ECS 320
The Human Face of Soviet Socialism
(SA)
Professor(s): Serguei A. Oushakine

Description/Objectives:
Traditionally, life in the Soviet period is perceived as being polarized between the ideological constraints imposed by state authorities and acts of popular resistance by dissidents. In this course, we will try to understand how Communist values were "translated" in socialist countries into the language of everyday life. Through film, fiction, and academic studies of socialist life, we will analyze the cultural logic of socialism that still retains its legacy in a large part of the former Soviet world.

Sample Reading List:

Christina Kiaer, Imagine No Possession: The Socialist Objects of Russian Constructivism.
Buck-Morss Susan , Dreamworld and Catastrophe. The Passing of Mass Utopia in East and West.
Ruben Gallego, White on Black.
Gronow, Jukka , Caviar with Champaign. Common Luxury and the Ideals of the Good Life in Stalin’s Russia

Reading/Writing Assignments: 100 - 150 pages of reading per week. 1-page position papers posted weekly. Final term paper (2,800-3,000 words in length excluding bibliography and references) will be due on Dean's Date.

Requirements/Grading:
Paper in lieu of Midterm Exam: 30%
Term Paper: 40%
Precept Participation: 30%

Schedule/Classroom Assignment:
Class Number: 21924 - Seminar S01 : 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm T Th    Aaron Burr Hall 209