, the course will use case studies focusing on gender, class and urban-rural difference to examine the ways in which Russia's people have experienced, negotiated, challenged, resisted and shaped processes of social, cultural, economic and political transformation in both the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The course will also draw students' attention to the ways in which 'knowledge' is created and the biases and silences which can arise as a result. Students will be encouraged to explore a range of methodologies and approaches by which people's experiences and understandings of and responses to social and cultural change can be studied and analysed.

One 2 hour class per week

This course may not be running this year. For further information please check the CEES Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

Mandatory entry requirements
Entry to CEES Honours normally requires a grade point average of 12 (Grade C) over CEES 2A and CEES 2B as a first attempt.

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Research proposal explaining student's approach to studying a chosen aspect of Russia's social history, including theoretical framework and rationale, research questions, choice of primary data and methods of analysis 30% (1,000 - 1,500 words); Oral presentation of research proposal 10%; Essay 60% (3,000 - 3,500 words). Due to the interconnectedness of the thematic, conceptual and empirical frameworks raised in the course, completion of the research proposal, oral presentation and essay will require full participation in the course.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Over the course of the twentieth century Russian society has experienced repeated waves of revolution and transformation affecting not only political institutions and economic regimes, but also social structures and practices and the cultural politics which underpin relationships between, for example, urban and rural dwellers, men and women, intellectuals and workers. Processes of transformation and successive attempts at deliberate social engineering both challenged and reinforced aspects of social inequality, impacting on people's livelihoods, opportunities, experiences and practices in diverse and sometimes unpredictable ways. This course explores experiences of social transformation and change 'from the bottom up'. Working chronologically through Russia's twentieth century history, from the pre-revolutionary society of the 1900s to the first post-Soviet decade of the 1990s, the course will use case studies focusing on gender, class and urban-rural difference to examine the ways in which Russia's people have experienced, negotiated, challenged, resisted and shaped processes of social, cultural, economic and political transformation in both the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The course will also draw students' attention to the ways in which 'knowledge' is created and the biases and silences which can arise as a result. Students will be encouraged to explore a range of methodologies and approaches by which people's experiences and understandings of and responses to social and cultural change can be studied and analysed.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ distinguish between differing experiences of and responses to processes of transformation among a range of socio-cultural groups in twentieth century Russia.

■ evaluate the balance between continuity and change and the influence of historically-defined practices, experiences and identities on processes of transformation.

■ critically apply relevant theoretical frameworks to empirical case study examples illustrating aspects of social diversity, inequalities and cultural politics in twentieth century Russia.

■ critically assess primary sources including contemporary media texts and visual images, memoires and oral history accounts, cultural representations and ethnographic data, as well as academic and other secondary accounts, paying particular attention to silences and omissions.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.