ATS3124 · Life in the Soviet Union

Overview

The unit will examine how Communism transformed everyday life in the Soviet Union by reshaping social structures and communal ties. How did the Bolshevik ascent to power reshape the private sphere? How did the Communist authorities try to create the New Soviet Man and Woman and forge a new, Soviet national identity? What relevance do these efforts have for understanding today's post-Cold War Eastern European politics? Through literature, films, memoir, and other primary sources, you will study and analyse the impact of politics on popular culture, work, family life, education, humour, and gender relations. Readings, lectures, and tutorial discussions will explore the degree to which individuals carved out private spaces at home, at work, and in social circles to limit the impact of politics on private life. The unit will begin with a background on Russian politics and culture before the establishment of Communist governments and will end with an examination of the USSR's collapse and its aftermath. Discussions of primary sources in tutorials will provide you with the skills to analyse similar primary sources in your written work.

Areas of study: History

Offerings

The Handbook publishes no offerings for this unit.

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. Engage in an internationalised world and exhibit cross-cultural competence, through a deeper understanding the history of another culture and its political system
2. Understand the political and social history of Russia and other former Soviet republics, and grasp the relevance of this history for broader contemporary political debates;
3. Demonstrate familiarity with the field of the history of everyday life, the varied methodologies that historians have used to research this history, and the intersections between political and social history;
4. Engage in identifying and analysing primary sources and secondary literature
5. Engage in collaborative group work and peer-to-peer learning

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.