HIST 330-60  IMPERIAL RUSSIA/ J. Bone

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COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

    This course examines the society, politics and culture of Imperial Russia from the reign of Peter the Great to the last Romanovs.   Major topics we will study include serfdom and its abolition, intellectual currents, Empire and nation-building, industrialization, and nineteenth-century revolutionary movements.

                                       Prerequisite: HIST 102

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Jonathan Bone.  Office: Atrium 206  Hours: Th 2:00-5:00 PM or by appointment

                        Tel: 720-2284

                        E-mail: bonej@wpunj.edu

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Gregory Hosking, Russia: People And Empire (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997).  Paper ed.  ISBN 0-674-78119-8.  $16.95 (suggested retail).*

This book is available through the WPUNJ Bookstore.

* Price for a new book (per publisher's information as of December 2001) and subject to change.

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ASSIGNMENTS: 

A 300-level course, this is a participatory lecture/discussion class with a moderate reading load.  You are responsible for all assigned readings; for the content of scheduled classroom lectures, discussions, presentations, and/or interactive sessions; and for any supplementary material (on or off line) assigned by me during the semester.

Basic readings for each week will consist of overview sections from Hosking's Russia: People And Empire plus supplementary material available on line.  The bulk of this supplementary material consists of primary sources that have been excerpted and annotated especially for this class.  Some assigned material will be posted on-line on a password-required Blackboard account for this class.  You will be notified as soon as the account has been set up, and will be responsible for any and all material posted there.  The reading load in Hosking averages 45 pages per week.   The total reading load should average between 60 and 70 pages per week.

Optional study guides for some Hosking chapters may be made available on line a week in advance.  They may contain one or more of the following: lists of key terms, guided questions, maps, tables, unassigned supplemental material; other study aids.  These study guides will help you work through the readings and prepare for class discussion.  They are not required and you do not need to use them.  However you are strongly encouraged to do so when I make them available. 

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Class sessions normally will consist of a combination of lecture and discussion of the assigned readings.  Where appropriate I may supplement the required texts with videos, sound recordings, visual aids (tables, maps, photos or posters, etc.), short excerpts from other texts, and/or other material designed to promote discussion.  On occasion we may also engage in role play and other interactive learning strategies.

You are expected to do all assigned readings prior to class and to be ready to discuss them with your classmates and with me in an intelligent manner.  Repetitive failure to keep up with the readings will result in a lowered grade for participation (see below).   Each of the supplementary readings contains a set of four review questions designed to bring out key points.  Using these questions as a basis, you will be expected to present your choice of ONE (1) of the readings to the class at a  mutually agreed time during the semester  Your presentations will count as a significant part of your participation grade. 

We will take one (1) fifteen-minute break approximately halfway through each session.

Coffee and beverages are ok at all times; please do not eat while we are in session.  

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You will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

* Class participation: 10% of your final grade

Regular attendance is an important component of learning.  Anyone missing more than THREE (3) scheduled sessions without cause may receive an F (failing grade) for class participation.  I reserve the right to determine whether circumstances are sufficiently extenuating.  Attendance will be taken every session. You are expected to do all assigned readings prior to class and to be ready to discuss them with your classmates and with me in an intelligent manner.  Repetitive failure to keep up with the readings will result in a lowered grade for participation.  So too will failure to present the supplementary reading you have signed up for.

Note that during the week of February 18 we will meet on Tuesday (2/19) rather than Monday.  University policy adds this extra session to make up for the one lost to President's Day.  I recognize that some of you may have work or transportation conflicts on Tuesday nights and will make allowances provided I am notified in advance.

* Two (2) 5-page Critical Reviews of primary sources:  20% of your final grade each.   

These reviews will ask you to evaluate short primary sources in the context of relevant material we will have covered in the readings and in class.  I will describe them in detail during the sessions in which they are assigned.  You will have the penalty-free option of rewriting your first Critical Review for a higher grade.  Your second Critical Review will be graded as is.

* One (1) Take-home final: 50% of your final grade.

Your final will be similar to your Critical Reviews: it will ask you to evaluate a primary source in the context of material we will have covered throughout the semester.  I will ask you to critique an opinion about the general nature of the Imperial State, and to support your response through references to appropriate assigned readings, lectures, discussions, and/or supplementary material.  I will discuss the final in detail prior to handing out (or possibly posting on line) the assignment.

Critical Reviews and the Final may be submitted electronically (i.e. as e-mail attachments) PROVIDED I APPROVE THE SENDING ARRANGEMENTS AND FILE FORMAT IN ADVANCE.

The grade on late assignments will be lowered a minimum one (1) full letter.  I reserve the option of further deduction for severe tardiness. 

Finally, you must turn in complete drafts of all three written assignments to pass the course.   

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Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Plagiarism is trying to pass off someone else's work as your own without proper citation. This includes both repeating source material verbatim without citation (word-for-word copying) and paraphrasing source material without citation. It includes appropriating the ideas of any other party or outside source without attribution (e,g, your professor(s), your classmate(s), anything you yourself have written for another forum, the Internet).  It also includes the unwarranted use of block quotations, in order to pad the length of papers.

Put as much as possible of what you want to say in your own words.  And when you quote, paraphrase, or otherwise refer to your sources, cite them.  I want to see citations wherever and whenever you have incorporated facts and/or ideas from others.  When in doubt, ask me and/or refer to the University Guidelines.

The minimum penalty for clear plagiarism will be an F (failing grade) for that assignment. 

Repetition of the offense may result in an F (failing grade) for the course.

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