| Unit name | Life and Death with Stalin |
|---|---|
| Unit code | RUSS30079 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Knight |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Russian |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will be taught by Dr Claire Knight
In March 1953, dozens of Soviet citizens were stampeded to death as overwrought crowds flooded the resting place of the coffin of Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin. He had overseen the construction of the world’s first socialist state but had built it on the bones of millions of his own people. He had served as inspiration in the epic battle to defeat Nazism but used this reputation after the war to inaugurate the most intensive phase of regulation and censorship in Russia’s long history of centralized control. He had induced industrialization seemingly out of thin air, modernizing a nation dogged with “backwardness”, but did so through terror, even weaponising famine. And when he died, the people mourned. It took several years for his successors to acknowledge officially the violence and abuse of Stalin’s leadership, and several more for them to do so publicly. When they did, the Soviet Union experienced a “Thaw” or loosening of censorship and tentative rapprochement in the Cold War. Yet most Soviets were cautious in their celebration, aware of Stalin’s spectre haunting the USSR.
This unit will examine Soviet life under Stalin and afterwards, under Khrushchev’s Thaw. It will focus in particular on the processes of Stalinization and de-Stalinization which were rooted in cultural history, but held deep implications for political, economic and social history as well. Each class, students will engage with a key primary source text (in Russian with translation), or a central scholarly debate concerning such themes as the nature of Stalinism, the origins and extent of Stalin’s power, and the limits of the Thaw and de-Stalinization.
On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:
1) demonstrate a high degree of understanding of texts and images from the Soviet period and articulate this orally and in writing;
2) use an appropriate range of cultural and historical criticism through which to interpret such material;
3) articulate an advanced understanding, appropriate to Level H/6, of the history and historiography of the Soviet period;
4) understand the methodological issues around researching and interpreting Soviet texts, history and historiography;
5) demonstrate an appropriate level of analytical skills in researching and interpreting a historical topic.
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures, and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities supported by tutor consultation.
1 x 1500-word essay (40%), testing ILOs 1-5
1 x 3500-word essay (60%), testing ILOs 1-5
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. RUSS30079).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
