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Course Description Assignments and Grading Readings Online Sources
Post-Nationalism: the Post-Soviet Space
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Assignments: 1) Though lectures will be part of many classes, this is not primarily a lecture course. The issues we are exploring are the topic of serious debate, and this course seeks to prompt you to critically engage with these issues in the classroom. There are many readings in the syllabus, some of which will be assigned to a student to present to the class. Presenters will introduce the class to the basic issues involved in the text, and the opinions or resolutions that come from them. Presentations will be evaluated on the basis of being concise and to the point. All students are responsible for doing all the readings. Class discussion of the readings will proceed once the introductory presentation has been made. Students are encouraged to volunteer their remarks, but I will also be calling on students who have not volunteered. Each student will also be assigned an ethnic group or region of the former Soviet Union, and are responsible for sharing information concerning this group with the class when assigned, or when relevant. Overall class participation, based on quality not quantity, is worth 25% of the grade. 2) There will be two short (two-page) thought papers assigned during the semester. The purpose of a thought paper is to state a thesis and support it with evidence and rhetorical vigor. You should be prepared to take a position, even if you feel ambivalent about the given issue. The thought papers will be worth 20% of the grade. 3) There will be a seven-page midterm paper on a topic to be discussed in class. In this paper, as opposed to the short thought papers, ambivalence on an issue is entirely appropriate. Use specific examples to illustrate the themes you identify. The paper should be double-spaced, with 12-point font and 1’Δω margins. It is due on Friday, October 19 and is worth 25% of the grade. 4) There will be a twelve-page research paper on an issue of your choice concerning nationality in the former Soviet sphere. The issue need not be one that we have dealt with directly in class. Make sure to discuss your topic with me before you start work; and do not commit yourself to significant research on the topic until you have four substantial sources. The research paper is due in class on Monday, December 10. It is worth 30% of the grade. Unless you get an extension before the due date, late papers will be docked one point (of 30) per day. Given time, students will make brief presentations on their research to the class at semester's end.
Note: Plagiarized work will
not be accepted. If you are using someone else's ideas, words, or
research, you MUST cite them properly.
You may have one unexcused absence over the course of
the semester. After this, each absence will result in a deduction of
1% from your overall grade.
Overview of grade components:
Two thought papers: 20%
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