An interdisciplinary, discussion-oriented survey of conflicting attitudes among Russians and Ukrainians about Ukrainian lands and Ukrainian cultural development in literature, the visual arts, film, philosophy, history, folklore, educational policy, and politics. Students will contrast Russian colonialist viewpoints with Ukrainian expressions of self-definition. Conducted in English.
Athena Title
Ukraine and Russia: Conflicts
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be empowered to contextualize Russia's current invasions of Ukraine in the legacy of Russian imperialist colonialism and Ukrainian expressions of self-definition.
Students will improve their critical thinking, discussion, and public speaking skills in interpretation of literary texts, films, the visual arts, history, philosophy, folklore, educational policy, and politics.
Students will advance their research capabilities and awareness of the various stages of the writing process through completion of a series of informal and formal writing assignments.
Topical Outline
The Current Scene: Films for and against Russia's Invasions
Medieval Kyiv and Contested Interpretations of the East Slavic Primary Chronicle and East Slavic Folklore
The Era of Polish and Lithuanian Domination
Catherine the Great and Crimea
Nineteenth-Century Ukrainian and Russian Literature
Representations of Revolutions and Civil War in Ukraine and Russia
Contested Representations of World War II in Ukraine and Russia
The Collapse of the USSR and Ukraine as an Independent Nation
