Corso di laurea magistrale in Scienze storiche

Themes and matters developed, as well as expertise and abilities, are fundamental parts of the characterizing contents of the degree course; this teaching module is therefore intended to offer training in the specific dimension of Asiatic Russia (both Tsarist and Soviet) in the frame of the degree course in Historical Sciences.

Knowledge and understanding

Students will achieve a critical understanding of the complicated and evolving relationship of the Tsarist Empire toward its Oriental territories from the 18^th through the 20^th centuries.

Applying knowledge and understanding

This seminar course will provide students with the opportunity to exercise in historical semantics, particularly the meaning of “Europe” and “Asia” in the Russian intellectual discourse. Coursework will also train students to examine critically the interplay between broad ideological constructs (e.g. “Russia” having an “Asiatic destiny”) and the actual patterns of ruling specific Eastern regions such as the Far East or Turkestan, combining macro and micro approaches

Making judgements

By examining diverging, even conflicting historiographical approaches, students will develop the ability to evaluate strengths and weakness of different modes of historical analysis.

Communication skills

Seminar work will train students to present coherent oral presentations and written reports.

Learning skills

Intensive exercise in the historiographical debate will allow students to approach historical analysis in general with a more perceptive understanding of its evolving, problematic character.

To facilitate teacher–students communications, it is important that students register for this course on the campusnet platform before the seminar begins

This is a seminar course taught entirely in English for a total of 36 hours (6 cfu). It is based on the principle that learning progresses through a critical reading of diverse, diverging historical literature, comparing different viewpoints and analytical approaches. In other words, students will learn by debating. For example, students will be ask to identify mentally with the author of the essay they read and answer hypothetical objections or compare his/her approach with previous readings. It is assumed that comments will be less than perfect at first, and that students will acquire analytical awareness and conceptual precision as coursework proceeds.

Students will be asked to read carefully, present in class and discuss a number of texts (articles or book chapters) provided by the teacher, as well as to periodically write short reports. The main workload will be during the seminar schedule. Required readings, as well as the reading list (syllabus) are available on the Moodle platform. Reading assignments and the sessions calendar will be agreed upon during the first meeting.

Oral and written reports should summarize the main arguments and sources used by the author to support his/her conclusion. In addition, reports should offer comments on the article/chapter, comparisons with previous readings and raise a number of questions to be discussed.

Students who are not able to attend the seminar sessions in person may access teaching material on the Moodle platform. They should also study (in addition to the required reading list) two works selected from the bibliography listed below. The professor will offer his/her support to study and prepare for the exam with online dedicated meetings (dates will be provided in the news section).

International students may arrange with the teacher individual coursework in Russian, depending on circumstances and availability.

Final evaluation will depend on oral presentations (30%), participation in the discussion (40%), and written reports (30%).

Participation to the discussion, as well as oral and written reports will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Participation:

Demonstration of reading assigned materials prior to class

Contribution to discussion

Ability to critically analyze the text

Oral and written reports:

Well-organized and clear structure (the presentation has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion)

Demonstration of understanding the main ideas/thesis that the article intends to propose

Raise critical comments to readings

Students who are not able to attend the seminar sessions in person will take an oral examination on 1) the reading list and 2) two works selected from the bibliography listed below

Russia’s Asiatic Dimension

The title of this course refers to both a territory and a relationship. The territory encompasses the vast spaces acquired by the Tsarist Empire during its expansion toward the East and South–East, beginning from the conquest of Astrakhan and Kazan’ in the 16^th Century until the forays in Manchuria in the early 20^th Century. The relationship is the one established by Russia with Asia and its diverse populations, social structures, institutions, cultural and religious realities. This dimension of Russian history has been overshadowed for a long time by Russia’s complex relationship with Europe. Yet it has been the subject of much research in the recent decades.

What did the Oriental expansion mean for the Tsarist state? How did it affect state ideology and government practices? How did contemporaries framed the proximity to Asia in different historical moments? The course theme assumes that the very notions of East or West, Europe or Asia are evolving historical constructs that take different meanings in different historical contexts. The very definition of “Asiatic Russia”, which emerged only at a later stage, will be critically examined.

To prepare for this exam students will have to study the reading list, see the syllabus on the Moodle platform.

Students who are not able to attend the seminar sessions in person will have to study two works selected from the bibliography listed below, in addition to the reading list:

S. Becker, Russia’s Protectorates in Central Asia: Bukhara and Khiva, 1865–1924. RoutlegdeCurzon, London - New York, 2004

D. Brower, Turkestan and the fate of the Russian Empire, London 2003

M. Buttino, La rivoluzione capovolta. L'Asia centrale tra il crollo dell'Impero zarista e la formazione dell'URSS, Napoli, 2003

R. Geraci, Window on the East. National and Imperial Identities in Late Tsarist Russia, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2001 

S. Kotkin, D. Wolff, Rediscovering Russia in Asia : Siberia and the Russian Far East, London, 1995

N. Pianciola, Stalinismo di frontiera. Colonizzazione agricola, sterminio dei nomadi e costruzione statale in Asia centrale (1905-1936), Roma, 2009

I.Sablin, The Rise and Fall of Russia's Far Eastern Republic, 1905–1922: Nationalisms, Imperialisms, and Regionalisms in and after the Russian Empire, London 2018

T. Uyama, Asiatic Russia. Imperial power in regional and international contexts, London 2012

D. Wolff, To the Harbin Station. The Liberal Alternative in Russian Manchuria, 1898-1914, Stanford, 1999

Oral examination will be in English or, if necessary, in Russian.

The delivery method of teaching may be subject to changes pending restrictions imposed by the health crisis. If the teaching activities are not fully resumed face to face, students will be provided with live-streamed lectures and/or their recordings will be available on the Moodle platform, along with teaching material.