Module RUSS3391: THE MAKING OF THE RUSSIAN INTELLIGENTSIA (1762-1917)

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Russian)

RUSS3391: THE MAKING OF THE RUSSIAN INTELLIGENTSIA (1762-1917)

Prerequisites

• Russian Language 2A (RUSS2191) OR Russian Language 2B (RUSS2012) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Russian Language 4 (RUSS3031). Others: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To impart an understanding of the complex range of circumstances – social, political, ideological, and cultural – that informed the development of the Russian intelligentsia from the late 18th century to the 1917 revolutions;
• To examine specific domains of Russian social life and cultural production, namely literature and criticism, journalism and publishing, the arts, education and science, thought and religion, etc. in the above context.

Content

• This module will explore the historical development of the Russian intelligentsia as a unique and controversial social and cultural phenomenon.
• It will provide the context of its evolution from the late 18th to the early 20th century and it will introduce the most important ideological and cultural concerns that preoccupied Russian thinkers and cultural producers in this period.
• In particular, the module will focus on the ways in which the Russian intelligentsia constructed its identity and status through cultural representations and social practices.
• The module will also enable a wider exploration of Russian social and cultural history in this period.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will acquire a thorough and sophisticated knowledge of the factors that drove the development of the Russian intelligentsia from the late 18th century to the 1917 revolutions, and an understanding of the ways in which the relationship between cultural production, state and society changed through the period.
• They will also acquire detailed knowledge of the main agents of cultural development across the full artistic, social and political spectrum.

• Students will acquire the ability to evaluate a range of texts – including literary, critical, philosophical and historical – in the original Russian, and to identify and utilise appropriate primary and secondary sources for that purpose.
• Students will also develop their ability to deal with the discursive specificity of different kinds of text, and to assess them in terms of their inter-related social, ideological and aesthetic functions.

• Students will further develop their ability to work independently within a prescribed framework, with considerable emphasis being placed on the rudiments of the research process.
• On completion of the course, students will be able to present a cogent and structured argument in both oral and written form.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module will be taught intensively in either Term I or Term II on a 'short-fat' basis.
• Weekly lectures are designed to set the historical and conceptual framework, and to introduce key concepts specific to the module.
• Weekly seminars provide a forum for the presentation of results of independent study, and are designed to stimulate and facilitate detailed engagement with particular aspects of concrete topics.
• The assessment gives equal weight to the two essays.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

In the seminars students will be expected to produce brief reports as relatively informal oral presentations of around 10–15 minutes, based on specially set seminar questions and reading materials. These oral reports might also be accompanied by written handouts and/or PowerPoint presentations. Presentation questions will be set on a weekly basis. While these will be compulsory assignments, they will not be formally assessed or awarded marks, although oral feedback and comments will be provided regularly in the course of the seminar discussion.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University