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Academic Year 2000/2001
Russian History to 1881
HIST 218 FA
This course surveys Russian history from the origins of the Kievan state to the period of the Great Reforms of Alexander II, ending with his assassination in 1881. Although studying roughly a millennium of history seems
daunting, the segmented character
of Russian history facilitates our task. These are some important demarcations: Kievan Rusdsia (c.900-1240), the Mongol period (c.1240-1480), the Muscovite period (including its rise under the Mongols and its emergence
as a great power before Peter the
Great), and the greater part of the St. Petersburg period (c.1700-1917). We focus upon the factors that shaped Russian culture (including its political culture) and gave modern Russia a history punctuated by desperate
but futile upheavals from below and
costly changes forced from above.
MAJOR READINGS
P. Avrich, RUSSIAN REBELS, 1600-1800 J. Billington, THE ICON AND THE AXE R. Crummey, THE FORMATION OF MUSCOVY, 1304-1613 V. Figner, MEMOIRS OF A REVOLUTIONIST In addition, a variety of readings on Russian
religion and culture, important rulers,
such as Ivan the Dread, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great, and on special topics, such as the growth of bureaucracy, economic transformation and social change.
EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
A three-hour final and three 6-8 page essays.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
This is mainly a lecture course, but some time will be set aside during each session for questions and comments. A few meetings will be devoted to discussion of selected texts. Unless preregistered students attend the
first class meeting or
communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT:
Lecture
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level:
UGRD
Credit:
1
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST
Grading Mode:
Student Option
Prerequisites:
NONE
Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
Contact
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Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459
