Marist College
Department of Modern Languages
Winter Intersession 1997: January 2-14, 1997

FCRU 223l-111: RUSSIA TODAY
Russian 223L-111: RUSSIA TODAY
(RUSSIA TODAY: CULTURE, POLITICS AND SOCIETY)

INSTRUCTOR: PROF. CASAMIR NORKELIUNAS, PH.D.
OFFICE: 209 FONTAINE HALL (NEXT TO THE LIBRARY)

REQUIRED TEXTS: BOOKS

DILLER, DANIEL. RUSSIA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATES. WASHINGTON, D.C.: CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY, 1993.

MASSIE, SUZANNE. LAND OF THE FIREBIRD: THE BEAUTY OF OLD RUSSIA. NEW YORK: SIMON AND SCHUSTER, 1991.

SAKHAROV, ANDREI. MY COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. NEW YORK: RANDOM HOUSE. 1975. SOLZHENITSYN, ALEXANDER. REBUILDING, RUSSIA. NEW YORK: FARRAR, STRAUS, ET. AL. , 1991.

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

1. THE NEW YORK TIMES; AND/OR THE,WASHINGTON,POST; AND/OR THE FINANCIAL TIMES; AND/OR THE WALLSTREET JOURNAL;

NOTE: ALL THE ABOVE NEWSPAPERS ARE FOUND IN THE PERIODICAL SECTION OF THE COLLEGE LIBRARY. YOU ARE ADVISED TO SELECT ONE OR ALL OF THE ABOVE ON A DAILY BASIS AND FOLLOW THE CURRENT NEWS EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLD IN RUSSIA,THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES AND THE BALTIC REPUBLICS.

2. TIME MAGAZINE. NEWSWEEK, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT.

NOTE: AS IN THE ABOVE RECOMMENDATION, THESE JOURNALS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE PERIODICAL SECTION OF THE COLLEGE LIBRARY.

DUE DATES FOR REQUIRED READING ASSIGNMENTS ARE INDICATED ON THE ENCLOSED COURSE OUTLINE.

The course will explore the nature of Russian culture, its artistic, religious, social and political institutions. It will examine the historical periods that created and shaped the unique features of this culture and the notions associated with such references to Russia as "Holy" and possessing a "Mystical Soul". Above all, it will focus on today's realities in Russia, the euphoria of newly found freedoms and the resulting political and economic tensions, that are creating social chaos and human suffering, in the wake of the collapse of totalitarianism imposed by seventy four years of Bolshevism and Communism.

The course will also consider the fate, and in part the culture, of people other than the Russians. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the former non-Russian Soviet Republics have become independent nation-states, such as the Baltic peoples, the Central Asians and Transcaucasians. Many of them are trying to introduce democratic political and social institutions and break away from Russia's dominating century-long influence and despotic control. This we will try to achieve through the study of the newly created multi-national federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Baltics will be examined separately.

REQUIREMENTS AND STUDENT EVALUATION

The student is expected to fulfill course requirements by completing reading assignments, taking the scheduled tests (which includes the final exam), any written assignments and attending all lecture sessions. For dates of assignments consult the "COURSE OUTLINE."

The final grade is contingent on the degree of successfully or unsuccessfully fulfilling the above requirements. The final grade is to be awarded based on the Marist College grading criteria stipulated in the Marist College Catalog for the l993-1995 academic years. I strongly suggest you become familiar with this policy . Herewith enclosed !

FINAL GRADE DISITRIBUTION:

TESTS I & II: 40%
CLASSROOM DISCUSSION/PARTICIPATION: 20%
FINAL EXAM: 40%

RECOMMENDED BIBILIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER READING OR RESEARCH

BRZEZINSKI, Zbigniew. THE GRAND FAILURE: THE BIRTH AND DEATH OF COMMUNISM IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY . New York, 1989 .

BULLOCK, Alan . HITLER; AND STALIN PARALLEL L LIVES . New York: Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, 1992.

GORBACHEV, Michail Sergeyevich. PERESTROIKA: NEW THINKING FOR OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. New York: Harper and Row , Publishers ,1987 .

LOORY Stuart H . and Ann Imse . CNN REPORTS SEVEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD: THE COLLAPSE OF SOVIET COMMUNISM . Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Publishings Inc. , 1991.

MASSIE , Suzanne . PAVLOVSK: THE LIFE OF A RUSSIAN PALACE . Boston: Little, Brown & Company 1990.

RADZINSKY, Edvard. THE LAST TSAR: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF NICHOLAS II . New York: Double day 1992.

SAKHAROV, Andrey Dmitrievich. MEMOIRS. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.

MY COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. New York: Random House. 1975.

PROGRESS, COEXISTENCE AND INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1968.

SMITH, Hedrick, THE RUSSIANS. New York The New York Times Book: Company, 1973.

THE NEW RUSSIANS. New York: Random House, 1991.

SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. NOBEL LECTURE. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroax, 1972.

STERN, Geoffrey. Ed. ATLAS OF COMMUNISM. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1991.

REMNICK, David. LENIN'S TOMB: THE LAST DAYS OF THE SOVIET EMPIRE. New York: Random Housef 1993.

BRZEZINKI, Zbigniew. OUT OF OONTROL: GLOBAL TURMOIL ON THE EVE OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. New York,1993.

VOLKOGONOV, DMITRI . LENIN: A NEW BIOGRAPHY , NEW Y0RK THE FREE PRESS, 1994.

STALIN. TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY. NEW YORK: GROVE WEIDENFIELD, 1991.

A. MARIST COLLEGE E-MAIL

Every student in class should have a Marist College e-mail address. Please give this information to Dr. Norkeliunas the first week of the semester, or send it via e-mail to Dr. Norkeliunas' address - JZFN @MARIST B. Questions and discussions regarding topics of written assignments will be facilitated if you contact Dr. Norkeliunas via e-mail. Be sure to make this a regular practice- at least once a week.

B. USING INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB

A list of Internet sites and WWW sites will be handed out ln class to help you locate archives, reference materials, and bibliographical data pertaining to authors and works covered in this course. Please make use of them the way you have previously in searching facts in the "traditional" library. Even the college library can be accessed this way, through "Marist Country" via "Netscape" or "Mosaic"; this is accessible to you through the college or your own home computers.

GRADING

Grading is an objective measure of a student's mastery of a selected body of knowledge contained in a specific course. This mastery involves the elements of memory, understanding and expression. Memory refers to retention of certain items of information. Understanding implies insight into the interpretation of these facts. This insight would include the meaning of the thing itself, its relationship with other things or data and the ability to apply this information or data to new situations and problems. Expression is the ability to convev this assimilated knowledoe to others.

F
The student has failed to show mastery of the basic subject matter for the course.

D
A student who is deficient in some degree in any of these areas will earn only a D.

C
To earn a C grade a student must be able to recall the basic elements of a course, understand the essential background and materials of a courses apply the basic principles involved and express them intelligibly.

B
To earn a B grade a student must manifest all the qualities characteristic of a C student and in addition reveal a memory that encompasses more than the basic elements of a course; he or she has a more personal grasp of the principles of the course and perceives wider application of them. The student should be able to discuss the subject matter of the course with ease.

A
An A student is one who, in addition to all the qualities manifested by a B student, seeks mastery of a special field by reason of individual interest; he or she has initiative and originality in attacking and solving problems; he or she shows ability in rethinking problems and making associations and in adapting to new and changing situations; moreover, he or she has an approoriate vocabulary at his or her command.