Professor Mark A. Cichock
University of Texas at Arlington
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Professor Mark A. Cichock
University of Texas at Arlington
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Center for Post-Soviet and East European Studies Random
Thoughts,
Quotes, and Philosophy
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POLS/RUSS
4362: RUSSIA TODAY Добро пожаловать! Ласкаво просимо! Laipni lūdzam! კეთილი იყოს თქვენი მობრძანება! and Xush kelibsiz!. All of that is "Welcome!", our way of introducing you to one of UTA's few truly multi-disciplinary courses. Within the confines of this class we intend to introduce you to Russia, the land, history, peoples, and cultures that make up this unique part of the world. Russia Today is a survey class that is designed to excite your imagination through lectures, scholarly research, films, music, and interactions with policy-makers and observers of Russia and Eurasia. This course is the core element of UTA's Russian/Eurasian studies program. It touches upon Russian life, politics, culture, history, and other key features as well as introduces the student to the regions that surround Russia. Not only is the study of all things Russian exciting, it is considered "critical" in terms of modern-day policy; therefore, we expect to help you develop a high level of understanding and discourse beyond what might otherwise be considered introductory. We do this with a core group of three regular instructors, as well as numerous guest lecturers especially toward the end of the semester. Thus, our "learning objectives" include a broad understanding of the primary means to analyze a part of the world whose significance extends from world politics and trade, to literature, philosophical interpretation, and scientific endeavor. Within this course you will be presented with perspectives designed to take you, the student, well beyond most narrowly-defined subjects. This course will assist you in determining basic cause and effect in terms of social, economic, and political issues relating to a major element of global civilization. Moreover, it will expose you to contradictions, predispositions, and conflict which are essential to the shaping of national and regional identities. Most courses can only draw from the experiences and learning of one professor. In this course you actually get three: Dr. Mark Cichock (Political Science); Dr. Lonny Harrison (Modern Languages); and Dr. Pete Smith (Russian/Distance Education). As the instructors for your learning experience we will be hosting you, lecturing to you, and discussing with you over the next several months. In addition, you will benefit from the professional and personal knowledge of other speakers at UTA, as well as from United States governmental agencies, the business sector, and Russia itself. These speakers in particular make this a unique educational experience. We expect that it will be one of the few you will truly remember upon graduating from UTA. Readings:
There is no specific text for this course due to the very broad subject
matter. The
class is instead very heavy on the use of blogs including one that we
provide
for the class (http://blog.uta.edu/russiatoday/).
There are some excellent sources of information and blogs especially
that we
will be telling you about daily. That, of course, means we expect
to use
them and their information for the tests so paying attention to these is
very
important.
As well, each written exam will also include current events items and
analytical themes found in these sources. Maps: Students are especially encouraged to use the Maps Collection of the University of Texas at Austin. The site is http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/index.html. Testing/Evaluation: There are three exams for this course, or what we refer to as Opportunities to Excel (OTE's); this includes the final exam. OTEs combine short answer essays, identifications, fill in the blanks, and multiple-choice questions. In addition, all students will do a research or translation assignment (see below). Each counts as 25% of your total grade and all must be taken/completed to receive a final grade for the course. Students are responsible for being on time for exams and in handing in their assignments on time. Make-up exams are only possible with the consent of the individual instructor and must conform to university policy for testing. Students are responsible for contacting their respective professor for the details of their assignments. Russian language students will do a research paper using Russian sources assigned by Dr. Harrison; while POLS students will also do research papers the subjects of which are decided in consultation with Dr. Cichock. Each professor determines his own standards for quantity, quality, and grading of assignments, and all three instructors contribute to the writing of the exams. Attendance: This course relies heavily on guest speakers so class attendance is required. Students are expected to show up on time so that speakers may get on with their material/discussions and not be interrupted by late arrivals. Attendance is taken into consideration in terms of border line grades. Academic Honesty: Students are expected to familiarize themselves with UTA's standards for academic honesty and integrity. Information on academic honesty/dishonesty is available from the Office of Student Affairs. Accommodations: UTA provides accommodations for most academic circumstances whether these are disabilities, tutoring, or illnesses. In all cases, students are responsible for providing the necessary paperwork and must speak to the professors about their needs. All personal accommodations, as well as grades, are kept in the strictest confidence so that students may feel free to pursue their studies without interference or invasions of privacy. Office Hours/Access to Instructors: Dr. Cichock: Office, 410 University Hall; Office hours: MWF 10am-10:50am, and by appointment. Phone: 817-272-3995. E-mail: cichock@uta.edu. Dr. Harrison: Office, 221 Hammond Hall; Office hours: T/Th, 2:00-3:00pm, and by appointment; Phone: 817-272-2388. E-mail: lonnyharrison@uta.edu. Dr. Smith: Office, Pinnacle Building 201A; Office hours: by appointment. Phone: 817-272-5727. E-mail: pete@distance.uta.edu.
Calendar (please note that scheduling may change due to the availability of speakers) Unit One: Defining Russia and Eurasia Jan. 20: Introduction Cichock, Harrison, and Smith Jan. 22: Pre-course survey, including map quiz Cichock and Smith Jan. 25, & 27: Geography
(physical,
pol., and eco.)
Smith and Cichock Feb. 1: Demographic Issues Smith Feb. 3, 5, 8, & 10: History Smith, Harrison, and Cichock Feb. 12 & 15: Ideology
(Marxism,
capitalism)
Cichock Feb. 17: "Raspad": The Breakup of the Soviet Union Smith Feb. 19: OTE #1 Unit Two: Cultural and Political Change Feb. 22, 24 & 26: Russian and Soviet literature Harrison March 1: Tolstoy and Dostoevsky Harrison March 3, 5, & 8: Politics in Russia Cichock March 10 & 12: The Media Smith & Cichock March 15-19: Spring Break!!! March 22 & 24: Modern Central Asia Cichock and Smith March 26: Modern Ukraine Dr. Yaroslav Malyuta (UTA) March 29: The Caucasus Cichock & Smith March 31: The Baltics
Cichock Unit Three: Modern Russia April 5: Study Abroad
Experiences
Harrison April 9: Explaining Orthodoxy Archbishop Dmitrii April 12: Teleconference with U.S. Department of State (room location TBA) April 14: Teleconference with RFE/RL staff, live from Prague (room location TBA) April 17: Youth Culture in Russia Smith and UT-Austin guest lecturer April 19, 21, 23 & 26: Russian Film Harrison April 28: Russia's
International
Relations
Cichock April 30: Teleconference Defense Language Institute (room location TBA) May 3: Russia's Problems and Prospects Guest speaker, TBA May 5 & 7: Study Russia/Eurasia for the Future Cichock, Harrison, and Smith May 12: Final OTE, 8-9:15am. |
