RUSS120 Russia in Pictures

Papers: A midterm paper (6 - 8 pages, 30% of course grade) is due on Monday 30 April, and a final paper (8 - 10 pages, 35% of grade) on Friday 8 June. You can turn in your papers as email attachments by midnight on the due day - for the midterm with a hard copy at the next class meeting. We'll develop paper topics during class discussions.

For the midterm you will initially be given a provisional grade, which can be improved by some rewriting following discussion of the first draft.

Tests: There will be two tests of your ability to identify the images displayed and discussed in class, the first on Monday 1 May, the second on Thursday 1 June. Each test counts for 10% of the course grade.

Participation in class discussion counts for the remaining 15% of the course grade.

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The principal reading for this course is the slide sets, and a lot of attention will be given to the business of 'reading pictures'. The books you need to acquire for the course are:

- James Billington, The Icon and the Axe.
- Ernst Gombrich, Art and Illusion.
- G.H. Hamilton, The Art and Architecture of Russia.

The preferred source for these books is Amazon.com, which has used as well as new copies available, sometimes at very low prices. They are available elsewhere, including public as well as the UW libraries. Amazon has everything in this list, and delivers extremely fast. If you have any difficulty finding anything, please let me know. Some other materials may be distributed as photocopies or made availabe online, and I'll be making more suggestions for background reading in the course of the quarter, partly in response to your thoughts on paper topics.

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What makes a good paper? If you have any doubts about any aspect of your paper, or just want to try out ideas before you commit the time and effort to developing them at length, please feel free to come by and talk about it. Here are the guidelines that will be the basis for grading your term papers.

4.0 - 3.6 The paper shows maturity: thoughtful analysis clearly expressed.

The title reflects a clear and non-trivial topic, and the organization is logical and coherent: questions are raised, suggested answers are presented through well-connected arguments based on detailed evidence, and conclusions do not overreach either the evidence or the arguments.
Evidence from the relevant primary texts is not outweighed by opinions drawn from secondary sources, and there are some original insights.
The writing is good: no grammatical problems, spelling mistakes or sloppy punctuation; sentences are neither too short (leads to repetition of many basic sentence elements, weak connection between ideas and difficulty in constructing an argument) nor too long (points get lost, arguments are hard to follow); vocabulary and style are appropriate for the context.

3.5 - 3.0 The paper is less mature, and doesn't meet the 'A' criteria consistently.

The title could be fuller or clearer, organization could be tighter, questions clearer, argument more detailed, conclusions more specific.
Too much reliance on opinions expressed in secondary works, too little direct evidence from the primary texts, few personal insights.
Some minor problems with grammar, spelling and punctuation, and style, e.g. inappropriate use of slang expressions.

2.9 - 2.5 The basics are there, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

Topic not clear, organization weak, argument thin or hard to follow, conclusions sweeping, not well supported or not directly relevant to the topic.
Paper is based on others' opinions (secondary works, class notes or websites), with no analysis of the primary texts and no personal insights.
Serious writing problems: sentences are poorly constructed and linked, vocabulary is often inappropriate for the context, or gratuitously colloquial.

2.4 - 2.0 The paper reflects very little thought or effort, and is difficult to read.

Topic poorly defined, and not much clearer by the end of the paper. Organization very weak, and statement takes the place of argument. The paper may be too short, and consist of more 'padding' than substance.
Little reference to the primary texts, possibly because of difficulty in understanding them, and secondary sources are used to compensate for this.
Writing is bad enough to make attendance at a writing workshop advisable.

1.9 - 0.7 Writing problems obscure the content of the paper, even if there is one.

Topic trivial, makes little sense, or is of limited relevance to the course materials. Little or no organization, too little content for there to be a structure.
Little evidence that the primary texts have been read and understood, and use of secondary sources is paraphrase bordering on plagiarism.
Writing is bad enough to require remediation at the Freshman Composition level.

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Introduction: Visual and Verbal Culture
Monday 26 Mar	Introduction to the course: organization, assignments, grading and expectations.
27-29 March	How to 'read pictures', and icons as a place to start.
Reading/viewing: Slide Sets for Week 1 and Icons.

Moscow: Character and History of the City.
2-5 Apr	Strength and Weakness of the medieval fortified city.
Reading/Viewing: Slide Set for Week 2.

Early Russian Architecture and Applied Art.
9-10 Apr	The origins of Russian eclesiastical Architecture.
11-12 Apr	Applied Art in Russia.
Reading/Viewing: Slide sets for Week 3.

From Icon to Portrait.
16-17 Apr	The parsuna and the earliest Russian portraits.
18-19 Apr	18th and early 19th-century Russian portrait-painting.
Reading/Viewing: Slide Sets for Week 4.

The Building and Character of St. Petersburg.
23-24 Apr	A daring feat of civil engineering...
25-26 Apr	...and social engineering too.
Reading/Viewing: Study the slide set for this week.

The Russian Landscape, and the European.
Mon 30 April	Midterm paper due today First recognition test
1-2 May	Landscape painting: learned from Europe, adapted to Russia.
3 May	The lubok - visual reading, cheap icons, and the revival of the form.
Reading/Viewing: Slide Set forWeek 6.

More Applied Art
7-8 May	Traditional forms: a pre-Christian iconography
9-10 May	Nineteenth-century commercial style.
Reading/Viewing: Slide set for this week.

The Revival of Native Russian Traditions
14-15 May	Celebrating the pre-Petrine world, the legacy of Peter, Russia's wooden architecture... Nikolai Roerich: 'author' of The Rite of Spring
16-17 May	...and the world of pre-Christian Russia: The Rite of Spring..
Reading/Viewing: This week's slide set and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Russian Historical Painting
21-23 May	The paintable highlights of Russian history, and The Wanderers.
24 May	The role of famous paintings in modern Russian culture.
Reading/Viewing: Slide sets for this week.

Looking Back on the Russian Experience: Stereotypes, Satire and Parodies.
28 May	H o l i d a y
29 May	What came to stand for Russia, the humorous perspective, and lubki.
30 May	Second Recognition Test.
Reading/Viewing: Slide sets for this week.
Fri 8 June	Final paper due.