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FALL
2009 GEOG
278.00/GEOG709 |
Geography resources
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The modern history of the countries of the Former Soviet Union has been that
of formidable changes and social experiments. In less than a century, they went
from being a backward Russian Empire to modern socialist Soviet states and to
struggling but independent capitalist states. Truly vast geographically, this
region once covered 1/6 of the world’s land surface and its population was the
third largest after
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Instructor: Dr. Marianna
Pavlovskaya |
Office hours:
Web page: http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~mpavlov |
Course web page: http://www.geo.hunter.cuny.edu/~mpavlov/Courses/RCA278/RCAs2000syl.html
BlackBoard
login page: http://bb.hunter.cuny.edu
(assignments, grades, discussion board, digital readings)
Course web page and BB are always updated. Please check regularly both pages. It is your responsibility
to keep up with all the postings. Course web page can be accessed 1) from BB;
2) by typing the URL above; 3) by going to Department of Geography website’s
listing of current courses; 4) from Dr.
Pavlovskaya's home web page.
GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
This course fulfills Pluralism and Diversity “group A” OR “group D” and
Stage 3 Focused Exposure: Social or Natural Science, but does NOT fulfill the
"W" requirement.
COURSE FORMAT
- Lectures will be combined with student discussions.
- Homework assignments are due before the class. Late assignments will be marked down. Once graded assignments are handed out, late assignments will no longer be accepted.
- You are expected to attend all classes, read all assigned material, participate in discussions, fulfill all the assignments, and take lecture notes. Lectures will complement readings. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to read the assigned literature, do the assignments, and get lecture notes from your peers.
EVALUATION AND
REQUIREMENTS
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Midterm Exam |
25% |
Group project |
20% |
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Class participation |
10% |
Final exam |
20% |
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Exercises |
25% |
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Exams consist of short-answer, multiple choices, short essay questions and map-based questions.
Exercises include map exercises, map quizzes, reaction papers, new reports, and one book report.
Map exercises will include coloring maps according to the instructions.
Map quizzes involve identifying key geographic features (e.g. rivers, cities, etc.) on a blank map. Some map quizzes will be stand alone, others included into the exams. Placename lists and blank maps for practicing are provided.
Reaction papers are short written commentaries about the assigned readings or films.
News reports are three minutes presentations about the latest events in the region.
Book report will consists of 1000 words (approximately 3 pages) and will answer the following questions:
· What is the central argument of the book? What major processes does the book address? What are the causes and the outcomes of these processes? Which part of the book you found most interesting and why?
Group project is a research project on the approved topic that culminates in producing a written team report (approximately 10 pages long) and presenting it to the class. Each student will author a specific part of the report but the document should be edited by a team and read as a whole (see project Guidelines for details). The grade will be an average of the two grades: for the authored part and for the entire report.
Class participation includes attendance and group discussions of the assigned readings and videos.
CLASSROOM RULES
Please absolutely no talking during lectures, no eating, and no cell phones.
The class begins and ends on time. Important announcements and attendance will take place in the beginning of the class.
Four late arrivals OR three missed classes result in one less point towards your final grade.
No make up assignments, quizzes, or exams.
College policies regarding plagiarism will be strictly followed. Plagiarized papers result in F grade and so possibly may the course.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER SOURCES
Required:
Sahadeo, J., and
R. Zanca, eds. 2007. Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present.
Indiana University Press. (available at the Shakespeare bookstore)
On-line histories
of Central Asia. The Eurasia Program, Social Science Research Council (SSRC) http://onlinehistories.ssrc.org/centralasia/.
A written report on one book will be required. The list of books will be made available.
Other required readings: No single book can keep up with changes in the former Soviet Union and
provide an adequate picture of all aspects of its economy, society, and
culture. Therefore, more required readings will be assigned for each topic.
They will be available either on reserve in the library or digitally on BB.
Recommended:
Website built by
Hunter College student Stefanie Gray as a resource for Geography of Russia and
Central Asia class: http://www.Geografiya.net
Shaw, D. J. B. 1999. Russia in the modern world. Blackwell.
(OUT OF PRINT) Shaw, Denis J. B., ed. 1995. The Post-Soviet Republics: A Systematic Geography. Longman Scientific & Technical.
Gregory Gleason 1997 The Central Asian States: Discovering Independence, Westview Press.
Symons,
L. 1992. The Soviet Union. A Systematic Geography. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
James H. Bater, 1996. Russia and the Post-Soviet Scene. Arnold: London.
Humphrey, C. 2002. The unmaking of Soviet life: Everyday economies after socialism. Ithaca, NY and London, UK: Cornell University Press.
Luong, P. J., ed. 2003. The Transformation of Central Asia: States and Societies from Soviet Rule to Independence. Cornell University Press.
Bradshaw, Michael J., ed. 1997. Geography and Transition
in the Post-Soviet Republics. Chichester and New York: Wiley & Sons.
Poliakov, Sergei P. 1992. Everyday Islam: Religion and Tradition in Rural Central Asia. Armonk, New York: M.E.Sharpe.
Gilbert, Martin. 1993. Atlas of Russian History. New York: Oxford University Press. (There is an older edition of 1972).
Articles in Post-Soviet Geography and Economics (available in Hunter library).
CALENDAR FOR Fall 2009
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F Aug 28 F Sept 18 T Sept 29 F Nov 27 F Dec 11 T Dec 15 11:30 - 1:30 pm |
First class No class No class, Monday schedule No class, Thanksgiving break Last class Final exam |
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Map quizzes Midterm exam |
To be announced 1 week in
advance To be announced 1 week in
advance |
WEEKLY TOPICS
Please see Class Schedule for weekly topics, readings, assignments. This schedule is subject to change.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES (this list
is always updated):
Fun links:
English Russia (information in English about Russia) http://englishrussia.com/?p=1906#more-1906
Daily News and reports:
The Moscow Times
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/index.php
Russia Today
(video reports) http://russiatoday.com/
Radio Free Europe http://www.rferl.org/
STRATFOR Global Intelligence http://www.stratfor.com/regions/former_soviet_union
Russian news on-line, all in one place www.russiannewsonline.com/
The New York Times on line: http://www.nytimes.com/
Institute for war and peace reporting: http://www.iwpr.net/?home_index.html (see Caucasus and Central Asia)
Information and statistics:
World flags and their brief description: http://www.3dflags.com/
«Central Asian Studies World Wide» Resources for the Study of Central Asia (Sponsored by the Harvard Forum for Central Asian Studies) http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~casww/index.html
Maps:
Russia http://map.rin.ru/index_e.html
Society and culture:
Russian Feminism Resources http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2533/russfem.html
New York Public
Library "Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825" http://russia.nypl.org/; and "The Romanovs:
Their Empire, Their Books" http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/slv/exhibit/roman.html.
Cities and places
Chernobyl http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/world/europe/25russia.html?_r=1&ref=wo, August 25, 2009, Tarusa Journal, Revealing Secret Spots That Evoke Dark Secrets By ALISON SMALE