Week

Topic

Content and Reading

Assignment

Teaching Activities and Homework

1

Introduction

D Remnick, Resurrection:

The Struggle for a New Russia (1998)

On USSR legacy and its impact on contemporary Russia

2

Mapping Russian Images

A joint share of all varieties of impression about Russians

3

Demographic Issues

N. Eberstadt, The Dying Bear: Russia's Demographic Disaster (2011)

Introduce the demographic features together with geographical factors across the vast regions.

4

Russia Today

Watching modern Russian films

Discussion

5

Economy and Life Style

A. Aslund, Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy (2019)

Learn to define and understand the success and failure of Russia’s economic transformation and its latest impact

6

Social Inequality

European Parliament, Socioeconomic inequality in Russia (2017)

Learn to define and understand the success and failure of the transition, in particular the rise of oligarchy, poverty

and regional disparities

7

Public Opinion

VICIOM

https://wciom.com/about

Visit data of key Russian opinion poll analytic units, study data accuracy, discuss its validity for research

8

Survey Practice

Quality research resign

Demonstrate how to conduct a survey then student to give their ideas and practice

9

Midterm Presentation

Oral presentation

Students to give a 20-min oral presentation on selected topics

10

National Identity

/ Patriotism

M. Laruelle, Russian Nationalism: Imaginaries, Doctrines & Political Battlefields (2019)

Nationalism, Patriotism, the origin and and state narratives then Russians attitude toward propaganda

11

Russkii Mir

J. McGlynn, Russia’s War (2023)

Interpretate the values and culture taken from below and from above

12

Guest Speech

TBD

13

On A. Dugin

The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia (1998) Ch1-4.

Engaging in several chapters of Dugin’s work then to discuss has Dugin really mattered to Russia’s imperialist formation

14

15

Social Movements I

Greene, S., & Robertson, G. Affect and Autocracy: Emotions and Attitudes (2020)

Lead to learn about the Opposition, civil

rights and the real influence of SM in today’s Russia

16

Social Movements II

Study the depression and the internal problems of why SM have by far failed

17

18+2

On-campus/off-campus learning

18

18+2

Online learning

Teaching Approach

Lecture：60%；Discussion：30 %；Group Activity：                                                                  %； E-learning： %； Others：10 %。

Evaluation Criteria

Participation activeness 30%

Mid-term presentation 30%

Final presentation 40%