MCLG/RUSS105HY: INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIAN CULTURE
Autumn 2015
3 credits
Class Time: MWF 10:10-11:00
Classroom: CHEM 123
Professor: Ona Renner-Fahey
Office Hours: M 2:10-3:00, W 11:10-12:00, F 8:10-9:00; and by appointment.
Office: 316 Liberal Arts
Phone: 243-4602 (e-mail is preferred)
E-mail: ona.renner@mso.um.edu
Course description
This class is a survey of Russian culture and civilization from its beginnings to the contemporary
period. No language or literature prerequisites. The course may be taken for a traditional letter
grade only. It is cross-listed with MCLG HY and required for Russian majors.
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. 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.
Grading scale
93-100 A
90-92 A88-89 B+
83-87 B
80-82 B78-79 C+
73-77 C
70-72 C68-69 D+
65-67 D
64 & below E
Assessment




Attendance/ Participation: Attendance, preparation, and—although largely a lecturebased class—some participation are required. At times, an attendance sheet will be
passed around; at 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. If possible, post a recognizable photo
of yourself on Moodle.
“Pop” reading quizzes: Reading assignments from our two main texts 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 multiple choice “pop” quiz in
class on the reading, it will be based on those same questions. (In addition, some of the
same questions will appear on the midterm and final exams.)
Midterm exam: The midterm will be based on material from: the readings, lectures,
films, slides, and music. It will be a multiple choice exam and students will need to bring
a scantron sheet and pencils, which can be easily purchased at the University Bookstore.
Final exam: The final exam will have a similar structure to the midterm and will be
cumulative, although weighted more on the material from the second half of the
semester. It will be a multiple choice exam and students will need again to bring a
scantron sheet and pencils.
Percentage distribution of final course grade
Attendance/Participation:
“Pop” reading quizzes:
Midterm exam:
Cumulative final exam:
26%
12%
26%
36%
Required reading:
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)
Texts on Moodle:
 Readings (other than the two books listed above) can be found on Moodle. If you
choose not to print out the readings (and it is strongly recommended that you do print
them), 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 or at least some detailed information from them.
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 Intros to Literature)
(Caryl Emerson)
 THE MAKING OF MODERN RUSSIA (Kochan and Abraham)
 THE LAND OF THE FIREBIRD (Massie, Suzanne)
 AN ANTHOLOGY OF RUSSIAN L IT FROM EARLIEST WRITINGS TO MODERN FICTION: INTRO TO A
CULTURE
 (N. 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 C ULTURE 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 8/31
The Geography and Language(s) of Russia
Introduction to Vaillant’s THE TIGER
MEDIEVAL RUSSIA (10th-16th c.):
W 9/2
The Riurik Dynasty
Reading: Prologue, Chapters 1 and 2 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
F 9/4
Christianization and Eastern Orthodoxy
Reading: Chapters 3, 4 and 5 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
M 9/7
NO CLASSES
W 9/9
Dvoeverie (Coexistence of Christian and Pagan Beliefs)
Reading: Chapters 6, 7, and 8 (Vaillant) (~44 pages)
*John Vaillant’s Lecture (8 pm, Dennison Theater)
F 9/11
The “Tatar/Mongol Yoke”
Reading: “Olga’s Vengeance” and “Vladimir Christianizes Russia”
M 9/14
Oral Folk Traditions: Skazki and Byliny
Reading: “Vassilissa the Fair,” “Il’ya and Nightingale the Robber,” and “Sadko
and the King of the Sea”
W 9/16
Medieval Art and Architecture
Reading: Chapters 9, 10, and 11 (Vaillant) (~50 pages)
F 9/18
Review of the Medieval Period
Reading: Chapters 12 and 13 (Vaillant) (~26 pages)
SECULARIZATION (17th & 18th c.):
M 9/21
Historical and Political Contexts: The Time of Troubles
Reading: Chapters 14 and 15 (Vaillant) (~30 pages)
W 9/23
Historical and Political Contexts: Peter the Great and Westernization
Reading: Chapters 16, 17 and 18 (Vaillant) (~33 pages)
F 9/25
Historical and Political Contexts: Catherine the Great and the Enlightenment
Reading: Chapters 19, 20 and 21 (Vaillant) ( ~32 pages)
M 9/28
The City and Architecture: Petersburg
Reading: Chapters 22, 23 and Epilogue (Vaillant) ( ~33 pages)
W 9/30
The Secularization of Literature (Genres: Satire and the Picaresque)
Reading: “Shemiaka’s Judgment” and “Frol Skobeev”
F 10/2
Secularized Literature (Literary movement: Classical literature)
Reading: “Ode to Felitsa” (Derzhavin)
M 10/5
Review of the Period of Secularization
W 10/7
Review for midterm
F 10/9
MIDTERM
THE 19th CENTURY:
M 10/12
Historical and Political Contexts: Napoleon’s Invasion and The Decembrists
Reading: “A Message to Siberia” (Pushkin)
W 10/14
Historical and Political Contexts: Emancipation
F 10/16
Literature: Sentimentalism
Reading: “Poor Liza” (Karamzin)
M 10/19
Literature: Romanticism and “The Golden Age”
Reading: “The Shot” (Pushkin)
W 10/21
Literature: Realism:
Reading: “Time-Spaces (Dostoevsky and Tolstoy)”
F 10/23
Literature: Realism, cont’d.:
Reading: “About Love” (Chekhov)
M 10/26
Music: “The Mighty Five”
W 10/28
Art and Architecture
F 10/30
Film: “Russian Ark”
M 11/2
Film: “Russian Ark”
W 11/4
Film: “Russian Ark”
F 11/6
Review of the 19th century: Introduction to Gorokhova’s A MOUNTAIN OF CRUMBS
Post-19th CENTURY:
M 11/9
Historical and Political Contexts: The End of Tsarist Russia and the Bolshevik
Revolution
Gorokhova, Chapters 1 and 2 (~23 pages)
W 11/11
NO CLASSES
F 11/13
Historical and Political Contexts: The Soviet Period and its Demise
(The GULAG, Glasnost’, Perestroika)
Reading: “The Travails of a Democratic Identity”
M 11/16
Literature: “The Silver Age” of Literature: Blok, Akhmatova, Mayakovsky
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 3 and 4 (~23 pages)
W 11/18
Socialist Realism
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 5, 6 and 7 (~42 pages)
F 11/20
CLASS CANCELLED (Check Moodle/E-mail for assignment)
Music: Stravinsky, Shostakovich
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 8, 9 and 10 (~30 pages)
M 11/23
Ballet: The Ballets Russe; Pavlova, Nijinsky, Nureev, Plisetskaya
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 11, 12 and 13 (~55 pages)
W 11/25
Art and Architecture
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapters 14 and 15 (~33 pages)
THANKSGIVING BREAK
M 11/30
Film: Eisenstein, Tarkovsky,
Reading: Gorokhova, Chapter 16, 17 and 18 (~47 pages)
W 12/2
The City and Architecture: Moscow
Reading: Gorokhova, Finish book: Chapters 19, 20 and Epilogue (~34 pages)
F 12/4
Review of the post-19th century
M 12/7
Documentary film: “My Perestroika”
W 12/9
Documentary film: “My Perestroika”
F 12/11
General review
Final Exam: Tuesday, December 9th from 1:10-3:10