The College of William and Mary Department of History Fall 2009 HIST377: History of Russia, From the Beginnings Until the End of the 18 th Century Dr. Frederick Corney email: fccorn@wm.edu Office: James Blair 321 Office hours: Tu., 2.30-4.30; Th., 3-4 (and by appointment) Class time: T., Th. 12.30-1.50 Classroom: James Blair 205 This syllabus can be found at my website under "Courses Offered" (http://fccorn.people.wm.edu/) Introduction: This course will cover the progress of Russian history from Kievan Rus' through the end of Catherine the Great and the Eighteenth Century. It will trace the emergence of Muscovy, in competition with other viable principalities, as the centre of Russian culture, the turn westwards under Peter the Great, the Enlightenment policies of Catherine the Great, and the intermittent policies of tsarist state-building. Through a combination of empirical texts, avowedly interpretive texts, and primary source materials, we will examine the idea of Russia as it emerged over this long period. Required Texts (available at the bookstore): Riasanovsky, Nicholas; Steinberg, Mark. A History of Russia. Vol. 1: To 1855. 7 th ed. Oxford University Press, 2005. Halperin, Charles J. Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. Indiana University Press, 1985. Perrie, Maureen. Ivan the Terrible. Longman, 2003. Cracraft, James, The Revolution of Peter the Great De Madariaga, Isabel. Catherine the Great. A Short History. Yale University Press. Reinterpreting Russian History. Readings, 860-1860s. Compiled and edited by Daniel H. Kaiser and Gary Marker. Oxford University Press, 1984. Classroom Obligations The lectures are intended not to duplicate the texts, but rather to complement them by drawing out key concepts. Regular attendance is required, as is your active participation. You must come to class having already read the texts assigned for that week. Be ready to discuss intelligently these assigned readings. Read carefully, looking for flaws or ambiguities. Note passages that strike you as particularly intriguing or questionable. Feel free to ask questions if something is unclear. Your attendance and participation reflect your interest in the class. In-class discussion must be informed, civilized and respectful.
Students with Disabilities If you have any special needs due to a disability, please inform me at the beginning of the course, so that I can work with the College's Disability Services to accommodate these special needs. Classroom Policies and Conduct Please avoid side-conversations in class. They disrupt both my ability to teach and your ability to learn. It is a sign of disrespect to me and other students to read the paper in class, to leave class early without informing me beforehand, or to pack up your things early. Of course, if I have gotten carried away with my lecturing, and have gone way past the end of class, please let me know. Technology is a wonderful thing and enriches our lives (mostly), and the interwebthingy has been a boon to learning. Still, while you are in class please avoid emailing, messaging, texting, txtng, skyping, google-earthing, facebooking, myspacing, yourspacing, just spacing, blogging, twittering, tweeting, surfing, turfing, yahooing, googling, giggling (unless unavoidable), or any other such vital exercises. Requirements: 1. Map test. 2. Two written papers (see "Written Assignments" below). 3. One mid-term one-hour examination. 4. One final two-hour examination. 5. In addition, each week I will ask individual student(s) to prepare a short oral report (no more than 5 minutes) on one or more of the primary sources for the following week, as a preparation for general class discussion. This will count towards the participation portion of your grade. N.B. Late assignments will be accepted, if you are prepared to accept substantial grade penalties. Make computer backups of your paper, computer breakdowns are not an acceptable excuse. Written Assignments: Writing conventions (formats for footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies, etc) should adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style which can be found online at: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html. I take the writing assignments very seriously, regardless whether they are papers prepared at home or examinations taken in class. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, stapled, and paginated with margins that do not mask a lack of material. Any phrases or sentences that are not entirely your own must be clearly indicated and referenced. Short quotes may be set off in "quotation marks"; longer quotes (3 or more lines) should be written in single-spaced, indented blocks. Do not use quotation marks around blocked quotes. You may use in-text citations (author, page number) or footnotes or endnotes. Most importantly, all written assignments must be well-structured and clearly argued arguments. They should address the question or issue at hand, succinctly and cogently. Please proofread them for syntactic and grammatical accuracy. Plagiarism is of course unacceptable and will be referred to the honors court for investigation. If you are unclear what constitutes plagiarism, check out the following website: http://swem.wm.edu/instruction/plagiarism.cfm. The first paper (5 pages) will be an analysis of a short primary source document, allowing you to apply
some of the techniques we have used in our discussions of primary sources in class. I will distribute this source to you a week ahead of the due date. The second paper (7-10 pages) will be a detailed response to a question provided by me one week before the due date. Grade Breakdown: Map Test: 5% Paper I: 15% (October 22, at start of class) Paper II: 30% (December 3, at start of class) Midterm: 15% (October 8, in class) Final: 20% (Thursday, December 10, 9am-Noon) Class participation/presentation: 15 % Resources for Improving Writing and Oral Communication The following resources are available to you: The History Writing Resources Center: James Blair 347 (221-3756 or http://www.wm.edu/as/history/undergraduateprogram/historywritingresourcecenter/index.php or write1@wm.edu). Open Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5 pm. The History Writing Resources Center is staffed by advanced graduate students who are very familiar with all types of history papers. If you would like some help writing a history paper or doing historical research, feel free to schedule a fifty-minute appointment through the center's website. The web site also offers information on HWRC policies, hours of operation, what to bring to your consultation, and many helpful handouts and links that will assist you with your history writing. The HWRC will open for the fall semester on Monday, September 7. The Writing Resources Center: Swem Library, First Floor, the WRC serves students, faculty, and staff. Trained writing consultants will give individual assistance with writing assignments at any stage of the writing process. Expect to work: consultants will not do the writing for you, but they can give you feedback that can improve yur writing skills and result in a better final product. Consultations are free, but, if possible, you should schedule them in advance by calling x 1-3925. The Oral Communication Studios: Phi Beta Kappa Hall 219A, the OCS are staffed by oral communications consultants who are trained to give feedback to anyone preparing an oral presentation. The studios have video cameras and private spaces for practicing and viewing oral presentations, as well as a wealth of instructional materials. Again, schedule in advance your free consultation or studio time by either calling the PBK studio, 221-2689, or the WRC studio, 221-3925.
Lecture Schedule 1. Introduction to Course - Why History? Why Russia? (Aug. 27, Sept. 1) 2. Rus<, and the Rise of the State (Sept. 3) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 3-19 Halperin, Russia and the Golden Horde, ch. I-II Kaiser/Marker, Reinterpreting Russian History pp. 3-20 3. Kievan Rus' (Sept. 8, 10) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 21-57 Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 21-82. 4. Appanage Russia and the Mongol 'Yoke' (Sept. 15, 17) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 59-71 Halperin, Russia and the Golden Horde, ch. III-XI Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 99-102, 104-107, 124-126, 137-140. 5. The Rise of Muscovy (Sept. 22, 24, 29) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 72-129 Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 83-149 6. Ivan the Terrible, the Expansion of Muscovy and the Oprichnina (Oct. 1, 6) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 131-143 Perrie, Ivan the Terrible (entire book) Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 150-222 8. MIDTERM EXAM - ONE-HOUR, IN-CLASS (Oct. 8) 7. The "Time of Troubles" and the Rise of the Romanovs (Oct. 15, 20, 22) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 144-195 PAPER I DUE OCTOBER 22 (Assignment handed out one week earlier)
9. Peter the Great and the Turn Towards Europe (Oct. 27, 29, Nov. 3, 5) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 197-222 Cracraft, The Revolution of Peter the Great (ch. 1-5, and conclusion) Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 223-241, 246-250 10. Petersburg as a Concept (Nov. 10) Cracraft, James, The Revolution of Peter the Great (ch. 6) 11. Interregnum - Between Peter and Catherine (Nov. 12) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 223-234 De Madariaga, Catherine the Great. A Short History, ch.1 12. Catherine the Great and Eighteenth Century Russia (Nov. 17, 19, 24, Dec. 1) Riasanovsky, Steinberg, A History of Russia, pp. 235-278 De Madariaga, Catherine the Great. A Short History, rest of the book Reinterpreting Russian History, pp. 242-246, 250-255 14. Final Discussion and Review for Final Examination (Dec. 3) PAPER II DUE AT BEGINNING OF DEC. 3 CLASS FINAL EXAM: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 9 am - Noon 5