Tsars, Soviets, and Putin: Modern Russia, 1860-present
This course was available in the past and may be presented again as part of the Master of Liberal Arts curriculum.
This course provides an overview of the history of Russia and its empires, told through original primary sources. Covering the period from 1860 to the present, we will examine the allure and challenges of empire, the search for a Russian nation, the autocratic tradition and its afterlives, movements for popular revolution, schemes for reform and modernization, Russian/Soviet interactions with the outside world, and the 1991 collapse and contemporary politics. No knowledge of the Russian language or Russian history is necessary; students will emerge from this course with a better understanding of the culture and politics of modern Russia that will equip them to understand what is happening in the present moment.
- Fulfills the Elective - Non-Western requirement
About the Professor
Faith Hillis
Faith Hillis is an historian of modern Russia, with a special interest in nineteenth- and twentieth-century politics, culture, and ideas. Her work explores how Russia's peculiar political institutions—and its status as a multiethnic empire—shaped public opinion and political cultures. It also interrogates Russia's relationship with the outside world, asking where the Russian experience belongs in the broader context of European and global history. In addition, she is interested in the theory and practice of the digital humanities.