I. ASCRC General Education Form
(revised 2/8/13)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change or renew existing gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status .
Group
(submit
II. Mathematics
III. Language
VII: Social Sciences
VIII: Ethics & Human Values separate forms if requesting more than one
III Exception: Symbolic Systems *
IV: Expressive Arts
IX: American & European
X: Indigenous & Global general education
V: Literary & Artistic Studies XI: Natural Sciences
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies w/ lab  w/out lab  group designation)
RUSS
*Courses proposed for this designation must be standing requirements of majors that qualify for exceptions to the modern and classical language requirement
MCLL 105 Course #
Course Title Introduction to Russian Culture
3 Prerequisite None
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Credits
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor Ona Renner-Fahey
Date
Phone / Email 243-4602
Program Chair Ametsbichler/Montauban
Dean Chris Comer
III. Type of request
New One-time Only Renew X
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
Change Remove
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of the general education course: General Education courses must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course content to students’ future lives: See Preamble: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/archives/minutes/gened/GE_preamble.aspx
This course is broad in that we move through one thousand years of Russian cultural history, looking at such diverse areas as geography, art, literature, music, politics, and even cuisine. It emphasizes connectedness, as, for example, we are constantly discussing national identity and how it is shaped and we situate Russia between the West and the East and compare it to our own culture. Everything in the course is constantly contextualized. We also read about contemporary political and environmental issues and relate them to our own lives in the United
States.

V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
In the course the students analyze the core cultural values of the Russians, which entails discussing the history of their behavior and ideas. As this is a culture course, everything is placed within historical and cultural contexts, as the syllabus shows.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning goals. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
We trace the development of arts over the course of a thousand years, and to do so the students analyze a variety of texts, with an eye to how those texts are evolving. This means that the students are constantly synthesizing the material they are learning in the course.
VII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level.
If the course has more than one pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200 level), provide rationale for exception(s).
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.

The syllabus should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Autumn 20012
Time: MWF 1:10-2:00
Location: Forestry 305
Credits: 3
Professor: Ona Renner-Fahey
Office Hours: TR 9:10-10 & W 2:10-3
and by appointment.

Office: 316 Liberal Arts
Office phone: 243-4602
E-mail: Ona.Renner@mso.umt.edu
Course description: A survey of Russian culture and civilization from its beginnings to the contemporary period. No language or literature prerequisites. Course may be taken for a traditional letter grade only. Cross-listed with MCLG and LS HY. Required for Russian majors as of AU 2009.
Goals and outcomes: In this course students will be introduced through a variety of contexts to both the “big-C culture” and “little-c culture” of the Russian people and will trace its cause and development to the contemporary period. We will cover Russian culture chronologically, dividing the course into four periods, spending approximately three weeks on each historical period. We will consider major historical and political events from each period to establish a context through which we will study the developments of such cultural aspects as the literature, art, and music from each period. The course structure will include lectures and some class discussion. The students will have reading assignments for most class periods. They will also have to engage actively in critical thought through participating in two student-led group discussions. Through attentive reading, analytical thought, and some active discussion, the students will finish the semester with a foundational knowledge of Russian culture from its birth in the medieval period to the present day.
Classroom etiquette: It is essential to the learning process that students treat each other and the instructor with respect. Under the Student Conduct Code, students who are found to be disruptive may be asked to leave the classroom. Disruptive behaviors may include but are not limited to:

Using electronic communication devices, including cell phones and laptops for purposes unrelated to ongoing class activities.


Carrying on side conversations that are distracting to the instructor and other students.
Verbally interrupting the class with comments or questions not relevant to the course or to the current discussion.

Failure to participate in assigned group activities.
 Significantly interfering with instructor’s work activities during or outside of class.
Disability accommodations : If you are a student with a disability who will require reasonable accommodation in this course, please meet with Disability Services for Students in Lommasson 154 for assistance in developing a plan to address program accommodations. If you are already working with
Disability Services, then you should arrange to meet with your instructor during her office hours to discuss accommodations that may be necessary.
Assessment:
• Attendance/ Participation: Attendance, preparation, and--although largely a lecture-based class-some participation are required. At times, an attendance sheet will be passed around; at other times, I may ask you to hand in your answers to the guided reading questions (always print them off, write out your answers, and bring them to class); at still other times, the “pop” reading quizzes (regardless of how the student has done on the quiz) will serve to record attendance. (For this reason, you should always turn in the quiz, even if you haven’t read or think you did very poorly. You can at least receive credit for having been in attendance.) Answering questions--as well as asking relevant questions--is encouraged.
And in order to get to know you as well as possible, I may ask for your name when you volunteer to speak or I may even call your name from time to time and ask a question of you.
• “Pop” reading quizzes:
Most reading assignments will have guided reading questions available on
Moodle. Students should answer the questions while they are reading and then study the answers. If there is a “pop” quiz in class on the reading, it will be based on those same questions. (In addition, the same questions might appear on the midterm and final exams.)

•
Student-led class discussions: Twice over the course of the semester we will have groups of 14-17 students who will lead a discussion. I will give you some discussion questions to consider and you should develop them further, as well as prepare your own discussion questions. While the class as a whole is welcome to answer questions and participate in the discussion, the burden rests on the discussion leaders to keep the dialogue going. More information on this assignment will be provided separately.
•Midterm exam:
The midterm will be based on material from: the readings, lectures, films, slides, and music. Its structure will be: various identifications (of terms, visuals, and music), short answers, maps, and multiple choice questions.
•Final exam:
The final exam will have a similar structure to the final and will be cumulative, although weighted more on the material from the second half of the semester.
Percentage distribution of final course grade:
Attendance/Participation: 16%
“Pop” reading quizzes: 12%
Student-led class discussion (2@5%): 10%
Midterm exam: 26%
Cumulative final exam: 36%
Grading scale:
93-100 A
90-92 A
88-89 B+
83-87 B
80-82 B-
78-79 C+
73-77 C
70-72 C-
68-69 D+
65-67 D
64 & below E
Required reading:
I. Books (Available at the University Bookstore):
A Mountain of Crumbs : A Memoir (Elena Gorokhova)
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (John Vaillant)
II. Texts on Moodle:
Readings (other than the two books) that are listed on the syllabus can be found on Moodle. If you choose not to print out the readings (and it is recommended that you do), you will need to take thorough notes so that you are prepared to discuss them in class, should we have time. Content from the readings may also be on the midterm and final exams, so there are plenty of reasons why you should have ready access to the readings themselves or at least information from the readings.
Suggestions for further reading:
Gulag: A History (Anne Applebaum)
The Icon and the Axe (Billington, James)
Russia in Search of Itself (Billington, James)
The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Literature (Cambridge Introductions to Literature) (Caryl
Emerson)
The Making of Modern Russia (Kochan and Abraham)
The Land of the Firebird (Massie, Suzanne)
An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction: Introduction to a
Culture (Nicholas Rzhevsky)
Russian Popular Culture: Entertainment and Society Since 1900 (Stites, Richard)
A Concise History of Russian Art (Talbot Rice, Tamara)
The Magical Chorus: A History of Russian Culture from Tolstoy to Solzhenitsyn (Volkov, Solomon)
COURSE SCHEDULE:
*This schedule is subject to change. The texts are to have been read before class on the day they are listed.

M 8/27 Introduction to the Geography and Language of Russia
MEDIEVAL RUSSIA (10 th -16 th c.)
W 8/29 Christianization and Eastern Orthodoxy
Reading: “Olga’s Vengeance” and “Vladimir Christianizes Russia”
F 8/31 Folktales and Byliny
Reading: “Vassilissa the Fair,” “Il’ya and Nightingale the Robber,” and
“Sadko and the King of the Sea”
M 9/3 No classes
W 9/5 Dvoeverie (Coexistence of Christianization and Pagan Belief)
Reading: Prologue, Chapters 1 and 2 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
F 9/7 The Riurik Dynasty
Reading: Chapters 3, 4 and 5 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
M 9/10 The “Tatar/Mongol Yoke”
Reading: Chapters 6, 7, and 8 (Vaillant) (~44 pages)
W 9/12 Medieval Art and Architecture
Reading: Chapters 9, 10, and 11 (Vaillant) (~50 pages)
F 9/14 Review of the Medieval Period
Reading: Chapters 12 and 13 (Vaillant) (~26 pages)
Secularization (17 th & 18 th c.)
M 9/17 Historical and Political Contexts: The Time of Troubles
Reading: Chapters 14 and 15 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
W 9/19 Historical and Political Contexts: Peter the Great and Westernization
Reading: Chapters 16, 17 and 18 (Vaillant) (~33 pages)
F 9/21 Historical and Political Contexts: Catherine the Great and the Enlightenment
Reading: Chapters 19, 20 and 21 (Vaillant) ( ~32 pages)
M 9/24 The City and Architecture: Petersburg
Reading: Chapters 22, 23 and Epilogue (Vaillant) ( ~33 pages)
W 9/26 The Secularization of Literature (Satire and the Picaresque)
Reading: “Shemiaka’s Judgment” and “Frol Skobeev”
F 9/28 Secularized Literature (Classical literature)
Reading: The Brigadier
M 10/1 Review of the Period of Secularization
W 10/3 Review for midterm
F 10/5 MIDTERM
The 19 th century
M 10/8 Historical and Political Contexts: Napoleon’s Invasion and The Decembrists

Reading: “A Message to Siberia” (Pushkin)
W 10/10 Historical and Political Contexts: “The Nicholas System,” the Crimean War, and Emancipation
F 10/12 Literature: Sentimentalism, Romanticism and “The Golden Age”:
Reading: “Poor Liza” (Karamzin),“The Undertaker” (Pushkin)
M 10/15 Literature: Realism:
Reading: “Time-Spaces (Dostoevsky and Tolstoy)”
W 10/17 Literature: Realism, cont’d.:
Reading: “About Love” (Chekhov)
F 10/19 Music: “The Mighty Five”
M 10/22 Art and Architecture
W 10/24 Film: Russian Ark
F 10/26 Film: Russian Ark
M 10/29 Film: Russian Ark
W 10/31 Review of the 19 th century
Post-19 th Century
F 11/2 Historical and Political Contexts: The End of Tsarist Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution
Gorokhova, Chapters 1 and 2 (23 pages)
M 11/5 Historical and Political Contexts: The Soviet Period and its Demise
(The GULAG, Glasnost’, Perestroika)
Reading:“Epilogue: Memory” and “The Travails of a Democratic Identity”
W 11/7 Literature: “The Silver Age” of Literature
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 3 and 4 (23 pages)
F 11/9 Socialist Realism
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 5, 6 and 7 (42 pages)
M 11/12 NO CLASSES
W 11/14 Music: Stravinsky, Shostakovich
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 8, 9 and 10 (30 pages)
F 11/16 Ballet: The Ballets Russe; Pavlova, Nijinsky, Nureev, Plisetskaya
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 11, 12 and 13 (55 pages)
M 11/19 Art and Architecture
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 14 and 15 (33 pages)
Thanksgiving Break
M 11/26 Film: Eisenstein, Tarkovsky,
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapter 16, 17 and 18 (47 pages)

W 11/28 The City and Architecture: Moscow
Reading: Gorokhova, Finish book: Chapters 19, 20 and Epilogue (34 pages)
F 11/30 Film: My Perestroika
M 12/3 Film: My Perestroika
W 12/5 Review of the post-19 th century
F 12/7 General review
* Final Exam: Monday, December 10th th from 1:10-3:10
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.