Russia Today: Weekly Assignments
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Please note: Unless otherwise indicated, all reading assignments are scheduled for in-class discussion during the Thursday class meeting of the relevant week. Links will be updated at least 1 week prior to assigned due date.
Part I: Nation and Revolution
Week 1 (Jan. 8, 10)
- (For discussion Thursday, 1/10) E-reserve (www.uflib.ufl.edu): Clifford Geertz, "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture," esp. pp. 3-10). [See Study Questions]
- (For discussion Thursday, 1/10) E-reserve: Dmitri N. Shalin, "Introduction: Continuity and Change in Russian Culture." [See Study Questions]
- Akvarium, "Ancient Russian Blues" (lyrics)
Week 2 (Jan. 15, 17) (Volunteer presenters listed in parentheses)
- Christoph Neidhart, Russia's Carnival: The Smells, Sights, and Sounds of Transition (2003).
- Tuesday: Chapters 1-5. (Presentations:
Chs. 1-2: Everyone!
Ch. 3: [Tyler D.], Ch. 4: [Shelby H.], Ch. 5: [Andrew H.])
- Thursday: Chs. 6-conclusion. (Presentations: Ch. 6: [Carina M.], Ch. 7 [Priyanka A.], Ch. 8 [Brandon E.], Chs. 9-10: Everyone!)
- [Study Questions]
- Gordon Rule (section 5541): 5-sentence
commentary on some aspect of Neidhart, posted in Discussion Forum of
Sakai. (See Sakai/Discussions for detailed assignment.) (Due by 11:59 PM, Sunday, January 20th)
Week 3 (Jan. 22, 24)
- Vladimir Putin, First
Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by
Russia’s President (also available as e-book through Smathers Library website)
- Question #1: Everyone!
- Question #2: (Part 1-2: [Shelby H.]), (Part 3: [Priyanka A.]; (Part 4-5: [Carina M.]), (Part 6-7 [Tyler D.]; Part 8 [Andrew H.]; Part 9 [Brandon E.])
- Questions #3-4: Everyone!
- Gordon Rule (section 5541): 5-sentence commentary on some aspect of First Person..., posted in Discussion Forum of Sakai. (See Sakai/Discussions for detailed assignment.) (Due by classtime, Thursday, Jan. 24th)
Week 4 (Jan. 29, 31)
Recent Press Coverage of
Putin's and Medvedev's Russia
Gordon Rule: Revisions to Response #1 due by 5 PM on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Revisions to Response #2 are due by 5 PM on Friday, February 1. Please
highlight all changes in bold,
underlined text.
Part
II: People and Place
Week 5 (Feb. 5, 7): Exploring the Russian Soul
- Dale Pesmen, Russia and Soul, Introduction -- ch. 2, chs. 4-5. (Study Questions)
- Presentations: Intro., ch. 1 -- Everyone!; ch 2 [Carina]; ch. 4 [Brandon]; ch. 5 [Andrew].
Gordon Rule, Response commentary #3: 5-sentence commentary on some aspect of the first half of Russia and Soul, posted in Discussion Forum of Sakai. (See Sakai/Discussions for detailed assignment.) (Due by classtime, Thursday, Feb. 7th)
Week 6 (Feb. 12, 14): Exploring the Russian Soul
~~
Wednesday, February 13: Evening Film screening ~~
7:30 PM, Matherly 107
Window to Paris (1994)
- Dale Pesmen, Russia and Soul, Introduction -- chs. 7-8, 10. (Study Questions)
- Presentations: ch. 7 [Priyanka]; ch. 8 [Shelby]; ch. 10 [Tyler]
Gordon Rule (section 5541): Revisions to Response #3 due by 5 PM on Thursday, February 14th. Please
highlight all changes in bold,
underlined text.
Week 7 (Feb. 19, 21): Public Health & Environment
Please Note: All readings will be up for discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 19. There will be no class meeting on Thursday, February 21.
- OL: Victor Erofeev, "The Russian God: Vodka Celebrates Its Five-hundredth Anniversary," (The New Yorker, December 16, 2002), 56-63. (Available electronically through Smathers Library Course Reserves (follow links to RUT 3504 reserves and follow instructions from there) (Study Questions)
- (Study questions for all the sources below)
- Marina Lapenkova-Maximova, "Boozy Russians Remain Wary of Alcoholics Anonymous," AFP (20 January 2013).
- OL: Kathy Lally, "Russia's Villages Fading Fast," in The Baltimore Sun (24 June 2001).
- Alex Rodriguez, "Cold War Secrecy's Fallout," Chicago Tribune (20 May 2005). (Available electronically through Smathers Library Course Reserves (follow links to RUT 3504 reserves and follow instructions from there)
- Anne Garrels, "The Volga: Russia's River of Revolution," National Public Radio Special Series, www.npr.org (Nov. 1-5, 2010). [Look at and read/listen to all 5 parts of the series.]
- David Green, "Russia by Rail: A View from Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad," NPR.org (2011). [Look at and read/listen to all 3 parts of the series.]
- "Russians Offered Day Off, Prizes to Procreate," NBCNews.com (18 August 2007).
- Kirsten Salyer, "In Russia, Valentine's Day is for Making Babies," Bloomberg.com (4 February 2013).
Gordon Rule section #5541 (due Thursday, 2/21, 5 PM): Draft and submit (through Sakai) rough outline of Long Paper 1. See "LP 1 Outline" assignment in Sakai for details.
Non-Gordon Rule section #5544 (due Friday, 2/22, 5 PM): Complete Test 1 review assignment (posted under Assignments/"Test 1 quotes and concepts") in Sakai.
Week 8 (Feb. 26, 28): Test 1/Long Paper 1
- Gordon Rule (class attendance optional):
- Begin preparing: Long Paper 1. Follow format, length and submission guidelines as spelled out in syllabus.
- LP 1
Paper Topic
- Optional: take advantage of office hours for
consultation!!!
- Non-Gordon Rule: Begin
studying for Test 1
- Gordon Rule section:
- No class meeting today
- Final deadline for Long Paper #1: Feb. 28, 5PM. See Course Syllabus for submission guidelines.
- Non-Gordon Rule: Test 1 (during regularly scheduled class meeting)
Tuesday, Feb. 26 Thursday, Feb. 28
~~~~~ Spring Break, March 4th - 8th ~~~~~
