Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 18 x 50 minute lectures |
| Seminars / Tutorials | 5 x 50 minute seminars 1 x 10 minute essay tutorial |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 X 2,500 WORD ESSAY | 30% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours 1 X 2-HOUR WRITTEN EXAMINATION | 70% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 2 Hours 2-HOUR EXAM & ANY MISSING WRITTEN WORK | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of a body of historical knowledge and sources relating to this period.
Critically assess the major political, economic, social and cultural developments in Russia during this period.
Express understanding, in written (assessed) and oral forms (unassessed), within an academic context.
Work independently and collaboratively, and take part in group discussions (not formally assessed).
Brief description
This module aims to cover the enormous changes experienced by Russia in the twentieth century as it moved from being an autocratic state to communism and then to democracy. It will cover all of the important political, economic, social and cultural developments: the Russian Revolution; the civil war; Stalinism; the Second World War; the Cold War; stagnation under Brezhnev; Gorbachev's reforms; and, finally, the transition to democracy after 1991. Students will be encouraged to utilize a wide range of original documents to inform their discussion and their work.
Aims
This module introduces students to Russia's political, economic, social and cultural history in the twentieth century. It aims to provide a strong foundation for the study of Russian history in subsequent years and will also broaden the provision of modern European history available to students.
Content
2: The First World War
3: The Russian Revolutions, 1917
4: Building a Soviet State
5: The Civil War, 1918-1921
6: Stalin'r Rise to Power
7: The Economic Revolution: Collectivization and Industrialization
8: The Cultural and Social Revolution
9: The Purges and the Terror
10: The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945
11: Later Stalinism
12: Khrushchev
13: The Cold War
14: Brezhnev's Russia
15: What is to be done? Andropov, Chernenko and Gorbachev
16: Gorbachev as Reformer: Glasnost, Perestroika and Democratization
17: The Fall of the Soviet Union, 1989-1991
18: Post-Soviet Russia
Seminars
1: War, Revolution and Civil War
2: Stalin's Revolution
3: The Impact of the Great Patriotic War
4: The Anatomy of a Superpower
5: Was the USSR reformable?
1 x 15 minute essay return tutorial
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Improve their listening skills during the lectures, and consequently develop skills in note taking; demonstrate and develop the ability to communicate ideas in the written work; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Show awareness of own learning styles, personal preferences and needs; devise and apply realistic learning and self management strategies; devise a personal action plan to include short and long-term goals and to develop personal awareness of how to improve on these. |
| Information Technology | Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to access information on CD-Roms and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be encouraged to word-process their work. These skills will not be formally assessed. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Develop awareness of personal skills, beliefs and qualities in relation to course in progression; plan and prepare for future course / career. |
| Problem solving | Identify problems and factors which might influence potential solutions; develop creative thinking approaches to problem solving; evaluate advantages and disadvantages of potential solutions. |
| Research skills | Read a wide range of both primary and secondary texts; understand a range of research methods and plan and carry out research; produce academically appropriate pieces of written work. |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | Understand the concept of group dynamics; contribute to the setting of group goals; contribute effectively to the planning of group activities; play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars); exercise negotiation and persuasion skills; evaluate group activities and own contribution. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4