Great Revolutions (Summer 2002)
Center for Talented Youth: Johns Hopkins University
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
Instructor: Dr. Robinson Yost
Comrade Lenin Sweeps the Globe Clean (1920)
Teaching Assistant: Ryan Frace
Matter of Reflection for Crowned Jugglers (1793)
Introduction:
This course introduces students to the discipline of history by examining two influential revolutions: The French Revolution and The
Russian Revolution. Though students will learn about the long-term origins, major players, significant events, and lasting
consequences of these revolutions, the focus will be on the nature of history itself. How do historians attempt to reconstruct stories
about the past? How have the goals, purposes, & methods of history changed over time? What are the pitfalls of interpreting various
sources? What does it mean to call particular events “revolutionary”? In what ways are they remembered today and why? Why is it
worthwhile to learn about history?
Official Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to explore the question, "What is history?" and to help students understand how historians work by
exploring important aspects of the French and Russian revolutions. While this is not a survey course, the study of revolutionary
movements is an excellent way to begin the study of history because these movements encompass elements of religious, social,
economic, and cultural development which are vital to an understanding of the discipline.
The term "revolution" is often applied only to a short burst of violence or a war of a few years. In this course, however, it also refers
to the social, cultural, and political trends that developed over generations and culminated in some of history’s great revolutions.
Students focus on the development of class consciousness and revolutionary ideologies and follow these through to the aftermaths of
each revolution.
Students analyze primary documents and learn to critically evaluate secondary sources. Instruction in writing historical arguments is a
central feature of the course. By considering comparative analyses of different scholars’ work on the same event, students gain not
only a better understanding of history but also a greater appreciation for the historian’s craft.
Class Readings:
● Arnold, John H., History: A Very Short
Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2000)
● Doyle, William, The French Revolution: A
Very Short Introduction (Oxford University
Press, 2001)
● Mason, Laura & Tracey Rizzo (eds.), The
French Revolution: A Document Collection
(Houghton Mifflin, 1999)
● Suny, Ronald & Arthur Adams (eds.), The
Russian Revolution and Bolshevik Victory (D.
C. Heath and Company, 1990)
● numerous handouts & possible library work
Either death to capitalism, or death under the heel of capitalism (1919)
Week One: History & Historiography
Introduction: What is history? What do historians do? Why &
how?
Ancient
The Greeks
The Romans
Early Christian
Medieval
Renaissance & Reformation
Early Modern
Enlightenment
Modern
Postmodern
“The Little Cartesian Devil”: German Peasants Capturing the
Little Devil Napoleon
Week Two: French Revolution(s)
Political context: Le Roi Soleil (Absolute Monarchy)
Intellectual context: Newtonianism & The Age of Reason
Economic & Social contexts: European expansion (colonies, mercantilism)
The Revolution(s):
1776- 89
American Revolution
1794-99
Consolidation of Power
1789-92
The Revolution Begins
1799-1815
Napoleonic Era
1792-94
Robespierre & the Terror
1815-48
Europe after Napoleon
Was the Revolution revolutionary? What has it meant? What were the consequences?
Week Three: Russian Revolution(s)
Political Context: Absolutism & the Russian Tsars
Intellectual Context: Socialism, Marxism, Communism
Economic & Social contexts: Agriculture, industry, peasants & urban workers
The Revolution(s):
1880s+
Immediate Background
March 1917
Provisional Govt.
1904-05
Russo-Japanese War, Revolution October 1917
Lenin & the Bolsheviks
August 1914
The Great War begins
1918-21
Reds versus White
1914-17
The Eastern Front
1924-39
After Lenin, Stalinism
Was the Revolution revolutionary? What has it meant? What were the consequences?