The Soviet Union stands alone in modern history for the ambition of its utopia - Soviet communists imagined a world free of exploitation, in which material abundance would foster the self-realization of all individuals and a radical equality of class, gender, and ethnicity. But applying that vision to the old Russian Empire forced compromise or, more often, a dangerous disregard for reality. The result was a tragic, often violent, and ultimately failed experiment, though one not without significant accomplishments. Soviet history is dramatic, contentious, and still being written; students will leave this course conversant in all of its major questions.
Athena Title
History of the Soviet Union
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of the Soviet Union by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of the Soviet Union shaped diverse social, cultural, and political identities and attitudes across the Soviet Union, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
The Great Reforms
19th-Century Change
Liberal and Revolutionary Oppositions
1905 and After: Parliamentary Autocracy?
The Great War and the End of Tsarism
1917
The Civil War Ethos and Crafting a “Soviet Union”
NEP and the Question of Alternatives
Stalin’s Rise – and Revolution Reborn
Remaking City and Country: The Five-Year Plans
Remaking Men and Women: From Cultural Revolution to Terror
The Great Patriotic War and a Soviet Body Politic
Late Stalinism at Home and Abroad
Khrushchev in Power
“Stagnation” and Cultural Transformation
Reform, Collapse – Rebirth? Gorbachev and After
What is Russia? The National Question
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
