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Russia: Empire and Identity

Module description

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia was confronted with the question of its national identity. This module considers key aspects of Russia’s development from its origins to the nineteenth century, introducing you to ways of understanding Russia’s unique identity. In exploring some of the models of self and other which have been used to define Russian identity, you will discover why empire has played such a dominant role in Russia’s understanding of itself as a nation.

You do not need to have any knowledge of the Russian language to complete the module successfully; all materials are in English.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to:

• Familiarise you with aspects of Russia’s past which have profoundly shaped its understanding of its identity
• Give you a foundation which you can build on in your study at higher levels, and will give you valuable context for developing your understanding of Russia today
• Introduce you to skills that you will need throughout your programme
• Develop your confidence in putting forward opinions and asking questions

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate familiarity with key aspects of Russia's past which have shaped its identity, from the time of Kievan Rus' to the late nineteenth century

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 2. Present ideas in coherent, correct written English
• 3. Prepare an argument using basic textual or other evidence
• 4. With initial guidance, access the relevant subject areas of the University Library and use learning resources specified by the course tutor

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Perform structured learning activities with guidance from the course tutor and with the help of written guidelines
• 6. Select, evaluate and organise material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written or oral argument

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Introduction: National identity versus imperial identity; models of empire (Byzantine, Mongol, European) that helped shape Russian identity
• The history of Russian imperial expansion, conquest and colonisation; how empire-building affected Russia’s development from the 16th to the 18th centuries
• Locating the Russian ‘self’ between East and West: Russian identity, the peasantry, and the gentry. Russian ‘self’ and colonised ‘other’
• Empire, state, and nation: victory over Napoleon and ‘official nationality’ in the nineteenth century. Messianic myths of national identity; religion and literary culture as sources of Russian identity

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Auty, Robert, and Dimitri Obolensky (eds ), An Introduction to Russian History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976)
• Auty, Robert, and Dimitri Obolensky, eds., An Introduction to Russian Language and Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977)
• Billington, James H., The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretative History of Russian Culture (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966)
• Dukes, Paul, A History of Russia: Medieval, Modern and Contemporary (London: Macmillan, 1974)
• Franklin, Simon, and Emma Widdis (eds), National Identity in Russian Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)
• Hosking, Geoffrey, Russia: People and Empire (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1997)
• Kochan, Lionel, and J. Keep, The Making of Modern Russia , 3rd edition (Harmondsworth; Penguin Books, 1997)
• Riasanovsky, Nicholas V., A History of Russia , 5th edition (New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3820

Key words search

Russia, history, identity, empire