GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Department of History
Russia and China: Roots of Coöperation and Conflict  (HIST 327-01)
Syllabus for Fall, 2017

MW 15:30-16:45 / ICC 205A

text updated as of  29 Aug 2017

 
Requirements Texts Handouts Lecture Schedule Policies


 

H.R. Spendelow  潘克俊  Х.Х. Спенделоу

ICC 607; T & R 15:30-17:00, and by appointment

e-mail:  panjiaoshou@gmail.com
GU website and Facebook

Course content:
            

This course takes up a broad survey of the relations between China and Russia, from the early 17th to the "renormalization" of relations between China and the [then] Soviet Union in 1989. With an emphasis on political and economic history, we will approach the development of Sino-Russian relations both chronologically and topically: each class session will focus on a particular problem or confrontation between Russia and China (including interested third parties), analyzing background factors, the needs and expectations of each side, the resources they brought to the confrontation, and the extent to which the problem was resolved.

The course meets as a seminar/colloquium twice a week in small-group discussion format. No knowledge of Chinese or Russian language is assumed, but either (or both) is preferred.  Usually, students are expected to have some basic background in the history of either country.   

The course has two basic goals:

    (1) to present a basic introduction to the interactions of these two states, beginning with the Romanov and Qing empires, moving through the revolutionary upheavals of the early 20th century, and ending up with the tense relationship between two Communist giants during the not-so-Cold War, including conflicting, even contradictory, interpretations; and

    (2) to use the specific study of these interactions as a means for developing more general skills in the discipline of historical analysis, as elaborated in the Department's statement of mission and learning goals.

Course requirements include:

  1. preparation of readings for each week's meeting
  2. active participation in each week's discussion, including reporting on one's own reading and critical commentary on the contributions of other class members
  3. three analytical discussions of a primary source (c. 2 pp. each), due 25 Sep, 18 Oct, and 22 Nov [10% each]
  4. a research paper on a topic of your own choosing: topic statement due 13 Sep; prospectus due 16 Oct; final version due 06 Dec [35%]
  5. a final examination, "officially" scheduled for Friday, 15 December, 16:00-18:00 [35%]

There are no "required" overview texts, but two which are suggested (with considerable reservation) are:

  1. Clubb, O. Edmund. China and Russia: The Great Game (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971) [DS 740.5 .R8 C63]
  2. Quested, R.K.I. Sino-Russian Relations: A Short History (Boston: George Allen & Unwin, 1984) [DS 740.5 .S65 Q47 1984]

Schedule of lectures and readings:

Readings, particularly selections from the basic texts, should be completed before the lecture under which they are listed. Assignments are of varied lengths, so plan ahead and pace yourself for the entire semester.

Click here for the current schedule

Policies:

  1. Failure to complete any of the Course Requirements listed above will result in automatic failure for the course.
  2. Students are expected to be fully familiar and compliant with the principles and practices outlined in the Georgetown University Honor Code.
  3. As of July 2014, "Instructional activities will be maintained during University closures.  Faculty members should prepare for the possibility of an interruption of face-to-face instruction by establishing a policy within the course syllabus to maintain instructional continuity in the case of an unforeseen disruption. During a campus “closure,” the regular class time schedule must be honored by all campus departments so that students will remain available for those faculty members who wish to maintain continuous academic progress through synchronous distance instruction."  Stay tuned as I figure out how best to implement "synchronous distance instruction"...