Rethinking the 'East' (U02694)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LLC-4-RtE

The course investigates the notion of the East - loaded geopolitical, ideological, aesthetic, and highly symbolic concept - in the context of the eastern edges, margins and centres of Europe. The course is organized around a number of historical tropes which underpin the conflicted contemporary identities of the East of Europe: the Russian Empire, the Bolshevik Revolution, the WWII, Communism, and Post-Communism. By way of exploring spaces and images, urban sites and filmic representations, the course focuses on the fluid borders of the East (linguistic, national, ideological, material and imaginary), its shifting centres (Moscow, St Petersburg, Vienna, Paris and Berlin), and its complex identities and allegiances (ethnic, linguistic, aesthetic, and religious).

Key issues discussed in the course include: the East - West dichotomy; assumptions associated with the Occidental and the Oriental and the invisibility of the immediate European East; the questions of the intellectual, cultural and geographic centrality of Europe; Western 'rationality' versus Eastern 'mysticism'; problems of identity and allegiance, such as patriotism, nostalgia, sacrifice and struggle; imaginary and mythical centres for Eastern Europeans; the weight of history and ideology in performing the notion of the East; issues of individual and collected memories constructed internally (by Eastern Europeans) and externally (by the West). The course offers a conceptual framework for thinking about the multiplicity of the (contested) East(s) in relation to the (stable) West and in reference to the individual, national, cultural, ethnic, and religious constructs and representations.

? Keywords : Russian, East European, Visual culture

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : acceptance into Russian Studies Hons

? Costs : charge for photocopy and course handbooks

Subject Areas

Home subject area

European Languages and Cultures - Russian Studies, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	12:10	13:00	Central
Lecture	Thursday	13:10	13:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

-Students will become familiar with the complexities of the concept of the 'East' in the European context, through the analysis of sites of cultural production and visual forms.
-Students will become familiar with the visual culture of Russia and Eastern Europe
-They will develop the analytical skills needed to engage with different cultural forms
-They will be able to engage critically with the difference and specificity of cultural products and cultural contexts.
-Students will further develop writing and oral presentation skills.