Prof. Julie Hessler

McKenzie office hours (351 McK): Mondays, 12:00 - 1:15

PLC office hours (271 PLC): Fridays, 12:30-1:50

Tel. 346-4857 (o), 302-9032 (h)

hessler@uoregon.edu

History 407 [Seminar] THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Wednesday, 2:00-5:00, McKenzie 471

Course description : This seminar will explore the history and English-language historiography of the Russian Revolution, a formative period in Russian, Soviet, and contemporary European history. Topics include the causes of the revolution, the events of 1917, the Russian civil war, and the aftermath of the revolution in the context of the New Economic Policy. Like other history seminars, the course has methodological as well as substantive aims; class discussions and assignments will focus on the practice of writing history as well as on the specific subject matter of assigned texts.

Rough draft: This is your chance to get some suggestions on your work, so put some effort into it. My approach to grading a research paper is to consider separately the following three components: 1) argument; 2) research; 3) writing, organization, and format. For the final grade on your seminar paper, these three parts will have equal weight. I will also comment on them when I read your rough draft -- which is to say that you will receive substantial feedback from me at this point. It is conceivable that you will not have finished every section by the time that you turn in the draft, but try to finish as much as you can. I will not accept a draft that is shorter than 13 pages. The more of the overall argument that you have written, even if it is still fairly rough, the more you will be able to take advantage of constructive criticism from your fellow students and from me.

Comments on fellow students' rough drafts: This is your chance to see what some of your fellow students are doing in the paper, and also to give them some feedback. You will be assigned three people whose papers you need to read. Logistically, you should plan to bring me a hard copy of your paper (leave it under the door of my McKenzie office) and at the same time post the paper on Blackboard for other students to read. I will post a checklist of some things for you to assess. Try to be both honest and constructive. During the rough draft session, you should bring the checklists with you for each paper and give them to the authors in addition to telling the authors how you responded to the paper.

Grading : The basis for your grade in the course will be the grade that you receive on your seminar paper. That said, attendance in class and fulfilment of other assignments is expected; failure to turn anything in, non-attendance, or unsatisfactory performance on assignments may lower your grade. Missing two or more sessions will mean an automatic F in the course. Because of the nature of this course (the large amount of independent work and the need to get through the early material quickly), I will not accept late papers on any assignments (library assignments, proposals, rough drafts, peer comments, or final papers).

Required text :

Orlando Figes, A People's Tragedy

Syllabus

Wednesday, Apr. 2 Introductory remarks: interpreting the Russian Revolution.

Research workshop: Move to Library Room 267B for the second part of the class period to work on primary source exercise. Primary source exercise due under my door at 351 McKenzie by noon, Monday, April 7 .

Wednesday, Apr. 9 Origins of the Russian Revolution.

Reading: A People's Tragedy , pp. 1-306.

Research workshop: Discuss source exercises.

Wednesday, Apr. 16 The revolutionary year: 1917

Reading: A People's Tragedy , pp. 307-473, plus the following articles on Blackboard: Roger Pethybridge, “The Railways” from The Spread of the Russian Revolution: Essays on 1917 (London: Macmillan, 1972); Norman E. Saul, “Lenin's Decision to Seize Power: The Influence of Events in Finland,” Soviet Studies , 24,4 (1973): 491-505; Michael C. Hickey, “Revolution in the Jewish Street: Smolensk, 1917,” Journal of Social History 31, 4 (1998): 823-850; Peter Holquist, “Information is the Alpha and Omega of Our Work: Bolshevik Surveillance in Its Pan-European Context,” Journal of Modern History , 69, 3 (1997): 415-450.

Research workshop: Thinking about topics and research strategies: examples from 1917. Discuss the articles listed above. Specifically, with respect to the articles, try to pay attention to how the author framed the topic. Does it derive from a particular kind of source? Does it come out of historians' debates? Does it stem from the sense that some particular topic has been neglected? Are the conclusions narrow or broad? How speculative is it (how does the breadth of the conclusions relate to the breadth of the research)? Does the author seem to have an agenda?

Wednesday, Apr. 23 From revolution to civil war.

Reading: A People's Tragedy , pp. 474-649.

Research workshop: Evaluating secondary sources, or reading a book by its cover.

Assignment: submit in writing (typed) five possible topics for a seminar paper. Even if you think you know what you want to do, you have to submit five distinct topics, with the following specific requirements.

-- at least one should be about a person

-- at least one topic should be focused on a specific event

-- at least one topic should be historiographical

-- at least two should center on the early Soviet period

The list that you should submit must include both the topic and a research question that you could conceivably try to answer (2-3 sentences). I will email comments by Friday afternoon.

Wednesday, Apr. 30 The early NEP.

Readings: A People's Tragedy , pp. 650-825.

Research workshop: Effective introductions.

Assignment: Paper proposal due noon by noon, Monday, May 5. For the proposal, try to formulate your topic in terms of a historical problem, which is to say that you should frame it in the form of a question, but also give some sense of why this question is interesting or significant, based on the reading that you have already done. In addition, you should try to give a sense of how you plan to go about answering the question (your research strategy, and, if already possible, your hypothesis or argument). Aim for 2-3 pages. You should also append to your proposal a preliminary bibliography of at least eight items.

Wednesday, May 7 No class - sign up for individual meeting with Prof. Hessler to discuss proposal.

Wednesday, May 14 No class - work on papers. Assignment: Email me by noon, Friday, May 16, with a progress report, including a 4-paragraph book review of the most important history book you have found on your topic (i.e. read the entire book and briefly explain its major arguments, evidence, and informational content).

Wednesday, May 21 No class - work on papers.

Tuesday, May 27 (note change in day!) One copy of your seminar paper rough draft due by 9:30 a.m. at McKenzie 351 (slide under the door). By noon, post a copy on Blackboard. Look at the assignment grid to find out which three papers you need to comment on and look them up on Blackboard. Get copies of the checklist for assessing your fellow-students' papers. No class on Wednesday, May 28.

Wednesday, June 4. Paper workshop. Come prepared to talk both about the three papers you read and about your aims, challenges, and arguments in your own paper. We will rotate groups every 30 minutes.

Final papers due at 9:30, Wednesday, June 11. Bring them to McKenzie 351. Again, if I'm not there, slide your paper under the door.