Russia's Political Culture in Transformation

Title	% from total grade	Grade
1. Individual work	-	-
The knowledge acquired in the course is tested during seminars, discussions on selected texts. Skills are acquired and evaluated by creating reports on course topics, submitting reports in e-studies. In the final examination, the student presents his / her report and participates in a discussion with colleagues on the problem issue analyzed in the report. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.

Title	% from total grade	Grade
1. Examination	-	-
• Participation in the seminar on the selected course literature (min. 50 pages from the e-learning catalog) makes up 40% of the final course evaluation. • Execution of independent work tasks in the form of a report – 40% of the final assessment. • The exam assesses the student's ability to participate in a discussion of the results of the report – 20% of the final assessment of the course.

The notion of political culture and its place in the theory of culture Description Annotation: Before one begins with the analysis of Russian political culture, an introduction to the cultural studies is necessary precondition. Where can we place political culture within the cultural theory.

The notion of transformation in the concept of fluid modernity (Z. Bauman) Description Annotation: The political transformation will be analysed within the concept of “fluid modernity” by Zygmunt Bauman.

How to analyze culture? The theoretical results of the cultural turns Description Annotation: This lecture is dedicated to the variety of cultural approaches in the social sciences, starting from the linguistic turn and continuing with the genealogy of the cultural analysis into the last decades of the 20th century.

Postcolonial turn and performative turn in the analysis of political transformations Description Annotation: This lecture continues the development of cultural turns, explaining two major turns - the postcolonial and performative turns. Both turns are important tools to analyse political transformations in Russia.

Collective memory and history politics in the concept of transformation Description Annotation: The politics of memory is an important tool to analyse the contemporary Russian political culture and geopolitics. The lecture will focus on the concept of Jan and Aleida Assmann.

Analysis of Russia`s political processes in the media: phenomena chosen by students to analyse: democracy, state, minorities, pluralism, state leader, geopolitical priorities, construction of memories Description Annotation: Students should choose one term from the list above and interpret it using cultural turns now known to the group from previous lectures.

East or West? The third space? Russian history and its factors Description Annotation: During the lecture various questions concerning political discourses in contemporary Russian will be asked. One of the major issues is the dialogue on the presence of Western political thought in contemporary Russian politics.

Feudalism and rising absolutism in the 17th century. Muscovy state in the 17th century. Analysis of the image of Ivan the Terrible in the Soviet modernism movie by Serge Eisenstein Description Annotation: Students will be offered to analyse the images of power and absolute ruler based on the modernism period movie by Serge Eisenstein, depicting the Moscovite ruler Ivan IV, nicknamed the Terrible in the context of totalitarian imagery of Soviet period.

Westernization politics of Russian rulers in the early phase of the 18th century. Politics of Peter I in Europe Description Annotation: The lecture presents an overview of the Westernization politics of Russian rulers in the early phase of the 18th century.

Imperial discourse in Russian political culture. Bysanthinian state symbols and Western Roman Empire as political imagery. The “Greek project” of Catherine II Description Annotation: The seminar will offer opportunities to analyse the so-called Greek project of empress Catharine II and her political images within the political and cultural discourse of the ancient Greece heritage in the Russian geopolitics and links to the Crimea occupation discourse will be presented.

Enlightenment politics in Russia. Views and concepts of Western Enlightenment on Russia and civilization discourse. Larry Wolf`s concept will be applied and critically examined Description Annotation: The French Enlightenment will be analysed in the context of its images of Russian political culture of absolutism.

Enlightenment politics in Russia. Views and concepts of Western Enlightenment on Russia and civilization discourse. Larry Wolf`s concept will be applied and critically examined Description Annotation: The French Enlightenment will be analysed in the context of its images of Russian political culture of absolutism.

Nationalism in Russia. Empire and the nation in the nationalism discourse. Ethnic minorities Description Annotation: The major aim of this lecture is to analyse the notion of nationalism and nation in the Russian political culture of the 19th century, during the liberal reforms of Alexander II and conservative nationalism of his son, Alexander III. The concept of nationalism will show its difference from the Western concept of nationalism, combining imperial discourse and national romanticism.

Liberalism in Russia in the 19th century. Westerners and slavophils Description Annotation: This seminar continues the idea of study of Russian nationalism, but includes more literary and philosophical notions and concepts. The seminar will analyse two discoursive groups - the so-called Westerners and Slavophilles, who presented different views on the development of Russian society and state.

The factor of religious culture. Orthodoxy and caesars imagery in the politics Description Annotation: This lecture will analyse the phenomenon of Orthodoxy as an element of state imagery and politics.

Russian religious philosophy and geopolitics. The concept of Leontyev. Postcolonial paradigm Description Annotation: Students will be offered an opportunity to read and analyse religious and geopolitical philosophy of the late 19th- beginning of the 20th century.

Russian literature and dissidents` culture. From Radishev till Dovlatov Description Annotation: The phenomenon of literary opposition to the political elite known as dissident movement will be analysed in this lecture.

The concept of monarchy in the political culture. The Romanovs and images of Soviet leaders. Putin and iconography of a ruler Description Annotation: Based on Richard Wortman`s concept of scenarios of power the seminar will offer an opportunity to analyse the images of power and rulers in the contemporary Russian political culture.

Revolution and terror. 1917. Bolsheviks universalism and Stalin`s national bolshevism in the imperial discourse Description Annotation: Based on the cultural analysis of terror by Karl Schloegel the revolutionary Terror and 1937 Terror will be analysed as political phenomena.

Revolution and terror. 1917. Bolsheviks universalism and Stalin`s national bolshevism in the imperial discourse Description Annotation: Based on the cultural analysis of terror by Karl Schloegel the revolutionary Terror and 1937 Terror will be analysed as political phenomena.

Traumatic collective experience and the politics of memory in contemporary Russia. War, catastrophy and victory Description Annotation: The politics of memory will be analysed during the seminar, related to the World War II. The scientific papers of students will be presented.

Traumatic collective experience and the politics of memory in contemporary Russia. War, catastrophy and victory Description Annotation: The politics of memory will be analysed during the seminar, related to the World War II. The scientific papers of students will be presented.

Democracy, Western politics and neo national movement. Entertainment culture and geopolitics Description Annotation: The final seminar will create a summary of the previous discussions and the scientific papers of students will be presented.

The notion of political culture and its place in the theory of culture Description Annotation: Before one begins with the analysis of Russian political culture, an introduction to the cultural studies is necessary precondition. Where can we place political culture within the cultural theory.

The notion of transformation in the concept of fluid modernity (Z. Bauman) Description Annotation: The political transformation will be analysed within the concept of “fluid modernity” by Zygmunt Bauman.

How to analyze culture? The theoretical results of the cultural turns Description Annotation: This lecture is dedicated to the variety of cultural approaches in the social sciences, starting from the linguistic turn and continuing with the genealogy of the cultural analysis into the last decades of the 20th century.

Postcolonial turn and performative turn in the analysis of political transformations Description Annotation: This lecture continues the development of cultural turns, explaining two major turns - the postcolonial and performative turns. Both turns are important tools to analyse political transformations in Russia.

Collective memory and history politics in the concept of transformation Description Annotation: The politics of memory is an important tool to analyse the contemporary Russian political culture and geopolitics. The lecture will focus on the concept of Jan and Aleida Assmann.

Analysis of Russia`s political processes in the media: phenomena chosen by students to analyse: democracy, state, minorities, pluralism, state leader, geopolitical priorities, construction of memories Description Annotation: Students should choose one term from the list above and interpret it using cultural turns now known to the group from previous lectures.

East or West? The third space? Russian history and its factors Description Annotation: During the lecture various questions concerning political discourses in contemporary Russian will be asked. One of the major issues is the dialogue on the presence of Western political thought in contemporary Russian politics.

Feudalism and rising absolutism in the 17th century. Muscovy state in the 17th century. Analysis of the image of Ivan the Terrible in the Soviet modernism movie by Serge Eisenstein Description Annotation: Students will be offered to analyse the images of power and absolute ruler based on the modernism period movie by Serge Eisenstein, depicting the Moscovite ruler Ivan IV, nicknamed the Terrible in the context of totalitarian imagery of Soviet period.