Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 x 3 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 1,500 word document analysis | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours (1 x 2 hour exam) | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 1,500 word supplementary (resit) document analysis | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours 1 x 2 hour supplementary (resit) examination | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Display a critical understanding Stalinism and important aspects of the politics, culture, and society of the Soviet Union under Stalin.
Comprehend and assess different historical debates and interpretations evident in related texts, ranging from contemporary sources to recent scholarly works.
Read, analyze and assess a range of different types of historical evidence.
Express understanding and discuss related issues through writing in an academic context.
Work independently and as part of a group and take an active part in group discussions.
Aims
Special Subjects provide third-year students with an opportunity to study a particular period in great depth and partly on the basis of primary sources. They are intensively taught, and particularly high standards of precision, creativity and knowledge are expected from students. Together with the dissertation and the general historical problems module, they provide final-year students with an opportunity to demonstrate the maturation of their historical and other skills and of their intellectual sensitivity. The range of special subjects reflects the range of teaching and research interests on the part of departmental staff. As in other core courses, a wide choice of periods and approaches is made available.
Brief description
Josef Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for over a quarter of the twentieth century. Both he and the particular brand of socialism that bears his name, Stalinism, have long been the subject of heated historical controversy, made sharper by the confrontational atmosphere of the Cold War. The debates have recently acquired extra impetus with the release of large numbers of secret documents from within the former Soviet Union. The module will make use of these as well as other sources, including film, art and literature, to try to answer questions which remain perplexing: how was Stalin able to rise to power and dominate the USSR? What was life like under Stalin? Why were millions of innocent Soviet citizens exterminated during the "Great Terror"? To what extent was Stalin personally responsible for the Terror?
Content
2. The Defeat of the Right Deviation and the Great Break
3. Collectivization and Industrialization
4. Language and Identity, Conformity and Resistance
5. Stalinist Culture
6. The Great Retreat
7. The Great Terror
8. Foreign Policy and the Nazi-Soviet Pact
9. The Nazi Invasion and the Great Patriotic War
10. High Stalinism
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | n/a |
| Communication | Read a wide range of both primary and secondary texts; improve listening skills during the lectures, and consequently develop skills in note taking; demonstrate and develop the ability to communicate ideas in two essays; 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 | Understand a range of research methods and plan and carry out research; produce academically appropriate pieces of written work. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Develop a knowledge of, and familiarity with, a range of different sources from the modern period, including unpublished and published documents; develop the ability to use appropriate historical research tools effectively. |
| 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); evaluate group activities and own contribution. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6