Opetusohjelma 2022–2023

Online course
14.9.-21.10.2022
Wed 12:15-13:45 and Fri 10:15-11:45

Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius

Learning goals
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
• explain the concepts of ‘conspiracy theory’ and ‘conspiratorial thinking’
• analyse selected conspiracy theories
• examine functions of conspiracy theories, particularly in the V4 countries
• compare the use of conspiracy theories across the V4 countries
• argue the significance of conspiracy theories for the ‘illiberal’ turn in CEE
• design, carry out and present a small-scale research project that demonstrates critical literacy skills

Course outline
This course deals with conspiracy theories as a prominent element of the political and cultural life in contemporary information-rich societies. Using the Visegrád Four (V4) countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) as case studies, we explore the connection between conspiracy theories and the ‘illiberal’, populist turn – one of the key recent developments in the CEE region – to gain an insight into ‘conspiratorial thinking’ as a distinct mode of understanding on which illiberalism hinges.

The course comprises twelve sessions:
1. Introduction: What are conspiracy theories? (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
2. Reading seminar: Theoretical perspectives on, and analytical approaches to, conspiracy theories (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
3. Examples of conspiracy theories in global politics and culture (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
4. Strategies for counteracting conspiracy theories (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
5. Introduction to the Visegrád Four (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
6. Case study I: Conspiracy theories in Hungary (Annastiina Kallius)
7. Case study II: Conspiracy theories in the Czech Republic (Ilana Hartikainen)
8. Case study III: Conspiracy theories in Slovakia (Ilana Hartikainen)
9. Case study IV: Conspiracy theories in Poland) (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
10. Concluding session: The role of conspiracy theories in the V4 countries (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
11. Groupwork I: Poster development (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)
12. Groupwork II: Poster presentations (Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius)

Completion
Lectures, reading, individual essay (60 %) + group project (40%)

Moodle course area including a link to an online meeting room will become available for students on the starting day of the course.

24.10.2022 – 9.12.2022

Mon 24.10. 9-12 and 13-16 Virta 327 seminarhall 15
Mon 31.10. 9-12 and 13-16 Virta 327 seminarhall 15
Mon 7.11. 9-12 and 13-16 Virta 327 seminarhall 15
Mon 21.11. 9-12 Virta 327 seminarhall 15 and 13-16 Virta 338
Mon 28.11. 9-12 and 13-16 Virta 327 seminarhall 15
Mon 5.12. 9-11 Virta 327 seminarhall 15

Zsuzsanna Millei, Nelli Piattoeva

This cross-disciplinary course is designed for bachelor, masters and doctoral students of education, social sciences and the humanities. The course offers understandings of the wider socio-political matrices of power and everyday life in the post-socialist societies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union through the lens of childhood politics and experiences. Childhood and children’s lives, as the politics, policies and experiences of any other marginalised groups, such as migrants, ethnic or religious groups and so on, provide fertile ground to study and learn about contemporary society or from a historical perspective. By using various forms of learning - such as seminars, lectures given by international speakers, collective theorizing, childhood memory workshops, and art engagements - the course focuses on the political history of the region, child institutions and policies, complex power hierarchies, and the everyday life within which children lead their lives. The course highlights the multiple histories and geopolitical diversity of the region, the variety of socialist and postsocialist conditions, political life and its transformations. The course connects closely with the Memories of Everyday Childhoods: Decolonial and De-Cold War dialogues on childhood and schooling https://coldwarchildhoods.org/

This course offers knowledge, memory workshop and art engagement to

• understand the complex, diverse and often contradictory relations between political history of the region, complex power hierarchies, child institutions and policies, and the everyday life of ordinary people, particularly of children
• recognise the multiple histories and geopolitical diversity of the region, and the variety of socialist and post-socialist conditions, political life, and its transformations after the end of Cold War
• examine similarities and differences in the actual realities of children’s lives and everyday experiences during the Cold War and its aftermath on both sides of the Iron Curtain
• engage with one’s own memories of childhood and through an art process with the study of (post)socialist countries and people’s lives therein

12.09.2022-17.10.2022

12.09.2022 14.15 - 15.45
19.09.2022 14.15 - 15.45
26.09.2022 14.15 - 15.45
03.10.2022 14.15 - 15.45
10.10.2022 14.15 - 15.45
17.10.2022 14.15 - 15.45

Mariya Riekkinen

Lectures will be held via Zoom as live video streaming. Lectures include interactive assignments in chat boxes. A compulsory part of the course is supervised essay writing (5-8 pages). Self study (reading/seeking information). Take-home examination via Moodle

Lecture 1. International law in Russian legal order: constitutional
settings and practices
Lecture 2. Russia and ECHR: landmarks since 1996
Lecture 3. The law (?) of the CIS. Interstate relationships
Lecture 4. Elections and Public Administration against the background
of the ICCPR and ECHR
Lecture 5. Non-Discrimination. Rights of the Child: against the
background of the CRC and the ECHR

7.9.–7.12.2022

Verkkokurssi ke 7.9.2022–ke 7.12.2022

5.9.–21.11.2022
Mon 10:15-12:00
Online course

Julia Gerlach

Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union have been ‘on the move’ for several decades. Regional migration trends after 1989/1991 have been strongly influenced by multiple coexisting and intersecting public cultures including shared statehood histories (legacies), the emergence of newly independent republics (nation-building and nationalization) and states entering both the regional and global arena, and regional and international markets in-the-making (regionalisation, globalization and denationalisation).

The course aims to provide a sound overview of the phenomena of migration in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union with a focus on region-specific migration patterns (labor, conflict, return and repatriation, and movements to cities and growth poles) as well as on the impact on both individual and collective levels.

Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will:
- be familiar with approaches to and phenomena of migration;
- be familiar with the most important migration regimes and migration trends from/ to/ within Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union;
- be able to analyze migration patterns;
- be familiar with the most relevant political, social, and economic contexts of migration in and for the region;
- be able to analyze the relevant challenges;
- understand the impact of migration on different levels.

Moodle course area including a link to an online meeting room will become available for students on the starting day of the course.

Please note that there will be six live online lectures (see schedule below). For four lectures you will have lecture materials to be studied independently.

Vesa Oittinen

Luento 1.  Esihistoriaa: Narodnikkilaisuus – Tshernyshevski – Herzen – narodnikkilaisuuden vaiheet – Marxin omat arviot Venäjän kehityksestä – N. K. Mihailovski – Lopatin, Danielson ym. Marxin venäläiset ystävät – marxilaisuuden tulo Venäjälle – Plehanovin Nashi raznoglasija teoreettisena tilintekona narodnikkilaisuuteen;

Luento 2. Ns. legaalinen marxismi – VSDTP perustetaan; pian jako kahteen (bolshevikit vs. menshevikit) – kummankin suuntauksen luonnehdintaa – Lenin – Leninin taistelu Bogdanovia ja tämän ”empiriomonismia” vastaan: Materialismi ja empiriokritisismi (1909) – Leninin Hegel-reseptio (Filosofian vihot 1914—1915) – muita bolshevismin varhaisia teoreetikkoja (Buharin)

Luento 3. Varhaisen Neuvostoliiton filosofit – marxismi hegemoniseen asemaan – 1920-luvun tilanne: ”mekanistit” vs. ”dialektikot” (Deborinin koulukunta) – Pod Znamenem Marksizma-lehti ja sen merkitys – 20-luvun väittelyiden kuvausta; kysymys dialektiikasta ja materialismista – Spinoza-juhlavuosi 1927

Luento 4. Käänne 1930 – kampanja ”menshevisoivaa idealismia” vastaan, Stalinin kannustama filosofian ”bolshevisointi” – sen seuraus: diamatin kanonisointi – ”Suuri terrori” 1937 – Buharinin oikeudenkäynti – Buharinin ”vankilavihot”: Filosofisia arabeskeja (1937) – Filosofian kuolleet vuodet 1940-luvulla – vuoden 1948 filosofinen väittely ja Andrei Zhdanovin kannsutama käänen ”neuvostopatriotismiin” myös filosofiassa – Mihail Lifshitsin toiminta

Luento 5. Filosofisen ajattelun elpyminen 1950-luvulla – neuvostoliittolainen ”Marx-renessanssi” (Marxin Pääoman lähiluku): Iljenkov, Zinovjev ym. – diamatin enemmän tai vähemmän varovainen kritiikki alkaa – uusia koulukuntia alkaa muotoutua – neuvostopsykologian kulttuurihistoriallinen koulukunta(Vygotski, Leontjev ym.) ja sen filosofinen tausta

Luento 6. Neuvostofilosofian parhaat vuodet 60-luvulla – Iljenkov ja dialektinen logiikka – Iljenkovin ”ideaalisen” käsite – ”toimintateoreettinen” suuntaus (dejatel’nostnyi podhod) neuvostofilosofiassa ja sen saavutukset – B.M. Kedrov ja tieteenfilosofia – Vadim Mezhujev ja kulttuurin filosofia – Genrih Batishtshevin Iljenkov-kritiikki – T. I. Oizermanin filosofianhistoriallinen projekti

Luento 7. Stagnaation kausi Brezhnevin aikana – marxilaisuuden arvostus vähenee, filosofinen ajattelu alkaa olla de facto jo marxismista riippumatonta – ”60-lukulaiset” (shestidesjatniki) modifioituvat ”neuvostoliberaaleiksi” – Aleksandr Zinovjev – perestroika 1985 alkaen; perestroikan ajan kritiikki aiempaa filosofista ajattelua kohtaan – NL:n romahdus 1991 ja neuvostofilosofian äkillinen loppu – retrospektiivinen yleiskatsaus, neuvostofilosofia omana historiallisesti ainutlaatuisena ”filosofisena kulttuurina”

31.10.–14.12.2022
Online course
Mon and Wed 10:15-11:45

5.10.–14.12.2022

Wed 12.15–13.45 Kielikeskus, sh.207, Fabianinkatu 26

Margarita Zavadskaya
Elena Gorbacheva
Mirzokhid Karshiev
Eugenia Pesci
Kristiina Silvan

The course “Political Behavior in Post-Communist Space: A Comparative Perspective”aims at introducing students to ‘the demand side’ of politics focusing on citizens’ perspectives, preferences, opinion, actions, and values in a diverse region of Central and Eastern Europe and former USSR, sharing a common communist legacy. ‘The demand side’ of politics means 1) a primary focus on citizens, their values, political attitudes instead of intra-elite interactions, 2) combining substantive topics with the most illustrative case studies, and 3) bringing insights and original materials from our own research projects. Thus, instead of focusing on intra-elite and international tensions (‘the supply side’ of politics), we seek to make citizens’ perspective more visible and to look at it through systematic comparison. We define political behavior as citizens’ engagement with politics considering the specificity and nature of political regimes and accounting for limited opportunities to affect politics in closed authoritarian set-ups. We emphasize, problematize and challenge the impact of post-communist and authoritarian legacy drawing on evidence-based empirical research. 

The course brings together area studies perspectives (Central-European, Russian and Eurasian studies) with comparative politics and political sociology and economics. The course seeks to familiarize the students with the overall context and specifics of political behavior in the designated region given the authoritarian past/present and communist legacy. Political behavior encompasses a wide array of political phenomena - electoral behavior, values, protest, civic engagement, political activism - which will be covered within the course. Special attention is paid to the analytical tools, theories, and conceptual frameworks that will allow the students to provide meaningful comparisons and carry out independent political analysis.

A pernicious decision of Russian leadership to invade Ukraine brings the authoritarian and post-Soviet legacies to fore and begs for re-thinking and re-conceptualization of political processes and citizens’ behavior and attitudes. The course does not aim at studying the current war and its repercussions, although students are encouraged to discuss, apply and challenge the existing concepts. However, this must be done admitting and accepting the limitations and sensitivity of the topic.

The course consists of 24 contact hours, i.e. 12 meetings covering various aspects of political behavior combining introduction of specific topics and concepts with empirical materials. The course is taught in English and is delivered by Margarita Zavadskaya (Ph.D.), Elena Gorbacheva, Eugenia Pesci and Mirzokhid Karshiev (doctoral researchers at the Aleksanteri Institute). In-class meetings will take forms of lectures combined with discussions, group work and small creative tasks.Prior to each lecture or seminar, a list of readings or other relevant materials (video, journal articles, audio recordings, visual materials) are via Moodle. The in-class meetings consist of lecturing parts and interactive formats in order to facilitate knowledge construction, where assignments include problem solving, practical tasks, mini-essays, and group
presentations.

Intended learning outcomes:
After completing the course, the students will be able to:
1) define the main concepts such as ‘historical legacies’, types of political behavior’;
2) discuss the main concepts and terms related to political behavior and apply them to specific cases;
3) identify the central discussions / lines of debates on political behavior in the defined region;
4) draw comparisons and contrast cases;
5) articulate and justify own opinion on a specific matter within the course.

Course Programme:

1. Political behavior and participation: is post-communism still relevant?
2. Exploring values and participation in post-communist states (Margarita Zavadskaya)
3. Democratization vs. Autocratization from below. Cases of Poland and Hungary (Margarita Zavadskaya)
4. Electoral behavior - preferences, voting, and abstention (Margarita Zavadskaya)
5. Protesting elections: Belarus (Kristiina Silvan)
6. New Social Movements (Elena Gorbacheva)
7. Local activism and environment: Estonia and Russia (Elena Gorbacheva)
8. ‘The post-soviet ‘labour dilemma’ in Russia and Central Asia (Eugenia Pesci)
9. Everyday forms of passive resistance (Central Asia, Russia) (Mirzokhid Karshiev, Eugenia Pesci)
10. State-organized mobilization Uzbekistan and Belarus (Mirzokhid Karshiev)
11. Perspectives on political participation in the region Margarita Zavadskaya
12. Students’ group presentations

06.10.-24.11.2022

Hybrid teaching
Thu 14:15-15:45 Arken Voltaire (M127)

• Thu 06.10.2022 14:15-15:45
• Thu 13.10.2022 14:15-15:45 
• Thu 20.10.2022 14:15-15:45
• Thu 27.10.2022 14:15-15:45 
• Thu 03.11.2022 14:15-15:45 
• Thu 10.11.2022 14:15-15:45 
• Thu 17.11.2022 14:15-15:45 
• Thu 24.11.2022 14:15-15:45

Gustaf Olsson

This course combines history, cultural studies, and cultural history and look at Soviet and post-Soviet history and cultural politics through the lens of film. The idea that unites all lectures is that the current political climate is reflected in the films that were made during that era. A more liberal political and cultural climate leads to more experimental filmmaking and films covering a broader range of topics, whereas more repressive eras have produced films that deliver a political message and that are less artistically daring.

Films:
•    Battleship Potemkin
•    Aelita
•    Chapaev
•    Ivanovo detstvo (Ivan’s Childhood)
•    Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu (Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession)
•    Sobach´e serdtse (The Heart of a Dog)
•    Brat (Brother)
•    Monanieba/Pokayanie (Repentance)
Literature: Salys, R. (2013). The Russian cinema reader: Volume one, 1908 to the Stalin era. Academic Studies Press. Salys, R. (2013). The Russian cinema reader: Volume two, The thaw to the present. Academic Studies Press. Extra material and handouts by the lecturer.

Learning outcomes/objectives
After the course, the student should:
•    be familiar with the general history and development of cultural politics in the Soviet Union, in post-Soviet Russia, and in neighbouring states like Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia.
•    be familiar with the meaning of some key moments and key terms in Soviet history and cultural history.
•    be familiar with some propaganda tools that can be seen in Soviet (but of course not only in Soviet) films, and reflect on whether and how explicit or implicit propaganda tools are used in certain films during the course.

General/transferable skills
•    Theoretical knowledge gained from the studies
•    Analytical and systematic thinking skills
•    Communication in English
•    Critical and ethical thinking
•    Information retrieval skills
•    Self-direction/initiative

Info on assessment:
8 Lectures, reading, 3 final essays, each 1000 words long.

2.11.–7.12.2022

Marco Siddi

Outline                                                              
The course focuses on relations between the EU, Russia and their shared neighbourhood before and after the war in Ukraine in 2022. It combines theoretical approaches with an empirical and policy focus. Particular attention is devoted to security issues, regional integration projects and case studies in selected policy areas, notably energy and memory politics.

The course reviews the different theoretical angles that scholars apply to analyse the EU’s and Russia’s policies, as well as their interaction in the shared neighbourhood. This includes Realpolitik approaches, constructivist explanations based on the Self/Other dichotomy and the influence of Orientalist, imperialist and postcolonial thinking on current politics.

The case studies focus on the most salient policy areas for relations between Russia, the EU and the shared neighbourhood. Energy relations have long been the most lucrative, and arguaby the most strategic area of cooperation, despite frequent and mutual accusations of ‘weaponising’ this trade. Security issues have marred relations in a crescendo since 2014, culminating in the 2022 war. The course analyses the escalation of 2014 and the 2022 war as fundamental watersheds in EU-Russia relations and regional politics. It also explores how the security agenda has expanded to the Mediterranean theatre following the Western intervention in Libya, Russia’s military campaign in Syria and both sides’ influence in other regional conflicts.

Different interpretations and uses of history are also analysed, as they have been central to the discursive contestation between the EU, Russia and neighbouring countries since 2014. Events and concepts borrowed from the Second World War are ubiquitous in political and public debates. The course concludes with a simulation game concerning EU-Russia relations, i.e. a European Council summit where EU member states attempt to agree on a common position vis-a-vis Russia in a crisis context.

Lectures:

1. Introduction:  the EU, Russia and the shared neighbourhood in the run-up to the 2022 war
2. Theoretical and conceptual approaches: realism, liberalism, social constructivism, postcolonialism
3. The EU’s and Russia’s regional integration policies and the perspectives of neighbouring countries
4. The security dimension: from the post-Soviet frozen conflicts to the war in Ukraine
5. Russia and the EU in the Southern neighbourhood from the Arab Spring to the Syrian war
6. Energy relations in the EU-Russia-shared neighbourhood ‘triangle’
7. The ‘memory battleground’: case studies of current memory politics in Russia, Ukraine and the EU
8. Simulation game / How to write the final essay

Learning outcomes                                       
Students are expected to gain an understanding of the pre- and post-Ukraine war political dynamics in relations between the EU, Russia and the shared neighbourhood. They will also learn to apply International Relations theory and concepts to elucidate the events under analysis. Moreover, students are expected to gain deeper knowledge of the policy fields selected for closer investigation: security, energy relations, regional integration and the politics of memory.

Completion 8 Lectures, reading, final essay

Link to the course page

2.11.–14.12.2022
ke 2.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
ke 9.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
ke 16.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
pe 18.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Metsätalo, sali 12, Unioninkatu 40
ke 23.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
pe 25.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Metsätalo, sali 12, Unioninkatu 40
ke 30.11.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
ke 7.12.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062
ke 14.12.2022    14.15–15.45 Päärakennus, U4062, Päärakennus

14.9.–21.10.2022
Online course
Wed 14:15-15:45 and Fri 12:15-13:45

12.9.–19.10.2022
Online course
Mon 14.15–15.45 and Wed 12.15–13.45

Students will learn about Ukraine in the 20th century through the images and history of cinema classics. As art is the reflection of society and historical changes, cinema might be used as the best example of such a 'mirror'. Ukrainian avant-garde (1920-30) pictured key processes of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. Poetic cinema, on the contrary (1960-70) dealt with traditional national images.

Course outline
The course consists of 12 lectures of which two are introductions (about avant-garde and poetic cinema) and 10 are screenings combined with discussions and in class presentations. Students can see well-known world silent film classics (‘Man with a Movie Camera’, ‘Earth’) as well as unknown forgotten avant-garde masterpieces (‘In Spring’, ‘Bread’). The collection of poetic cinema is presented by the films of prominent Ukrainian filmmakers Ivan Mykolaychuk and Yurii Illienko.

Completion
Online lectures including film screenings, discussion, and presentations; reading and final essay

Moodle course area including a link to an online meeting room will become available for students on the starting day of the course.

30.9.-22.12.2022, Moodle

31.10.-9.12.2022

Mon 31.10.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 4.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26
Mon 7.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 11.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26
Mon 14.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 18.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26
Mon 21.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 25.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26
Mon 28.11.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 2.12.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26
Mon 5.12.2022 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali 11, Unioninkatu 40
Fri 9.12.2022 12.15–13.45 Language Center sh.105, Fabianinkatu 26

31.10.–16.11.2022
Language Center sh.204, Kielikeskus, Fabianinkatu 26

Mon 31.10.2022 10.15–11.45
Wed 2.11.2022 10.15–11.45
Mon 7.11.2022 10.15–11.45
Wed 9.11.2022 10.15–11.45
Mon 14.11.2022 10.15–11.45
Wed 16.11.2022 10.15–11.45

Learning outcomes
Student identifies global transnational flows that defines Russia in global context. Russia’s pivotal role in some of the natural resource flows, such as oil and gas, is globally contextualized but also the role of Russia as an ecological space affecting global biodiversity and climate. Student recognizes the major theories/approaches and their origins on social mobilization, social movements and civil societies. Student is able to define the key concepts and illustrate how those are typically applied in the civil society/movement literature. Student identifies the issues that tend to mobilize people globally and transnationally and give examples of the ideas/ideologies that travel globally. Student is able to demonstrate the application of some global ideas in the Russian context.

3.10.-24.11.2022

ma 03.10.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 06.10.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali
ma 10.10.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 13.10.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali
ma 17.10.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
ma 24.10.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 27.10.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali
ma 31.10.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 03.11.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali
ma 07.11.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 10.11.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub3, Auditorio Pub3
ma 14.11.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali
ma 21.11.2022 10:00-12:00 Pub2, Auditorio Pub2
to 24.11.2022 12:00-14:00 Pub1, Mauno Koivisto -sali

Lectures on Fridays at 12-14 next days:
16.9.
23.9.
30.9.
7.10.
14.10.
28.10.
4.11.
11.11.

6.9.-15.12.2022
ti 10:15-11:45 Päärakennus U4062
to 10:15-11:45 Päärakennus U4079

6.9.–7.10.2022

Tue 14.15–15.45 Language Center sh.206, Fabianinkatu 26
Fri 14.15–15.45 Metsätalo, lecture hall 12, Unioninkatu 40

Learning outcomes
Student identifies normative and ethical questions that are connected to global challenges. Student is able to relate different disciplinary based approaches to the topic. Student understands multi-/interdisciplinary approach in practice and is able to recognize different disciplinary approaches in the analysis norms and ethics in the context of Russia.

Contents
This course takes a normative and ethical perspective asking “why?” questions, i.e. why global challenges of resilience and sustainability are imperative for all nations, including Russia.

19.9.–30.9.2022

The course examines development of the Russian legal system in the context of comparative law. The aim of this course in its most general sense is to encourage understanding of a foreign system of law, the Russian legal system, which developed under very complex historical and ideological influences but has a lot in common with other civil law systems. The focus is on the development of the legal system, and some specific branches of law, with consideration of various issues that have arisen in Russia's aspiration to change from an authoritarian regime to a rule-or-law state.

The course is divided up into topics for each class. Class reading is mainly from textbook chapters.

The course is designed to provide an in-depth discussion and critical thinking on a number of legal issues Russia is currently facing. Therefore, students are strongly encouraged to prepare for classes, to acknowledge themselves with recommended literature before the course starts and before each class.

1. Russian legal system in the context of comparative law
2. Russian legal histories: tradition and modernity
3. The Russian Constitution: challenges of constitutionalism, hierarchy of legal norms and international law
4. Federalism and regional government
5. Municipal government
6. Public administration and service
7. Rule of law and Rechtstaat: conceptual developments in Russia

6.9.–18.10.2022
Tue 6.9.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Tue 13.9.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Tue 20.9.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Tue 27.9.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Tue 4.10.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Tue 11.10.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039
Thu 13.10.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3029
Tue 18.10.2022    16.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3039

Each major war in Europe over the past centuries has compelled analysts and theorists to reflect on technological, political and societal changes in nature of war and overall context of warfighting. In a recent edited volume Conduct of War in the 21st Century, authors argue that “in the context of the early 21st century, the grammar of war is kinetic, connected, and synthetic”. (Johnson, Sweijs and Kitzen 2021, 5) Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has brought to fore fragility and power inherent in kinetic activity, but also its complex nature (use of regulars, irregulars). This war has also demonstrated importance of connections – in the form of intelligence sharing to mundane practices of resistance and mobilization at local and global levels. The synthetic sphere of warfighting (use of robots and autonomous systems) is expected to grow in the future. The war in Ukraine has, however, highlighted importance of human efforts and (cognitive and political) errors and their impact for European security.

Learning goals
The inter-disciplinary lecture course will explore Russia’s war in Ukraine in the context of contemporary warfare theory and world politics. Students are asked to contemplate lessons learned from Russia’s war in Ukraine – in terms of Russia’s military strategy, and in the context of Ukraine’s military capabilities and societal resilience. The combination of lectures and list of readings seek to advance knowledge on Ukraine, in particular, use of information warfare during the war, role of volunteers during the war and overall reform of Ukrainian armed forces. The two last lectures will discuss political (mis)calculations and historical trajectories of Ukraine-Russia relations, and their impact on European security.

Autumn 2022

31.10.–5.12.2022
Mon 31.10.2022    16.15–17.45 Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40
Mon 7.11.2022    16.15–17.45 Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40
Mon 14.11.2022    16.15–17.45 Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40
Mon 21.11.2022    16.15–17.45 Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40
Mon 28.11.2022    14.15–17.45 Päärakennus, U3029
Mon 5.12.2022    16.15–17.45 Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40

6.9.–13.12.2022

Tiistaisin 12.15–13.45 Metsätalo, sali A112, Unioninkatu 40

Magdolna Kovacs

31.10.–14.12.2022

ma 31.10.2022    14.15–15.45    Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 2.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 7.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 9.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 14.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 16.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 21.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 23.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 28.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 30.11.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 5.12.2022    14.15–15.45   Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 7.12.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210
ma 12.12.2022    14.15–15.45   Metsätalo, sali 8, Unioninkatu 40
ke 14.12.2022    14.15–15.45    Soc&Kom, sali 210

Ira Jänis-Isokangas, Sari Autio-Sarasmo

9.9.-26.10.2022
Joensuun kampus

Opetuskieli venäjä

Larisa Leisiö

Syksy 2022
Joensuun kampus

Opetuskieli venäjä ja suomi

Larisa Leisiö

6.9.–13.12.2022,
tiistaisin 14:15-15:45 Metsätalo sali 7

Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

5.9.–12.12.2022,
maanantaisi 10:15-11:45 Päärakennus, U3041

Magdolna Kovacs

14.3.2023-
Online course

xx.2023

The course is to introduce students to major theoretical approaches to the agenda of Chernobyl studies in Eastern European context and beyond in order to provide with the critical toolkit for assessing political/social/cultural aspects of the Chernobyl disaster, its aftermath and post-Chernobyl activities within the nuclear narratives of Eastern Europe. Such approach equips students with the basic knowledge of Chernobyl related issues and expands students’ understanding of the concepts and currents agenda of energy humanities, energy ethics, environmental humanities. The course covers the following issues:
- Chernobyl within the Nuclear Anthropocene: from “Atom for Peace” Initiative Towards Energy Humanities’ Agenda;
- the ‘Politizised’ Chernobyl: Truth-Myth- PostTruth;
- the Chernobyl Accident within the Environmental History of Eastern Europe;  
- Nuclear Disaster Humanitarianism: Chernobyl Trauma Management;  
- Chernobyl Memorial or More than Human Trauma;  
- Literary Dimensions of the Chernobyl Disaster;
- Intermediality of Communicating Chernobyl.

Learning outcomes:
After taking the course the students are able to:
1) identify the key issues of narrating the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and their implementation in the Eastern European political, social, and cultural contexts;
2) use their critical thinking skills of combining the theoretical bases of environmental humanities’ issues and energy humanities’ agenda in order to form their own understanding of the theoretical and practical background of nuclear awareness, nuclear identity and nuclear culture within post-traumatic societies;
3) explain how the Chernobyl accident generated an exceptional language of witnessing that facilitates discussion on more than human perspectives in environmental humanities;
4) critically assess the conceptual parameters of nuclear narratives of the post-Chernobyl discourse in Eastern European context.

Schedule (lectures):
1. Chernobyl within the Nuclear Anthropocene: from “Atom for Peace” Initiative Towards Energy Humanities’ Agenda. (Lecturer: Inna Häkkinen, PhD, University of Helsinki)

2.‘Politizised’ Chernobyl: Truth-Myth- PostTruth (Lecturer: Yuriy Matsiyevsky, PhD, Professor, Ostroh Academy National University, Ukraine)

3. The Chernobyl Disaster within the Environmental History of Eastern Europe (Lecturer: Tetiana Perga, PhD, Institute of World History of National Academy of Science of Ukraine)

4. Nuclear Disaster Humanitarianism: Chernobyl Trauma Management (Lecturer: Ekatherina Zhukova, PhD, Lund University, Sweden)

5. Chernobyl Memorial or More than Human Trauma (Lecturer: Anna Barz, PhD, the Polish Academy of Science, Poland)

6. Literary Dimensions of the Chernobyl Disaster (Lecturer: Irina Marchesini, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Bologna, Italy)

7. Intermediality of Communicating Chernobyl (Lecturer: Adrian Ivakhiv, Professor, the University of Vermont, US)

Info on assessment:
-participation in debating at online lectures (questions, discussion, opinions) (20%);
-reading (‘reflection paper ’ within 1000 words or more on any topics/book) ( 40%): students will have to write a ‘reflection paper’ (sharing your opinion with references to the obligatory/recommended readings); they have a choice: they can write a ‘reflection paper’ to any topic (one of our seven lectures) or they can review any of the four books (obligatory readings) :
1) Plokhii,S. (2018) Chernobyl: the History of a Nuclear Catastrophe.
2) Brown, K. (2019) Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future.
3) Higginbotham, A. (2019). Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. (non-fiction)
4) White, A. (2008) Radiant Girl (novel) (fiction)
 - final assignment: essay (‘idea paper’ within 1500-2500 words excluding bibliography) (40%): students are to submit  an ‘idea paper’, which is a brief project proposal/paper outline/research project draft, which can answer the question ‘What Chernobyl-related issue/topic/problem would I choose as a subject for research”; an analytical approach is essential to the writing. An essay usually consists of an introduction, a hypothesis, a discussion section and a conclusion. The introduction presents the problem and the writer’s view of the subject. The hypothesis suggests the idea. The discussion section analyses the problem in more details. This section may include sub-headings. The conclusion presents the possible key findings. Please mark sources to footnotes or within the text in parentheses. Also students are to make a bibliography where they list the possible resources they use.

Teaching methods: The course is expected to be of online mode of lecturing (video-recorded/pre-recorded lectures, slide presentations). All the course material - obligatory/recommended readings, slide presentations, video-recorded/pre-recorded lectures – can be found in Moodle course page.

15.3.2023-
Wed 12:15-13:45

Online course

Learning outcomes:
The aim of the course is to provide the students with an understanding of the complex history of South-East Europe during three crucial historical periods: the Balkan states right after the Second World War, their history before the fall of communism and the transition period thereafter. By focusing on the South-European states of Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, and Yugoslavia before and after 1989, the course deals with the special features of each of these cases and some specific questions such as the vexed question of Macedonia. Somewhat similarly to their development during the Cold War, countries’ different paths thereafter can be explored separately and in relation to one another.

Course outline:  
The course consists of seven lectures and a final exam. The first lecture deals primarily with the communist takeover in the former Yugoslavia and Tito’s ideas of communism. The second lecture discusses the dissolvement of Yugoslavia and the new states. The next two lectures focus on Bulgaria during the communist regime and thereafter. The cases of Romania and Albania are the topics of the fifth and sixth lectures. The aim of the seventh lecture is to consider the political development of Greece during the period 1945-1989 and to summarize some of the aspects of shared history in the wider region. 

Course contents:
1. Yugoslavia’s communism, 2. The dissolvement of Yugoslavia, 3. Communism in
Bulgaria, 4, Bulgaria after 1989, 5. Romania before and after 1989, 6. Communism and democracy in Albania, 7. Greece since 1945 and course conclusion

Completion:
Lectures 14 h, reading, weakly assignments (approximately two pages a week), exam
Participation in the course requires attending of the lectures and submitting of essays of two pages prior to the next lecture. The essays are discussed through feedback. There is also a final exam with five questions (students reply to 3). The course is carried out via Zoom and Moodle.

13.1.-10.3.2023

Kaarina Aitamurto

Content of the course:
This course offers tools for critical reading of discussions about religion in Russia. In the classes, the students learn about different religious traditions, legislation and governance in Russia. However, the main emphasis on teaching the students to assess contemporary Russian discourses related to religion, to detect their underlying assumptions, ideological commitments and ways of understanding religion.

The course includes eight meetings, each of which contain a lecture but also discussions about the material that the students have read or watched beforehand. This material composes of both research articles but also blog texts and videos that are analyzed in the class.

Lectures:

1. Friday 13 January, lecture at the University of Tampere in hybrid format
Approaches to religion
The first lecture shortly introduces the students to different approaches in the study of religion and such topical discussions in the discipline as, for example, the study of lived religion vs. the analysis of doctrines and institutions, or the debates about the definition of religion. These approaches and discussions are also discussed in the context of religiosity in Russia and the study of religion in Russia. The aim of this introductory lecture is to offer some basic tools for religious literacy for the students.

2. Friday 20 January, Zoom
Some myths about religion in Russian history
This class introduces the students to the multiethnic and multiconfessional history of Russia. In the class, students discuss and compare the interpretations and narratives about the history of different religions and their role in the history of Russia.

3. Friday 27 January: lecture at the University of Tampere in hybrid format
How religious Russians are?
Students analyze different studies and surveys on religiosity in the Soviet Union and Russia. They learn about the development of religiosity in Russian and of different confession, but also acquire skills to critically assess statistics concerning religiosity.

4. Friday 3 February, Zoom
Governance of religion
The class introduces different forms of the governance of religion. The lecture addresses such topics as legislation, but also discursive governance of religion as well self and co-governance. The students discuss these aspects and the ways in which different actors exercise governance of religiosity in Russia.

5. Friday 10 February: lecture at the University of Tampere in hybrid format
”Traditional religions” in Russia
The term “traditional religions” has established itself in Russian discussions about religion. The class discusses the origin of the term, critically reflects it definition and analyses how it is used in the governance of religiosity.

6. Friday 17 February, Zoom
Minority religions and “totalitarian sects”
The lecture discusses contemporary and historical minority religions and sects in Russia. The students discuss such topics as terminology concerning new and minority religion, their position in contemporary Russia. In addition, the term “totalitarian sect” is analyzed as an example of the way in which religious phenomena configure and are constructed as social problems.

7. Friday 24 February, lecture at the University of Tampere in hybrid format
Anti-extremist legislation
In addition to the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations the Law on Countering Extremist Activity has much impact on the activity of religious organizations in Russia. In the class, this law, its implementation and the way it shapes the activity of religious organizations are discussed.

8. Friday 10 March, Zoom
Defining “religion” in Russian public discourses
Applying the approaches and concepts that has been in previous lectures, the students analyze different ways in which religion is (implicitly or explicitly) defined in Russia; what is excluded and what kind of role is religion assumed to play in the society.

Learning outcomes:

1. Students are introduced to different theoretical approaches in the study of religion
2. Students are able to explain the central features of the religiosity in contemporary Russia
3. Students learn to critically assess and analyse discussions about religion in Russia

The course, the extent of which is 5 ECTS, comprises 8 classes that are organized at the Tampere University and streamed in zoom. The course takes palace in period 3 and there are meetings once in a week.

Assignments:
After the course, the students will write a learning diary (ca. 2 000 words). In the learning diary, the students reflect both the discussions at the classes and their own learning process. The text should also include references and the list of used literature.

Dragana Cvetanovic

15.3.–4.5.2023

Wed 12:15 PM–1:45 PM Topelia, A205, Unioninkatu 38
Thu 10:15 AM–11:45 AM Metsätalo, sali 25, Unioninkatu 40

Eemil Mitikka

The course ”Introduction to Quantitative Data Analysis for Area Studies and Social Sciences” provides art and social sciences students an opportunity to learn and update their quantitative methods and numerical data analysis skills. Students with background in social sciences and humanities often shy away from using quantitative data in their study assignments and theses, and also later after graduating in work life. There might be many reasons behind this avoidance, like the fact that some curriculums do not include compulsory courses on the topic. It is also quite typical for social sciences and art students to think they simply lack literacy and numeracy skills with quantitative data.

This course addresses these problems by offering a beginner-friendly introduction to the programming language R, and by focusing on a powerful set of tools known as the Tidyverse. Students will learn the intertwined processes of data manipulation and visualization with real datasets relevant to area studies and social sciences. During the course, students will be also introduced where to find quantitative data relevant to their research work and how to apply these data in practice. The course is a suitable introduction for those who have no previous experience in R and are interested in enhancing their data analysis skills.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, students will:

• Be able to use R and know the basic workflow in R and RStudio,
• Know relevant data sources for area studies and social sciences,
• Be able to manipulate quantitative data with R, for example subset, sort and summarize datasets,
• Be able to turn their data into informative visualizations,
• Get a taste of the value of exploratory data analysis and the power of Tidyverse and other basic R tools,
• Get a taste of re-producible research with R.

Timetable

1. Wed 15.3.2023 – Introducing the course, general workflow in R and relevant data sources
2. Thur 16.3.2023 – Looking at the warm-up assignment and troubleshooting
3. Wed 22.3.2023 – Looking at the lecture 1 assignments
4. Thur 23.3.2023 – Data wrangling
5. Wed 29.3.2023 – Looking at the lecture 4 assignments
6. Thur 30.3.2023 – Data visualizations
7. Wed 5.4.2023 – Looking at the lecture 6 assignments
8. Thur 13.4.2023 – Creating and summarizing variables
9. Wed 19.4.2023 – Looking at the lecture 8 assignments
10. Thur 20.4.2023 – Enhancing data visualizations
11. Wed 26.4.2023 – Looking at the lecture 10 assignments
12. Thur 27.4.2023 – Conclusion: Re-producible research & reporting with R Markdown

Instructions for completing the course
The course consists of 12 lectures (length: 90 minutes/lecture). Lectures are held on Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesday lectures, the previous week’s student assignments are discussed together. During these lectures, students can address the possible challenges they faced with their last assignment and learn from other students’ assignments. On Thursday lectures, in turn, the lecturer will introduce and discuss new themes, topics, and assignments. To successfully pass the course, students must return all the assignments given during the course.

The course can be taken entirely either in the online format, by partly attending the contact teaching and partly online (hybrid model), or by participating only in contact teaching. There will be also a couple of short teaching videos that will be uploaded to Moodle and/or YouTube.

Before the first lecture, students are expected to install R and RStudio to their personal/study computer and to perform a small warm-up of task (instructions for these will be given on the Moodle page of the course).

Viktor Pál

This is a master-level course that will analyze the
environmental history of Eastern Europe and Russia (USSR) and the
cultural-societal relationship to the natural environment. While there is
a general assumption that Eastern European regimes have had less
concern for nature preservation than Western liberal democratic
systems, this course will compare the complex ways Eastern
Europeans engineered and tackled pressing environmental issues since
about 1750. 

Objectives: Participants will be introduced to the characteristics of the
nature-culture and nature-society relationships in modern Eastern
Europe and Russia (USSR). They will also gain an understanding of
nature-culture and nature-society relationships on a global scale and
will examine the objective of this course in a global and transnational
context. 

Teaching Methods: The course focuses on the student's independent
activity and will also utilize group work for analysis and discussion. 

1. Introduction
Introduction to course requirements. 
Modernization and Ecological Consequences in Nineteenth Century
Eastern Europe. 
2. From the October Revolution to The Great Stalin Plan for the
Transformation of Nature in the USSR
3: Nazis and Nature Protection in Thirds Reich
4: Khrushchev's Reforms and their Ecological Consequences  
5: Soviet Satellite States of Eastern Europe and Environmental
Protection  
6. The Flow of Environmental Information through the Iron Curtain  
Compulsory reading:
7.  Experts’ Environmentalism in the USSR  
8.  Experts’ Environmentalism in Eastern Europe
9. Nature Suffers Again: From Communism to Capitalism  
10. Conclusive Session
Conclusion and Discussion

Course Requirements and Assignments
Completion of the course requires the completion of compulsory
readings for each session as well as active participation in lectures and
in group work, and a submitial of a learning diary. 

Groups in group work sessions will discuss content related to
compulsory readings. Groups will also present their findings and
answer questions. Participants will also keep a learning diary and
record their main insights from each meeting (total of about 15 pages).
At the end of the course the reading diary will be submitted for
evaluation.

Heli Reimann

This course aims to introduce jazz as a socio-cultural phenomenon in former Eastern bloc
area. It has no ambitions to provide comprehensive historical overview of each Eastern
European country, but it draws around significant selected subjects exemplifying the
particularities of jazz culture in those countries. Following to brief introduction to jazz culture in general, it demonstrates how jazz shaped its path in interaction with leisure, film, literature and folk music, how Cold War confrontation facilitated its development, and what was the impact of politics and social upheavals on the culture.

1. Introduction to jazz. Meaning of jazz under state socialism
2. Jazz and ideology in late-Stalinist era. Polish ‘catacomb’ jazz
3. Jazz and Cold War. American jazz ambassadors program in Eastern Europe: VOA broadcaster Willis Conover and jazz ambassadors’ tours.
4. Success of Polish jazz worldwide. Pianist Krzyztof Komeda and Roman Polanski’s films. Polish jazz journalism and the magazine Jazz Forum.
5. Jazz in Hungary: Liberalism, refugees, opposition. György Szabados and free jazz movement. Jazz and recreation: Jazz clubs in GDR.   
6. Bulgarian folk jazz movement. Jazz and fashion in Romania.  
7. Czechoslovakian jazz and counterculture: ‘Jazz Section’. Jazz ‘writer’ Josef Škvorecký. Summary of the course.

Learning outcomes:
The students will be introduced the historical trajectory of jazz as a cultural, social and
musical phenomenon in former Eastern Europe. The participants will learn to discern the
modes of interaction between ideology of political power (state socialism) and musical actors in shaping the meaning of cultural form (jazz).

Students will

1. Gain an understanding of the particularities and nature of jazz culture in Eastern European jazz  
2. Be able to relate the development of jazz to different socio-cultural phenomena  
3. Discern the role of Eastern Bloc in global context  
4. Learn to compare the development of jazz in different Eastern Bloc countries  
5. Develop critical thinking towards the sources on Eastern European jazz (media, archival and scholarly texts, visual and aural)

Dawid Bunikowski

The aim of the course is to acquaint the student with the history of the Polish Jews since the Middle Ages to nowadays as well as with the Jews and Judaism in Russia, the Baltic countries and East Central Europe. The student should understand the diversity of Jewishness and Judaism in those countries and regions, especially in Poland, as well as the complexity of Jewish-Polish relations. 80% of the world's Jewry lived in Poland by 1800, however, there were also quite many Jews in Russia and other countries till the 1940s. The student should understand the phenomenon of Poland called "a paradise for the Jews". The student should get the reasons of different attitudes of majorities towards the Jews in the mentioned countries and regions. The international context of long-standing anti-Semitism is presented and should be well-understood as well. The student is also familiarised with the foundations of Judaism as a religion and a way of life.

Outline:

1. The Jews as a ("chosen") nation. Cultural and religious approaches.
2. The Poles/the Russians/other Slavs/the Baltic people and the Jews as nations living together for 1000 years - characteristics.
3. The Jews in Europe in the Middle Ages and modern times. The Jews in Russia, the Baltic countries and East Central Europe.
4. The Jews' arrival in Poland in the Middle Ages: a legal/social status, restrictions and privileges.
5. Jewish culture in multicultural Poland till the 19th century: Jewish religion, law, government/autonomy, parliament, kahals, customs, traditions, professions, activities, ordinary life.
6. Sects in Judaism in Poland/Ukraine/East Central Europe in the 17th and the 18th centuries (Chasidism, Sabbateism, Jacob Frank's sect).
7. Anti-Semitism in Poland, Russia, the Baltic countries and East Central Europe since medieval times to the 1930s: facts and reasons. Zionism: Jewish nationalism in the 20th century.
8. Holocaust by Nazi Germany in the occupied Polish territories: "Shoah", Auschwitz-Birkenau.
9. Jewish-Polish (interwar) literature: the Polish writers of Jewish origins Julian Tuwim, Jan Brzechwa, Bruno Schulz, Janusz Korczak, Isaac Singer.
10. "Remnants: the last Jews of Poland" in homogeneous Poland since 1945 to the 21st century: assimilation, discrimination, emigration, grief, integration. The Jews in Russia, the Baltic countries and East Central Europe nowadays.

Online course format:

1. The course will be held at the MS Teams platform.
2. All the meetings will be in the Teams, online in a real time.
3. The lectures will be also recorded in the Teams for those who cannot participate in a real time. This is made in order to watch it later.
4. The students can contact the teacher via email or during an office hour (one a week) in the Teams, also in the field of reading, opinions, etc., especially if they cannot participate in a real time in the lecture meetings.

3. periodi

Ti klo 12-14 ja to 10-12

Meri Herrala ja Susan Ikonen

Kurssi käsittelee sitä, miten Neuvostoliitossa politiikka ja ideologia toimivat taidetta muovaavina voimina ja miten kulttuuria käytettiin Neuvostoliitossa ja myöhemmin Venäjällä sisä- ja ulkopolitiikan välineinä. Käsittelemme myös, missä määrin Venäjän 2000-luvun historiapolitiikkaa voi tarkastella Neuvostoliiton kulttuuripolitiikan jatkumona.

Opintojakson suoritettuaan opiskelijalla on kattava näkemys Neuvostoliiton kulttuuripolitiikan keskeisistä piirteistä, kuten sensuurista, sosialistisesta realismista ja kommunistisen puolueen roolista. Opiskelija ymmärtää yhtäältä ideologian, toisaalta sisä- ja ulkopolitiikan vaikutukset neuvostokulttuurin sisältöihin ja niiden ohjailuun. Opiskelija ymmärtää kurssin suoritettuaan, miten kulttuuria käytettiin maan sisä- ja ulkopolitiikassa lokakuun vallankumouksesta Neuvostoliiton hajoamiseen asti. Esimerkkitapauksina esitellään musiikki, kirjallisuus ja elokuva, joiden vertailuun opiskelija saa valmiuksia. Kurssi tarjoaa empiirisiä ja analyyttisiä välineitä ymmärtää myös pehmeää diplomatiaa, “soft poweria” sekä informaatiovaikuttamista.

Kurssin lopuksi käydään läpi ns. Venäjän arkistovallankumous, joka on mahdollistanut
kurssillakin esitetyn neuvostohistorian tutkimisen alkuperäisaineistojen nojalla. Opiskelija saa siten kuvan siitä, millaiset lähteet ja metodologia ovat kurssin aihepiiriä koskevan akateemisen tutkimuksen takana. Lopuksi käsitellään 2010-2020-lukujen “kulttuuriskandaaleja” ja historiapolitiikkaa: miten nyky-Venäjän poliittinen johto haluaa esittää maan neuvostoajan ja miten tämä historiakuva eroaa akateemisesta historiantutkimuksesta.

Olennainen osa kurssin suorittamista on tutkimusartikkelien analyysi, joka tutustuttaa opiskelijat aihetta käsittelevään uusimpaan tutkimukseen sekä harjaannuttaa opiskelijat kriittiseen, reflektoivaan tieteellisen ajatteluun ja argumentointiin. Artikkelianalyysit syventävät opiskelijan ymmärrystä tieteellisen kirjoittamisen eri osa-alueista (kysymyksenasettelu, tutkimuksellinen viitekehys ja sisä- ja ulkopoliittinen konteksti, käsitteet, metodit ym.). Kurssitöiden laadinta ja esittely sekä muiden opiskelijoiden töiden kommentointi kehittävät osallistujien yhteistyö- ja keskusteluvalmiuksia.

Kurssin suorittaminen ja oppimateriaali
Kurssi suoritetaan osallistumalla luennoille, perehtymällä kahteen opettajien valitsemaan
tutkimusartikkeliin, osallistumalla pienryhmätapaamiseen ja pienryhmäesitelmän laatimiseensekä kirjoittamalla loppuesseen kurssin aihepiiriin kuuluvasta valitsemastaan aiheesta (8-10 sivua sekä bibliografia).

Opiskelijat lukevat kaksi tutkimusartikkelia pienryhmätyön osana. Kunkin pienryhmän jäsenet lukevat samat kaksi artikkelia, vastaavat kirjallisesti niitä koskeviin, artikkelin sisältöä ja akateemista kirjoittamista reflektoiviin kysymyksiin. He valmistelevat pienryhmänä artikkeleista Powerpoint-muotoisen esityksen koko ryhmälle. Opettajat tarjoavat Moodlessa kirjallisuusluettelon loppuesseen kirjoittamista varten.

Kurssin luennoimistapa 
Kurssi toteutetaan hybridiopetuksena. Kurssi suunnitellaan pidettäväksi Helsingin yliopistossa niin, että luennointi tapahtuu samanaikaisesti luokkahuoneelle ja Zoomiin. Luennot tallennetaan Moodleen. Pienryhmät voivat valintansa mukaan kokoontua joko lähitapaamiseen tai pienryhmän omaan Zoom-istuntoon, ja pienryhmäesitykset toteutetaan joko hybridinä tai pelkästään Zoomissa.

13.02.-21.02.2023

Luennot 18 h hybridiopetuksena, 13.–17.2.2023 ma-pe klo 14–17 ja 20.–21.2.2023 ma-ti klo 14–16 (sis. loppukeskustelun). Lähiopetus pidetään Oulun yliopistossa ja Zoom-yhteydellä etäopiskelijoille. Luennot nauhoitetaan ja ne ovat kurssin Moodle-työtilassa katsottavissa suoritusten palautuspäivään asti.

Ilya Solomeshch
Seija Jalagin

Kurssilla perehdytään Suomi-kuvan muotoutumiseen venäläisessä historiankirjoituksessa 1800-luvulta nykypäivään. Suomi-kuvaa esimerkkinä käyttäen käsitellään muun muassa historiantutkimuksen roolia Venäjän / Neuvostoliiton ideologiassa ja politiikassa sekä historiantutkimuksen eri koulukuntia ja suuntauksia eri aikoina. Yhtenä pitkän linjan tarkastelukohteena on historiantutkimuksen käyttö poliittisiin tarkoituksiin ja poliittisten ulottuvuuksien sisällöllinen ja institutionaalinen esiintyminen historiankirjoituksessa, myös nykyisten muistipoliittisten kamppailujen näkökulmasta. Suomea käsittelevien tekstien avulla otetaan tarkasteltavaksi eri käsitteiden merkitys: uhkakuva, valkoiset sivut, taistelu historian väärentäjiä vastaan ym.

Osaamistavoitteet:
Kurssin suoritettuaan opiskelija on perehtynyt Neuvostoliiton ja Venäjän historiankirjoituksen historian traditioihin ja historiapolitiikkaan sekä Suomen ja Venäjän suhteisiin historiakulttuurin valossa. Opiskelija on myös soveltanut diskurssianalyyttistä otetta kurssin teemaan liittyen.

Suoritusohjeet:
Jokaista luentoa varten luetaan etukäteen Moodle-työtilasta saatava artikkeli. Luentoihin ja oheisteksteihin perustuva tentti (3 op) tehdään Moodlessa 3.3.2023. Lisäksi laaditaan alkuperäisaineistoa ja tutkimuskirjallisuutta hyödyntävä essee (2 op), jonka palautus on 31.3.2023. Tarkemmat ohjeet annetaan luennoilla ja Moodlen työtilassa.

IV period 2023

Lina Klymenko

How does the Russian political leadership narrate the country’s
experience in World War II?  How is this narrative used in Russia’s
policy towards the EU? How is Europe framed in Russia’s political
discourse? To answer these questions, we will explore the use of
language in foreign policy making and international politics. We will
take the case studies of Russia and Eastern European countries and
discuss several interpretive approaches of how to analyze political
language. This encompasses the study of narrative, frame, and
metaphor.

Learning outcomes
We will create a learning environment in which the students will
develop the following knowledge and skills:
- analyze theoretical concepts common in the social sciences, and use
them to critically evaluate the political development in Eastern Europe
- learn social sciences methodologies and methods to complete
academic research assignments
- acquire communication techniques to create an in-group connection
and an engaging classroom culture

16.1.–27.2.2023

Mondays 10-12

Emma Rimpiläinen, Marina Khmelnitskaya, Kristiina Silvan

The course examines some of the most salient political and social issues in the post-Soviet region through combining of insights from anthropology, history, and politics into questions of property, money, and distribution. Property opens up fruitful perspectives on the distribution and use of power in society, questions of state and sovereignty, the separation of the economic from the political and civic spheres of activity, and everyday lives under state socialism and after.

The course will use Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus as case studies and illustrations throughout, with the possibility to also examine other post-Soviet countries depending on students’ background and interest. After providing students with the tools to think about property in an analytical manner, the course explores questions such as: Was there private property under state socialism? How were property relations and networks of distribution transformed (or not) with the collapse of state socialism? How are property relations reflected in the organisation of political life in post-Soviet countries currently? How can we understand corruption, inequality, and organised crime in these societies by analysing property relations? How did the oligarchic system develop in Ukraine? What drives socioeconomic inequality in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus? The course is suitable for master’s degree students interested in the political economy of post-Soviet countries and questions of property more generally.

Learning outcomes:
At the end of the course, students will understand societal transformations in post-Soviet countries from the perspective of property and outcomes for different segments of society, including elites, oligarchs, and the wider public. They will know basic concepts of analysis in economic anthropology. They will also be able to evaluate the causes and consequences of variation between Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus with regards to the role of the state in mediating between property and politics. The students will develop advanced level of assessment of analytical concepts and learn to utilise analytical tools to evaluate evidence for research tasks. They will also be familiar with the different research methods and approaches used to analyse property relations in anthropology, political history, area studies, and politics.

Instructions for participation: The students will be graded for class participation and written work. Participation consists of regular attendance and active and thoughtful contributions in class. Students will sign up for two weeks where they are responsible for circulating discussion questions in advance of class. Everyone will be expected to have read all the required texts for the week (selected from the syllabus). Each student will also submit a weekly learning diary discussing issues they have learned in class and write one essay on a topic of their choice. The course will be realised in a hybrid format with some of the classes in person and some online.

Schedule
Class 1: Introduction & key concepts in economic anthropology: property, money, gift exchange, types of value (Emma Rimpiläinen)
Readings:
Appadurai, Arjun, ed. 1986. The Social Life of Things. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Graeber, David. 2011. Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Brooklyn, NY: Melville.
Gregory, Cristopher A. 2015. Gifts and Commodities (2nd ed.) Chicago: Hau Books.
Hann, Chris, and Keith Hart. 2011. Economic Anthropology: History, Ethnography, Critique. Cambridge: Polity.
Mauss, Marcel. 2015. Essay on the Gift: The Form and Sense of Exchange in Archaic Societies. Chicago: Hau Books.

Class 2: Property in the Soviet Union: a “complex form of gift economy”? (Emma Rimpiläinen)
Readings:
Cherkaev, Xenia. 2018. “Self-Made Boats and Social Self-Management: The Late-Soviet Ethics of Mutual Aid.” Cahiers Du Monde Russe 59(2):289–310.
Verdery, Katherine. 2003. The Vanishing Hectare: Property and Value in Postsocialist Transylvania. Ithaca: Cornell.
Verdery, Katherine, and Caroline Humphrey, eds. 2004. Property in Question: Value Transformation in the Global Economy. Oxford: Berg.
Ledeneva, A. V. (1998). Russia’s economy of favours: Blat, networking and informal exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Class 3: Transformation of networks and institutions in the immediate post-Soviet years (Kristiina Silvan)
Readings:
Verdery, Katherine. 1996. What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next? Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Part III, chapters 6-8)
Wanner, Catherine. 2005. ‘Money, Morality and New Forms of Exchange in Postsocialist Ukraine’. Ethnos 70(4):515–37.
Sakwa, Richard. 2021. Russian Politics and Society. London: Routledge (fifth edition).
Especially Chapter 6 ‘Crime, corruption and security’.

Class 4: Everyday modes of subsistence in 1990s Ukraine, Belarus and Russia OR Organised crime and the intertwining of force, power, and wealth (Emma Rimpiläinen)
Burawoy, M., P. Krotov, and T. Lytkina. 2000. ‘Involution and Destitution in Capitalist Russia’. Ethnography 1(1):43–65.
Humphrey, Caroline. 2002. The Unmaking of Soviet Life: Everyday Economics After Socialism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Morris, Jeremy. 2016. Everyday Post-Socialism: Working-Class Communities in the Russian Margins. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Volkov, Vadim. 2002. Violent Entrepreneurs, The Use of Force in the Making of Russian Capitalism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Class 5: Housing as a property object: privatisation, mortgage finance, and subjectivity (Marina Khmelnitskaya)
Readings:
Khmelnitskaya, Marina. 2014. Russian housing finance policy: state-led institutional evolution. Post-Communist Economies, 26/2, pp: 149-175. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14631377.2014.904104
Khmelnitskaya, Marina. 2015. The Policy-making process and social learning in Russia: the case of housing policy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Zavisca, Jane. 2008. “Property without Markets: Housing Policy and Politics in Post-Soviet Russia, 1992–2007.” Comparative European Politics 6(3):365–86.

Class 6: Development of the oligarchic system and patronage networks, socioeconomic inequality (Marina Khmelnitskaya)
Readings:
Bojcun, Marko. 2020. Towards a Political Economy of Ukraine: Selected Essays 1990-2015. Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag.
Kolesnikov, Andrei, and D. Volkov. 2019. Pragmatic Paternalism: The Russian Public and the Private Sector. Carnegie Moscow, 18.1.2019.
Mihályi, Péter, and Iván Szelényi. 2019. Rent-Seekers, Profits, Wages and Inequality: The Top 20%. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG.
Sakwa, Richard. 2021. Russian Politics and Society. London: Routledge (fifth edition).
Especially Chapter 6 ‘Crime, corruption and security’, Chapter 14 ‘Russian Capitalism’ and Chapter 15 ‘Society and social movements’.

Class 7: Corruption on the macro and micro levels: from state capture to an economy of favours; popular reactions to corruption + final reflections (Emma Rimpiläinen)
Readings:
Ledeneva, A. V. (1998). Russia’s economy of favours: Blat, networking and informal exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ledeneva, Alena, 2013. Can Russia modernise? Sistema, power networks and informal governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Polese, Abel. 2008. ‘“If I Receive It, It Is a Gift; If I Demand It, Then It Is a Bribe”: On the Local Meaning of Economic Transactions in Post-Soviet Ukraine’. Anthropology in Action 15(3).
Sakwa, Richard. 2021. Russian Politics and Society. London: Routledge (fifth edition).
Especially Chapter 1 ‘Approaches to Russian politics’, as well as Chapters 6, 14 and 15 - on informality, cronyism, capitalism, economic transformation from the viewpoint of the elite and the public.

Other readings (list to be updated)
Musaraj, Smoki. 2020. Tales from Albarado: Ponzi Logics of Accumulation in Postsocialist Albania. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
World Bank. 2018. Crony Capitalism in Ukraine: Impact on Economic Outcomes. Washington D.C.: World Bank Group.
Yurchenko, Yuliya. 2018. Ukraine and the Empire of Capital: From Marketisation to Armed Conflict. London: PlutoPress.

Igor Mikeshin

Description.
This interdisciplinary course focuses on the historical, ideological, cultural, and political role of Christianity in contemporary Russia. A specific emphasis will be put on the rich diversity of the Russian Christian context, dominant and marginal discourses, the role of Christianity in a patriotic, conservative (gender and family), and secular narratives, and the impact Christianity makes in the current social and political situation in Russia.

The students are expected to attend courses, actively participate in class discussions, read selected papers from the recent research on Russian Christianity (in English), and write a final essay. Knowledge of the Russian language is not required, though it will definitely be an asset for the further study of the topic.

Learning outcomes. This is an introductory course on the history, ideology, and cultural context of Christianity in Russia. The students are not expected to have any previous knowledge or expertise on the topic. After the course, the students will have an understanding of key issues in history, ideology, and culture of Christianity in Russia and Russian-speaking Christianity, and its impact on the current political and social situation.

Course content:

• Introduction: Christianity in Russia and Russian Christianities
• Russian Orthodox Christianity: History
• Russian Orthodox Christianity: Church, State, and Society
• Secularism and Postsecularism in Russia
• Old Believers
• Evangelical Protestants in Russia
• Traditional Values and Christian Morals in Russia
• Wrapping up: Russian Christianity and current situation in Russia.

Requirements. Attendance and mandatory readings (40%), active participation in class discussions (10%), final essay (50%).

8.3.-3.5.2023

Wed 10-12

Julia Bethwaite et al.

8.3 Tuomas Forsbeg ja Sirke Mäkinen: Introduction to Russia's Cultural Statecraft
15.3 Sirke Mäkinen: Higher Education as a Tool for Cultural Statecraft?
22.3 Julia Bethwaite: Fine Arts and International Relations: Russian Museum Diplomacy
29.3 Elina Viljanen: Soviet Legacies and Global Contexts: Classical Music and Russia’s Cultural Statecraft
5.4 Mari Pajanen: Stagecraft in the Service of Statecraft? Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
12.4 Pia Koivunen: International Events in the Service of Cultural Statecraft: The Sochi Olympics and the World Festival of Youth and Students
19.4 Pallavi Pal: Russia's Nuclear Diplomacy
26.4 Lina Klymenko: Forging Common History: Russia’s Cultural Statecraft and the Soviet Second World War Monuments in Europe
3.5 Tuomas Forsberg: Sport as Cultural Statecraft: Russia and the Kontinental Hockey League

13.1.–12.5.2023 on Fridays at 13:30-15:00

Online course

Anna Tarasenko

Content of the course:
1. Introduction and policy analysis perspective  
2. Post-soviet welfare state trajectories and welfare regimes: political ideologies and societal expectations
3. Political importance of unpopular reforms: agenda setting in policy process
4. Labour and pension reforms in Russia: interest groups and policy coalitions in decision-
making
5. Deinstitutionalisation of care: the impact of global shifts in ideals of care and country specifics
6. Social care provision: mismatch between policy goals, problem and instruments
7. New public management approach: the dynamic of modes of governance
8. Outsourcing of social services: policy compliance and principal-agent problems
9. Penitentiary systems and models of resocialization of former prisoners, the role of NGOs and international regulations
10. Policy evaluation: the case of the penitentiary system in Russia
11. Abortion regulation: feminist movements and conservative turn
12. Drug regulation: policy transfer between criminalization and health care
13. Discussion of policy papers produced by students
14. Final discussion

This short short intensive course will give students an overview of the main trends in urban settlement pattern in Russia. By the end of the course, students will have a general understanding of urban development in Russia including specifics of different types of cities.

Content
Despite Russia’s large size, most of the population is concentrated in a small number of urban centres, mainly in the European part of the country, that have been undergoing massive change since the end of the Soviet Union. Students will learn what strategies of development industrial towns in Russia have, what happens now in largest urban agglomerations of Russia, what transformations have happened in St. Petersburg in post-Soviet times, and what challenges small historical towns in Central Russia face. Additionally, during the course students will study the case of Moscow as a centre of the Central Russian Megalopolis.

Modes of Study
Lectures (16 hours) + a written exam (2 credits, evaluated by Dr. Zinovyev) and a research essay (8-10 pages, 3 credits) on a related topic of choice that will be evaluated by Adjunct Professor Paul Fryer. To receive credits, both assignments should be submitted.

Study Materials
A reading list will be distributed at the beginning of the course and readings made available online.

16.01. - 13.03.2023 klo 12-14

Teuvo Laitila ja Heta Hurskainen

13.3.-20.4.2023

Verkkokurssi. Ma ja to klo 15:15-15:45

Marina Vituhnovskaja-Kauppala

16.1.-20.3.2023

Elina Kahla ja Markku Kivinen

13.3.-30.4.2023

9.5.–1.6.2023

Tu 9/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM Päärakennus, U4080
We 10/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Th 11/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Tu 16/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
We 17/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Fr 19/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Porthania, P722
Tu 23/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
We 24/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Th 25/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Tu 30/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
We 31/5/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080
Th 1/6/2023    4:15 PM–5:45 PM    Päärakennus, U4080

Spring 2023

Kevät 2023
Tiistaisin 10:15-11:45

Spring 2023

Kevät 2023

30.1.-6.3.2023

Spring 2023

19.1.- 4.5.2023
to 10:00-11:30 Porthania P417

11.1.2023–26.4.2023

ke 11.01.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 18.01.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 108
ke 25.01.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 308
ke 01.02.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 108
ke 08.02.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 108
ke 15.02.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 22.02.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 01.03.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 08.03.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 108
ke 15.03.2023 14.15–15.45 Proxima, X 108
ke 22.03.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 29.03.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 12.04.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104
ke 19.04.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104    
ke 26.04.2023 14.15–15.45 Oppio, O 103,104

Kevät 2023
Keskiviikkoisin 10:15-11:45, Päärakennus sali U3041

Kevät 2023
Maanantaisin 14:15-15:45 Metsätalo sali 31

Opintojakso keskittyy 1990-2000-luvun virolaisen kirjallisuuden tärkeimpiin suuntauksiin, merkittävimpiin aiheisiin sekä keskeisiin kirjailijoihin ja heidän teoksiinsa, joita tarkastellaan Viron yhteiskunnallisessa kontekstissa.

Opintojakson suoritettuaan opiskelija tuntee virolaisen nykykirjallisuuden keskeiset suuntaukset ja kirjailijat. Hän on tutustunut niihin liittyvään kirjallisuuden tutkimukseen ja perehtynyt tarkemmin muutaman kirjailijan tuotantoon. Hän osaa analysoida virolaista nykykirjallisuutta Viron yhteiskunnallisessa kontekstissa.

Opintojakson aikana opiskelija lukee virolaista nykyproosaa ja -runoutta viroksi tai suomeksi, ja analysoi sitä yhdessä muiden kanssa. Jokainen perehtyy tarkemmin jonkun kirjailijan tuotantoon, jota hän esittelee muille.

Kevät 2023
Tiistaisin 14:15-15:45 Metsätalo sali 9

Opintojakso tarjoaa kronologisen katsauksen Viron kirjallisuuden kehitykseen, keskeisiin kirjailijoihin ja heidän teoksiinsa, joita tarkastellaan laajemmassa kulttuurikontekstissa.

Opintojakson suoritettuaan opiskelija tietää virolaisen kirjallisuuden kehitysvaiheet, perusteokset ja keskeiset kirjailijat eri aikakausilta. Hän osaa analysoida virolaisen kirjallisuuden kehitystä laajemmassa kulttuurikontekstissa, ja on lukenut erilaisten kirjailijoiden tuotantoa.

Opintojakso tarjoaa kronologisen katsauksen virolaisen kirjallisuuden kehitykseen, käsittelee keskeisiä kirjailijoita, heidän teoksiaan ja niihin liittyvää kirjallisuuden tutkimusta. Kurssilla luetaan ja analysoidaan eri aikakausien kirjailijoiden kaunokirjallisia tekstejä. Jokainen perehtyy tarkemmin jonkun kirjailijan tuotantoon, jota hän esittelee muille.

Kevät 2023