HST677: Modernity and the Self: Negotiating Identities with the Soviet State
15 credits (semester 2)
Module Leader: Dr. Miriam Dobson
| Module Summary |
Characterizations of modernity may vary, but most historians identify the state's increasing desire to shape, or sculpt, the body politic as one of its defining features. 20thC states sought to transform their populations into orderly, educated, industrious citizens, and in this regard, the Soviet Union was certainly no exception. From 1917 onwards, great energies were invested in the quest to 'remake man'. Citizens were urged to 'work on themselves', and encouraged to write petitions, keep diaries, construct autobiographies. In exploring such writings, this module will invite students to think about the relationship between the state and the individual and to reflect on notions of 'atomisation', citizenship, subjectivity, power, resistance and trauma. The seminars will examine different kinds of text: diaries, petition letters, memoirs, and oral history transcripts. The focus is on the Soviet Union, though students are also encouraged to bring examples from other areas of study in order to make comparisons.
| Module Aims |
This module aims to encourage students to reflect critically on the nature of 'modernity' and to develop a fuller understanding of the complex relationship between the state and the individual in the 20th Century, with particular reference to the Soviet Union. The course will introduce students to the work of key theorists such as Michel Foucault, Zygmunt Bauman, Hannah Arendt, and Dominick LaCapra, and will ask them to consider how their insights influence our work as historians. Issues such as 'atomisation', citizenship, subjectivity, power, resistance, and trauma raised by their work will be explored through the close study of primary sources. Students will be introduced to a rich and exciting selection of primary sources from Soviet history, including diaries, memoirs, petition letters, and oral history.
| Teaching |
The module will be taught in five, two-hour classes. Each seminar will focus on a particular kind of source, such as diaries, petition letters, memoirs, and oral history. In order to prepare for each session, students will be given a list of suggested reading that will include both relevant works from the field of Soviet history and more theoretical pieces discussing the genre or concept in question. In addition, each student will be asked to read a different piece of primary source material in order to extend the scope of the discussion. Classes will enable students to share knowledge, debate controversial issues and listen and respond to the views of others in a structured environment. Students will, in addition, have an individual tutorial with their own supervisor in which to discuss the work they will write for assessment for this module.
| Assessment |
Students will prepare a 3,000 word paper that explores one of the genres of source studied (eg letters, diaries, memoirs or oral history). The work should demonstrate an ability to reflect critically on the issues raised by the course through a close study of the selected primary source material. Students might wish to bring in a comparative approach to their written work, and to include examples from other 20th Century countries with which they are familiar.
| Selected Reading |
To follow.
| Intended Learning Outcomes |
By the end of the module, a candidate will be able:
- To discuss the nature of modernity, to analyse the relationship between the state and the individual, and to discuss questions of 'atomisation', citizenship, subjectivity, power, resistance, and trauma, with particular reference to the Soviet Union.
- To reflect critically on the relevance and significance of at least one of the key thinkers introduced in this module.
- To discuss the issues raised by these thinkers through the study of primary source materials such as diaries, memoirs, oral history, and petitions.
- To formulate and articulate historical arguments both orally, before the members of the seminar, and in written form in assessed work.
- To demonstrate interpersonal skills and the ability to engage in cooperative group learning in seminar discussions of interpretive issues.
- To show an awareness of the methodological possibilities and implications of various kinds of history and of interdisciplinary approaches to historical research.
- To demonstrate strong bibliographical skills in various media (including ICT).