Myths and Memories: Histories of Russia's Second World War
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MLAC3077 | Modern Languages and Cultures | 3 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- MLAC3077
- School
- Modern Languages and Cultures
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This module introduces students to the construction of national and collective memory of the Second World War in Soviet and Russian culture and society. This module will focus on contemporary and subsequent artistic and social responses to the experience of war, but also look at individual acts of remembering (diaries, reports, letters) in the context of a wider cultural memory. The module is conducted in English through lectures, seminars, student presentations, class work and coursework. This module is available to students in the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies and other students in the Faculty of Arts. Students taking Final Year Russian language modules will be expected to read texts in the original, other students will read translations in English.
Target Students
Only available to students in the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies. Also available to Exchange or Liberal Arts students.
Classes
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 12 weeks
- One 2-hour lecture each week for 12 weeks
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies operates an attendance policy. The details of this policy can be found in the student handbook on Workspace and in module handbooks.
Assessment
- 60% Coursework 1: 3,000-word essay
- 20% Coursework 2: Project - Research Poster (group work).
- 20% Coursework 3: Poster Presentation (group presentation, 15 minutes in duration).
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The aim of this module is to equip students with the skills to analyse, evaluate and discuss Russian and Soviet commemorations of the Second World War and the construction of a collective memory; to identify and contrast different strands of narratives of war experiences which unite individual and collective responses to the Second World War; to analyse and apply relevant theories of memory to Russian and Soviet strategies of commemorating the war; to discuss some of the central problems related to Russian and Soviet memories of the Second World War, including the relationship between memory and forgetting, narratives of suffering and sacrifice and the relationship between acts and rituals of commemoration and the construction of national identity/-ies.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
- A3 Russian culture past and present from a variety of thematic sources
- A4 intercultural issues derived from the necessity to mediate between Russian culture and the student's own, be it British and/or otherwise.
Intellectual Skills • B1 ability critically and effectively to analyse a variety of cultural products (principally texts, films) from, and issues about, Russian culture past and present
• B2 ability to extract and organise material from written and spoken sources
• B3 ability to reflect critically upon and reach judgement about evidence from written and spoken resources
• B4 ability to identify and solve problems
• B5 ability to identify and apply methodologies appropriate to different cultural disciplines
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
• B2 ability to extract and organise material from written and spoken sources
• B3 ability to reflect critically upon and reach judgement about evidence from written and spoken resources
• B4 ability to identify and solve problems
• B5 ability to identify and apply methodologies appropriate to different cultural disciplines
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
• B3 ability to reflect critically upon and reach judgement about evidence from written and spoken resources
• B4 ability to identify and solve problems
• B5 ability to identify and apply methodologies appropriate to different cultural disciplines
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
• B4 ability to identify and solve problems
• B5 ability to identify and apply methodologies appropriate to different cultural disciplines
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
• B5 ability to identify and apply methodologies appropriate to different cultural disciplines
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
• B6 ability to structure a reasoned argument in the light of evidence and materials assembled.
Professional/Practical Skills
• C1 ability to communicate clearly and effectively in oral and written forms in English for a variety of purposes.
• C2 ability to use Russian source materials • C3 bibliographic and internet research skills in Russian and English • C4 ability to think and write under pressure • C5 note-taking and summary skills from a variety of registers • C6 ability to articulate knowledge of the discipline of Russian Studies.
• C2 ability to use Russian source materials
- C3 bibliographic and internet research skills in Russian and English
- C4 ability to think and write under pressure
- C5 note-taking and summary skills from a variety of registers
- C6 ability to articulate knowledge of the discipline of Russian Studies.
Transferable/Key Skills
• D1 ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team
• D2 communication skills: effective listening, writing, speaking in English
• D3 oral presentation skills in English
• D4 time management
• D5 IT skills (word processing in Cyrillic and English; information retrieval skills)
• D6 identification of problems and construction of strategies for their solution
• D7 personal skills: self-reliance, flexibility, discipline, self-evaluation, initiative, independence.