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First Year Experience
Starbuck Center 201A
Skidmore College
815 N. Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
PROGRAM DIRECTOR:
Marla Melito
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT:
Allie Taylor
Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description
Mother Russia's Daughters: Gender and Power in Russia's Past and Present
Instructor(s): Kate Graney, Government
What explains the fact that in a country famously and widely known as “Mother Russia,” one of the most enduring proverbs is “Just as a crab is not a fish, a woman is not a human being”? In this seminar, students will apply the powerful tool of gender analysis to Russia’s past and present, exploring such topics as Catherine the Great’s exalted and controversial reign, and the demonization of Tsarina Alexandra, last empress of Russia. We will also look at changing notions of womanhood during the Bolshevik and Stalinist revolutions, gender politics during WWII, and the crises of femininity and masculinity that emerged in the mature Soviet and post-Soviet era. Here we will pay special attention to the problems of contraception, prostitution and trafficking of women, as well as the gendered nature of Russia’s transition to capitalism and “democracy.” Letters, diaries, works of fiction, works of art, literary criticism, anthropological works, and films produced by and about Russian women will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on Mother Russia.
Course Description
Mother Russia's Daughters: Gender and Power in Russia's Past and Present
Instructor(s): Kate Graney, Government
What explains the fact that in a country famously and widely known as “Mother Russia,” one of the most enduring proverbs is “Just as a crab is not a fish, a woman is not a human being”? In this seminar, students will apply the powerful tool of gender analysis to Russia’s past and present, exploring such topics as Catherine the Great’s exalted and controversial reign, and the demonization of Tsarina Alexandra, last empress of Russia. We will also look at changing notions of womanhood during the Bolshevik and Stalinist revolutions, gender politics during WWII, and the crises of femininity and masculinity that emerged in the mature Soviet and post-Soviet era. Here we will pay special attention to the problems of contraception, prostitution and trafficking of women, as well as the gendered nature of Russia’s transition to capitalism and “democracy.” Letters, diaries, works of fiction, works of art, literary criticism, anthropological works, and films produced by and about Russian women will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on Mother Russia.
