History of Europe 1789-1945
HIST 304
Spring 2012
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: 7:30-9:30 am Monday in Stat 200
Course Description: This course is a survey course covering the political, economic, and social history of Europe from the French Revolution until the end of World War II. It will focus primarily on the ‘Long 19th Century’ from 1789 until 1914. The course will concentrate on large European states such as Great Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, and the Russian Empire. But, it will also cover some events in smaller states such as the unification of Italy and the Balkan Wars. Major themes and events the course will cover are the Napoleonic Wars, industrialization, the rise of Germany, the development of democratic and socialist movements, the triumph of nationalism as the primary source of popular legitimacy for European states, World War One, the success of totalitarian movements in the 1920s and 30s, and World War Two.
Requirements: Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The text for this class is David Thomson, Europe Since Napoleon, Second Edition, Revised, (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982).
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 25% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade. Attendance will count for 5% of the total grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and review of the syllabus.
Week two: The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, 1789-1814.
Read pp. 1-58.
Week three: The Congress of Vienna, 1815
Read pp. 59-103
Week four: Revolutionary ferment and explosions, 1815-1850
Read pp. 107-210.
Week five: Redrawing the map of Europe, 1851-1871
Read pp. 211-318.
Week six: The development of modern political ideologies: Democracy, Socialism, and Nationalism.
Read pp. 319-422.
Week seven: The triumph of Empire, 1871-1914
Read pp. 423-508.
Week eight: Mid-Term Exam. The Mid-Term is worth 25% of the total grade.
Week nine: World War One and its aftermath, 1914-1923
Read pp. 509-608.
Week ten: The interwar period, 1924-1939
Read pp. 609-718.
Week eleven: World War Two, 1939-1945
Read pp. 719-772.
Week twelve: Wrap up and review of semester.
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Monday, February 06, 2012
Friday, January 11, 2008
Syllabus for Introduction to Comparative Politics
ICP 120
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Spring Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Emir Kulov, AFP Fellow
Meeting Time: Lecture on Tuesdays at 8:00 am and Seminars on Fridays at 8:00 am, 9:30 am and 11:00 am.
Course Description: This is an introductory course to comparative politics. It will compare and contrast the existing political systems of six different countries. These countries are the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Mexico, the United States and South Africa.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussions, five surprise quizzes, a mid-term examination and a final examination. The five surprise quizzes cannot be made up. Students that are absent that day will forfeit the 5% of the grade from the quiz. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. We will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Please see the separate handout on mobile phones. Finally, I (Dr. Pohl) have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the Introduction to Comparative Politics reader and Mark Kesselmann, Joel Krieger, William Joseph (eds.), Introduction to Comparative Politics: Political Challenges and Changing Agendas, Second Edition.
Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment for the first offense. A second offense will result in a grade of F for the course. Please be sure to cite your sources. Please also see the separate handout on plagiarism.
Grading:
Five surprise quizzes – 25% (5% each)
Mid-term Examination – 20%
Final Examination – 30%
Attendance – 10%
Participation - 15%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Introduction, pp. 3-25 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Two and Three: The United Kingdom
Richard Rose, pp. 161-212 in reader and Joel Krieger, pp. 28-77 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Four and Five: Germany
Russell J. Dalton, pp. 271-324 in reader and Christopher S. Allen, pp. 134-186 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Six and Seven: Russia
Thomas F. Remington, pp. 373-414 in reader and Joan DeBardeleben, pp. 426-483 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Week Eight: Mid-Term Exam
Weeks Nine and Ten: Mexico
Wayne A. Cornelius, pp. 463-513 in reader and Merliee S. Grindle, pp. 378-423 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Eleven and Twelve: The United States
Austin Ranney, pp. 733-777 in reader and Louis DeSipio, pp. 288-319 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Week Thirteen and Fourteen: South Africa
Reader, pp. 420-449.
Week Fifteen and Sixteen: Review
Week Seventeen: Final Exam
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Spring Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Emir Kulov, AFP Fellow
Meeting Time: Lecture on Tuesdays at 8:00 am and Seminars on Fridays at 8:00 am, 9:30 am and 11:00 am.
Course Description: This is an introductory course to comparative politics. It will compare and contrast the existing political systems of six different countries. These countries are the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Mexico, the United States and South Africa.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussions, five surprise quizzes, a mid-term examination and a final examination. The five surprise quizzes cannot be made up. Students that are absent that day will forfeit the 5% of the grade from the quiz. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. We will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Please see the separate handout on mobile phones. Finally, I (Dr. Pohl) have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the Introduction to Comparative Politics reader and Mark Kesselmann, Joel Krieger, William Joseph (eds.), Introduction to Comparative Politics: Political Challenges and Changing Agendas, Second Edition.
Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment for the first offense. A second offense will result in a grade of F for the course. Please be sure to cite your sources. Please also see the separate handout on plagiarism.
Grading:
Five surprise quizzes – 25% (5% each)
Mid-term Examination – 20%
Final Examination – 30%
Attendance – 10%
Participation - 15%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Introduction, pp. 3-25 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Two and Three: The United Kingdom
Richard Rose, pp. 161-212 in reader and Joel Krieger, pp. 28-77 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Four and Five: Germany
Russell J. Dalton, pp. 271-324 in reader and Christopher S. Allen, pp. 134-186 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Six and Seven: Russia
Thomas F. Remington, pp. 373-414 in reader and Joan DeBardeleben, pp. 426-483 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Week Eight: Mid-Term Exam
Weeks Nine and Ten: Mexico
Wayne A. Cornelius, pp. 463-513 in reader and Merliee S. Grindle, pp. 378-423 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Weeks Eleven and Twelve: The United States
Austin Ranney, pp. 733-777 in reader and Louis DeSipio, pp. 288-319 in Kesselman, Krieger and Joseph.
Week Thirteen and Fourteen: South Africa
Reader, pp. 420-449.
Week Fifteen and Sixteen: Review
Week Seventeen: Final Exam
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Syllabus for Aspects of Early Modern European History
HIST 309
Aspects of Early Modern European History
Fall Semester 2011
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Thursday 3:30-5:25 Linguistics Lecture Theatre
Course Description: This is a survey class covering various aspects of European history from the 14th Century until the end of the 18th Century. The core section of the course will focus on the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular it will concentrate on political history, but it will also cover religion, economics, art and philosophy. The course will focus on the larger and more powerful European states such as England, France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia. Special attention will be given to the political history of these states during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Requirements: Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The readings for this course come primarily from two sources. The first is Birdsall S. Viault, Modern European History (New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1990) and the second is R.R. Palmer and Joel Colton, A History of the Modern World to 1815 Seventh Edition (New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992). In addition to these two survey texts I have assigned a section from Andreas Kappler, trans. Alfred Clayton, The Russian Empire: A Multiethnic Empire (Essex, UK: Longman, 2001).
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 30% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: Leaving the Middle Ages and Entering the Modern Era
Read Viault, chapter one, pp. 1-15 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 46-53.
Week three: The Renaissance
Read Viault, chapters 2-3, pp. 16-43 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 53-75.
Week four: The Reformation, Counterreformation, and Wars of Religion
Read Viault, chapters 4-5, pp. 44-77 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 75-93 and 126-149.
Week five: Imperialism and Mercantilism
Read Viault, chapter 6, pp. 78-90 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 120-126.
Week six: Mid-Term Exam. The exam is worth 30% of the total grade.
Week seven: England in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Read Viault chapter, pp. 7, pp. 91-105 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 169-182.
Week eight: France in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Read Vialut, chapter 8, pp. 106-118 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 182-197.
Week nine: Central and Eastern Europe in the 17th and 18th Centuries
Read Viault, pp. 119-133 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 210-249.
Week ten: Russia Moves into Europe during the 17th and 18th Centuries
Read Kappeler, pp. 60-113.
Week eleven: 18th Century Wars
Read Viault, pp. 134-144 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 250-285.
Week twelve: Science, Philosophy, Art, Literature, and Music in 17th and 18th Century Europe
Read Viault, pp. 145-176 and Palmer and Colton, pp. 286-326.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Syllabus for Aspects of World History 1914-1945
Aspects of World History 1914-1945
HIST 417
Fall 2011
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Course Description: This course focuses on the great ideological and military conflict between Nazi Germany and the USSR. It traces the origins and development of both the Nazi and Soviet regimes during the years after World War One up until the Allied Victory over Berlin on 9 May 1945. In particular it compares and contrasts the ideologies and practices of these two regimes both internally and externally during the 1930s and 1940s. A special emphasis is given to their dictatorial nature and their use of mass violence against certain defined social and ethnic groups.
Requirements: The purpose of this class is to provide a comparative understanding of the two great dictatorships of the early 20th century and their relationship to each other. In particular the class will look at World War II primarily as a conflict between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The main text used for this class is Robert Gellately, Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe (London: Vintage Books, 2008). In addition there are four short supplementary readings which are listed below.
Elza-Bair Guchinova, “Deportation of the Kalmyks (1943-1956): Stigmatized Ethnicity” in Uyama Tomohiko, ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Slavic Eurasian Studies, no. 14 (Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007), pp. 187-221.
Katherine R. Jolluck, “’You Can’t Even Call Them Women’: Poles and ‘Others’ in Soviet Exile during the Second World War,” Contemporary European History, vol. 10, no. 3, (Nov. 2001), pp. 463-480.
James Morris, “The Polish Terror: Spy Mania and Ethnic Cleansing in the Great Terror,” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 56, no. 5, (July 2004), pp. 751-766.
J. Otto Pohl, Eric J. Schmaltz and Ronald J. Vossler, “’In Our Hearts We Felt the Sentence of Death’: Ethnic German Recollections of Mass Violence in the USSR, 1928-1948,” Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 11, nos. 2-3, (June-Sep. 2009), pp. 323-354.
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 30% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: World War One, the Bolshevik Revolution and Lenin’s Reign
Read pp. 1-77 in Gellately.
Week three: The Roots and Early Development of Naziism
Read pp. 81-127 in Gellately.
Week four: The Creation of the Stalinist Regime
Read pp. 131-182 in Gellately and Pohl, Schmaltz, and Vossler pp. 323-354.
During this week I would like to show the movie Through the Red Gate
Week five: The Nazis come to Power
Read pp. 185-223 in Gellately.
Week six: Mid-term examination. The exam is worth 30% of the total grade.
Week seven: Stalin’s Reign of Terror
Read pp. 225-281 in Gellately and Morris, pp. 751-766.
Week eight: Creation of the Nazi Dictatorship
Read pp. 285-341 in Gellately.
Week nine: The Partition of Poland and the Start of World War II
Read pp. 345-410 in Gellately and Jolluck, pp. 463-480.
Week ten: The Nazi Attack on the USSR and the Holocaust
Read pp. 413-468 in Gellately.
Week eleven: The Soviet Union takes the Offensive
Read pp. 471-522 in Gellately and Guchinova, pp. 187-220.
Week twelve: The Destruction of Nazi Germany and the Triumph of the USSR
Read pp. 525-594 in Gellately.
HIST 417
Fall 2011
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Course Description: This course focuses on the great ideological and military conflict between Nazi Germany and the USSR. It traces the origins and development of both the Nazi and Soviet regimes during the years after World War One up until the Allied Victory over Berlin on 9 May 1945. In particular it compares and contrasts the ideologies and practices of these two regimes both internally and externally during the 1930s and 1940s. A special emphasis is given to their dictatorial nature and their use of mass violence against certain defined social and ethnic groups.
Requirements: The purpose of this class is to provide a comparative understanding of the two great dictatorships of the early 20th century and their relationship to each other. In particular the class will look at World War II primarily as a conflict between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The main text used for this class is Robert Gellately, Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe (London: Vintage Books, 2008). In addition there are four short supplementary readings which are listed below.
Elza-Bair Guchinova, “Deportation of the Kalmyks (1943-1956): Stigmatized Ethnicity” in Uyama Tomohiko, ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Slavic Eurasian Studies, no. 14 (Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007), pp. 187-221.
Katherine R. Jolluck, “’You Can’t Even Call Them Women’: Poles and ‘Others’ in Soviet Exile during the Second World War,” Contemporary European History, vol. 10, no. 3, (Nov. 2001), pp. 463-480.
James Morris, “The Polish Terror: Spy Mania and Ethnic Cleansing in the Great Terror,” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 56, no. 5, (July 2004), pp. 751-766.
J. Otto Pohl, Eric J. Schmaltz and Ronald J. Vossler, “’In Our Hearts We Felt the Sentence of Death’: Ethnic German Recollections of Mass Violence in the USSR, 1928-1948,” Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 11, nos. 2-3, (June-Sep. 2009), pp. 323-354.
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 30% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: World War One, the Bolshevik Revolution and Lenin’s Reign
Read pp. 1-77 in Gellately.
Week three: The Roots and Early Development of Naziism
Read pp. 81-127 in Gellately.
Week four: The Creation of the Stalinist Regime
Read pp. 131-182 in Gellately and Pohl, Schmaltz, and Vossler pp. 323-354.
During this week I would like to show the movie Through the Red Gate
Week five: The Nazis come to Power
Read pp. 185-223 in Gellately.
Week six: Mid-term examination. The exam is worth 30% of the total grade.
Week seven: Stalin’s Reign of Terror
Read pp. 225-281 in Gellately and Morris, pp. 751-766.
Week eight: Creation of the Nazi Dictatorship
Read pp. 285-341 in Gellately.
Week nine: The Partition of Poland and the Start of World War II
Read pp. 345-410 in Gellately and Jolluck, pp. 463-480.
Week ten: The Nazi Attack on the USSR and the Holocaust
Read pp. 413-468 in Gellately.
Week eleven: The Soviet Union takes the Offensive
Read pp. 471-522 in Gellately and Guchinova, pp. 187-220.
Week twelve: The Destruction of Nazi Germany and the Triumph of the USSR
Read pp. 525-594 in Gellately.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Political History of the USSR Syllabus
ICP 255
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Spring Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday and Wednesday 1:00 pm.
Course Description: This course is an introductory survey course to the political history of the Soviet Union. It will cover the political, economic and social changes in the USSR from the time of its founding until its collapse. Important political events that will be covered include the Bolshevik Revolution, the Civil War, the collectivization of agriculture, the Great Terror, World War II, and the reforms of the Khrushchev era. Special emphasis will be given to the multinational nature of the Soviet Union. In particular the course will pay attention to how different nationalities in the USSR experienced and remembered the events covered in class.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussions, short writing assignments, and a research paper. For each of the four weeks with supplemental reading assignments, students will be required to submit a 600 to 800 word summary and analysis of the material along with one question for class discussion. These supplemental readings are the four pieces by Long, Viola, Krieger and Khazanov. These papers are all due in class on the Wednesday of the week during which the material is discussed. Students will also have to complete a 1400 to 2000 word research paper on the history of their family in the USSR. Students may substitute a research paper on a different subject in consultation with the instructor. This paper is due the last week of class. All late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. I will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The primary text book for this class is Geoffry Hosking’s, The First Socialist Society: The History of the Soviet Union from Within (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993). In addition to this book there are four short readings by James Long, Lynne Viola, Viktor Krieger and Anatoly Khazanov that will be provided to the students by the instructor.
Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment for the first offense. A second offense will result in a grade of F for the course. Please be sure to cite your sources.
Grading:
Four short papers - 60% (15% each)
Written research paper –20% (Due last day of class)
Class participation – 20%
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: The Bolshevik Revolution.
Chapters 1 and 2 in Hosking, pp. 15-56.
Week Three: War Communism
Chapter 3 in Hosking, pp. 57-92.
Week Four: The 1920-1921 Famine
Read: James W. Long, “The Volga Germans and the Famine of 1921,” Russian Review, Vol. 51, no. 4 (Oct., 1992), pp. 510-525.
Week Four: Nationality Policy during the 1920s
Chapter 4 in Hosking, pp. 93-118.
Week Five: Economic Transformation in the 1930s.
Chapters 5 and 6 in Hosking, pp. 119-182.
Week Six: Destruction of the “Kulaks”
Read: Lynne Viola, “The Other Archipelago: Kulak Deportations to the North in 1930,” Slavic Review, Vol. 60, no. 4 (winter 2001), pp. 730-755.
Week Seven: The Great Terror
Chapter 7 in Hosking, pp. 183-204.
Week Eight: The USSR on the Eve of the Great War
Chapters 8 and 9 in Hosking, pp. 205-260.
Week Nine: World War II
Chapter 10 in Hosking, pp. 263-295.
Week Ten: World War II Continued
Read: Viktor Krieger, “Patriots or Traitors? – The Soviet Government and the ‘German Russians’ After the Attack on the USSR by National Socialist Germany” in Karl Schlogel, ed., Russian-German Special Relations in the Twentieth Century: A Closed Chapter? (New York: Berg Publishers, 2006), pp. 133-163.
Week Eleven: Late Stalinism
Chapter 11 in Hosking, pp. 296-325.
Week Twelve: Khrushchev
Chapter 12 in Hosking, pp. 326-362.
Week Thirteen: The Era of Stagnation
Chapter 13 in Hosking, pp. 363-401.
Week Fourteen: Nationality in the USSR after World War II
Chapter 14 in Hosking, pp. 402-445.
Week Fifteen: Nationality in the USSR after World War II Continued
Read Anatoly Khazanov, “People with Nowhere to Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks,” (chapter 7) in After the USSR: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Politics in the Commonwealth of Independent States (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), pp. 192-210.
Week Sixteen: The End of the Soviet Union
Chapter 15 in Hosking, pp. 446-501.
Week Seventeen: Research paper due and concluding remarks.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Migration and Borders Syllabus
ICP 329.5
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Spring Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 am
Course Description: This course will cover the topic of cross border migration. It will concentrate primarily upon the movement of people across international borders. However, it will also briefly cover the role of internal state borders with regards to forced migration in the USSR during the 1940s. The class will deal with various types of international migration in the 20th and 21st centuries including labor migration, forced migration and ethnic “return” migration. The course will emphasize the effects of state policies upon migrants in both countries of emigration and immigration. Case studies will be drawn from the US-Mexican border, Europe, the USSR and its successor states, and Palestine.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. For each of the twelve weeks with reading assignments, students will be required to submit a 150 to 200 word summary of the material along with one question for class discussion. Students will also have to complete a 2500 to 3000 word research paper comparing and contrasting two case studies of migration. The paper is due the last week of class. In the two weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. I will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Plagiarism Policy: Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment for the first offense. A second offense will result in a grade of F for the course. Please be sure to cite your sources.
Grading:
Twelve short papers – 36% (3% each)
Written research paper – 20% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 10%
Class participation – 34%
Class Schedule
Week one: Introduction and review of the syllabus.
Crossing the Border
Week Two: Read “Border Crossings and the Transformation of Value and Valuers” (chapter six) in Hasting Donnan and Thomas M. Wilson, Borders: Frontiers of Identity, Nation and State (Oxford, UK: Berg, 1999), pp. 107-127.
Week Three: Read “Frontiers and Migration” (chapter five) in Malcolm Anderson, Frontiers: Territory and State Formation in the Modern World (Cambridge, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), pp. 127-150.
Labor Migration
Week Four: Read Thomas J. Espenshade, “Unauthorized Immigration to the United States,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21 (1995), pp. 195-216.
Week Five: Read “Europe’s Immigrant Integration Crises” (chapter one) in Patrick Ireland, Becoming Europe: Immigration, Integration and the Welfare State (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004), pp. 1-26.
Ethnic Cleansing
Week Six: Read “Forced Migrations: Prehistory and Classification” (chapter two) in Pavel Polian, Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2004), pp. 17-48.
Week Seven: Read Elza-Bair Guchinova, “Deportation of the Kalmyks (1943-1956): Stigmatized Ethnicity” (chapter seven) in Uyama Tomohiko, ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Slavic Eurasian Studies, no. 14 (Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007), pp. 187-221.
Week Eight: Read Introduction and Piotr Pykel, “The Expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia” (chapter one) in Steffen Prausser and Arfon Rees, eds., The Expulsion of the ‘German’ Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War (Florence, Italy: European University Institute, 2004), pp. 1-20.
Week Nine: Read Rosemarie M. Esber, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72.
Ethnic “Return” Migration
Week Ten: Read “Did they jump or were they pushed?” (chapter one) in Hilary Pilkington, Migration, Displacement and Identity in Post-Soviet Russia (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 3-22.
Week Eleven: Read “18 May 1944: The Deportation of Crimean Tatars” (chapter one) in Forced Migration Project of the Open Society Institute, Crimean Tatars: Repatriation and Conflict Prevention, (New York: Open Society Institute, 1996), pp. 11-28.
Week Twelve: Read Laurie P. Salitan, “Domestic Pressures and the Politics of Exit: Trends in Soviet Emigration Policy," Political Science Quarterly, vol. 104, no. 4 (Winter, 1989-1990), pp. 671-687.
Week Thirteen: Read Rainer Ohliger and Rainer Munz, “Minorities into Migrants: Making and Un-Making Central and Eastern Europe’s Ethnic German Diasporas," Diaspora, vol. 11, no. 1 (2002), pp. 45-83.
Student Research
Week Fourteen: Review
Week Fifteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Sixteen: Student oral presentations continued.
Week Seventeen: Written version of the research paper due and concluding remarks.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Syllabus for Aspects of World History since 1945
Aspects of World History since 1945
HIST 418
Spring 2011
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Office Number: 9
Meeting Time: Friday 3:30-5:25 Jones Quartey Building 09
Course Description:
This course is a survey course of world history since the end of World War II in 1945. It examines the history of the world from 1945 to 1991 in the context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. The course will focus on the foreign policies of the US and USSR and their effect on other regions of the world. Among other events the course will cover the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Vietnam War, and the emergence of newly independent states in Africa. Within the Soviet – US conflict the course will pay special attention to the socialist emphasis on the collectivization of agriculture versus traditional forms of agriculture. The course will look at the extension of collectivized agriculture influenced by the Soviet model to the Baltic States and Western Ukraine, North Korea, and parts of Africa. The course will also deal extensively with the displacement of large numbers of people due to war and ethnic cleansing and the long term ramifications of such forced migration. In particular the course will look at forced migration in Europe and the Middle East. Other themes we will touch on are economic development, the emergence of international organizations, and the collapse of European colonialism in Asia and Africa.
Requirements:
The goal of this class is to give students a general frame work of the history of the conflict between the US and USSR and other major international events from 1945 to 1991. Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings:
The readings are taken mainly from two books. These books are Geoffry Hosking, The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within, Second Enlarged Edition (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993) and Martin Walker, The Cold War: A History (NY: Henry Holt and company, 1993). There are also a number of shorter readings, mostly journal articles. The instructor has copies of all the assigned readings and will make them available to the students. The shorter readings are listed below.
Chong Sik-Lee, “Land Reform, Collectivization and the Peasants in North Korea,” The China Quarterly, No. 14 (April-June 1963), pp. 65-81.
Esber, Rosemarie, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72).
Hayden, Robert M., “Schindler’s Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers,” Slavic Review, vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 727-748.
Khalidi, Rashid, “Observations on the Right of Return,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Winter 1992), pp. 29-40.
Scott, James C., Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 1998).
Statiev, Alexander, “Motivations and Goals of Soviet Deportations in the Western Borderlands,” The Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 28, No. 6 (December 2005), pp. 977-1003.
Ther, Philip, “The Integration of Expellees in Germany and Poland after World War II: A Historical Reassessment,” Slavic Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 779-805.
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 30% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: The US and USSR after World War II and the Start of the Cold War
Read: Hosking, pp. 296-325; Statiev, pp. 977-1003; Walker, pp. 1-28
If possible this week I would like to show the movie Red Terror on the Amber Coast: Soviet Occupation – Lithuanian Resistance 1939-1993 since it covers much of the material in the Hosking and especially the Statiev.
Week three: Europe in the wake of World War II
Read: Hayden, pp. 727-748; Ther 779-805; Walker, pp. 28-58
Week four: Asia and the Middle East in the wake of World War II
Read: Chong Sik-Lee, pp. 65-81; Esber, pp. 55-72; Khalidi, pp. 29-40; Walker, pp. 59-82
Week five: The 1950s: Khrushchev vs. Eisenhower
Read: Hosking, pp. 326-362; Walker, pp. 83-135
Week six: Mid-term examination. The exam is worth 30% of the total grade.
Week seven: The 1960s: Cuba, Vietnam and other Conflict Zones
Read: Walker, pp. 136-206.
Week eight: The USSR during the Era of Stagnation
Read: Hosking, pp. 364-445.
Week nine: The Twilight of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 207-277.
Week ten: “Socialism” and Development in Africa
Read: Scott, pp. 223-261.
Week eleven: The End of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 278-357.
Week twelve: The End of the USSR
Read: Hosking, pp. 446-501.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Syllabus for Aspects of World History since 1945
Aspects of World History since 1945
HIST 418
Spring 2012
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: 3:30-5:30 Fridays in JQB no. 9
Course Description: This course is a survey course of world history since the end of World War II in 1945. It examines the history of the world from 1945 to 1991 in the context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. The course will focus on the foreign policies of the US and USSR and their effect on other regions of the world. Among other events the course will cover the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Vietnam War, and the emergence of newly independent states in Africa. Within the Soviet – US conflict the course will pay special attention to the socialist emphasis on the collectivization of agriculture versus traditional forms of agriculture. The course will look at the extension of collectivized agriculture influenced by the extension of the Soviet model to the Baltic States and Western Ukraine, Vietnam, and parts of Africa. The course will also deal extensively with the displacement of large numbers of people due to war and ethnic cleansing and the long term ramifications of such forced migration. In particular the course will look at forced migration in Europe and the Middle East. Other themes we will touch on are economic development, the emergence of international organizations, and the collapse of European colonialism in Asia and Africa.
Requirements: The goal of this class is to give students a general frame work of the history of the conflict between the US and USSR and other major international events from 1945 to 1991. Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The readings are taken mainly from three books. These books are Geoffry Hosking, The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within, Second Enlarged Edition (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), Martin Walker, The Cold War: A History (NY: Henry Holt and company, 1993), and Robert McMahon, The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 2003). There are also a number of shorter readings, mostly journal articles. The instructor has copies of all the assigned readings and will make them available to the students. The shorter readings are listed below.
Clapham, Christopher, “Revolutionary Socialist Development in Ethiopia,” African Affairs, vol. 86, no. 343, (April 1987), pp. 151-165.
Esber, Rosemarie, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72).
Hayden, Robert M., “Schindler’s Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers,” Slavic Review, vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 727-748.
Khalidi, Rashid, “Observations on the Right of Return,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Winter 1992), pp. 29-40.
Luke, Timothy, “Angola and Mozambique: Institutionalizing Social Revolution in Africa,” The Review of Politics, Vol. 44, No. 3 (July 1982), pp. 413-436.
Raymond, Chad, “The Insoluble Internal Conflicts of Agricultural Collectivization in Vietnam,” Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 15, no. 2 (2001), pp. 41-70.
Statiev, Alexander, “Motivations and Goals of Soviet Deportations in the Western Borderlands,” The Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 28, No. 6 (December 2005), pp. 977-1003.
Ther, Philip, “The Integration of Expellees in Germany and Poland after World War II: A Historical Reassessment,” Slavic Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 779-805.
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 25%of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade. Attendance will be 5% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: The US and USSR after World War II and the Start of the Cold War
Read: Hosking, pp. 296-325; Statiev, pp. 977-1003; Walker, pp. 1-28; McMahon, pp. 1-15.
If possible this week I would like to show the movie Red Terror on the Amber Coast: Soviet Occupation – Lithuanian Resistance 1939-1993 since it covers much of the material in the Hosking and especially the Statiev.
Week three: Europe in the wake of World War II
Read: Hayden, pp. 727-748; Ther 779-805; Walker, pp. 28-58; McMahon, pp. 16-34.
Week four: Asia and the Middle East in the wake of World War II
Read: Raymond, pp. 41-70; Esber, pp. 55-72; Khalidi, pp. 29-40; Walker, pp. 59-82; McMahon, pp. 35-55.
Week five: The 1950s: Khrushchev vs. Eisenhower
Read: Hosking, pp. 326-362; Walker, pp. 83-135; McMahon, pp. 56-77.
Week six: Mid-term examination. The exam is worth 25% of the total grade.
Week seven: The 1960s: Cuba, Vietnam and other Conflict Zones
Read: Walker, pp. 136-206; McMahon, pp. 77-104.
Week eight: The USSR during the Era of Stagnation and the US at Home
Read: Hosking, pp. 364-445; McMahon, pp. 105-121.
Week nine: The Twilight of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 207-277; McMahon, pp. 122-142.
Week ten: “Socialism” and Development in Africa
Read: Scott, pp. 223-261, Luke, pp. 413-436, and Clapham, pp. 151-165.
Week eleven: The End of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 278-357; McMahon, pp. 143-168.
Week twelve: The End of the USSR
Read: Hosking, pp. 446-501.
HIST 418
Spring 2012
Department of History
University of Ghana
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: 3:30-5:30 Fridays in JQB no. 9
Course Description: This course is a survey course of world history since the end of World War II in 1945. It examines the history of the world from 1945 to 1991 in the context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. The course will focus on the foreign policies of the US and USSR and their effect on other regions of the world. Among other events the course will cover the reconstruction of Europe after World War II, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Vietnam War, and the emergence of newly independent states in Africa. Within the Soviet – US conflict the course will pay special attention to the socialist emphasis on the collectivization of agriculture versus traditional forms of agriculture. The course will look at the extension of collectivized agriculture influenced by the extension of the Soviet model to the Baltic States and Western Ukraine, Vietnam, and parts of Africa. The course will also deal extensively with the displacement of large numbers of people due to war and ethnic cleansing and the long term ramifications of such forced migration. In particular the course will look at forced migration in Europe and the Middle East. Other themes we will touch on are economic development, the emergence of international organizations, and the collapse of European colonialism in Asia and Africa.
Requirements: The goal of this class is to give students a general frame work of the history of the conflict between the US and USSR and other major international events from 1945 to 1991. Students need to attend class regularly and do the assigned readings. Material from both the readings and the lectures will appear on the final exam. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The readings are taken mainly from three books. These books are Geoffry Hosking, The First Socialist Society: A History of the Soviet Union from Within, Second Enlarged Edition (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993), Martin Walker, The Cold War: A History (NY: Henry Holt and company, 1993), and Robert McMahon, The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 2003). There are also a number of shorter readings, mostly journal articles. The instructor has copies of all the assigned readings and will make them available to the students. The shorter readings are listed below.
Clapham, Christopher, “Revolutionary Socialist Development in Ethiopia,” African Affairs, vol. 86, no. 343, (April 1987), pp. 151-165.
Esber, Rosemarie, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72).
Hayden, Robert M., “Schindler’s Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers,” Slavic Review, vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 727-748.
Khalidi, Rashid, “Observations on the Right of Return,” Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Winter 1992), pp. 29-40.
Luke, Timothy, “Angola and Mozambique: Institutionalizing Social Revolution in Africa,” The Review of Politics, Vol. 44, No. 3 (July 1982), pp. 413-436.
Raymond, Chad, “The Insoluble Internal Conflicts of Agricultural Collectivization in Vietnam,” Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 15, no. 2 (2001), pp. 41-70.
Statiev, Alexander, “Motivations and Goals of Soviet Deportations in the Western Borderlands,” The Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 28, No. 6 (December 2005), pp. 977-1003.
Ther, Philip, “The Integration of Expellees in Germany and Poland after World War II: A Historical Reassessment,” Slavic Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 779-805.
Grading: The grade for the class will be based upon a mid-term exam and a comprehensive final essay exam at the end of the semester. The mid-term will be worth 25%of the final grade and the final exam will constitute the remaining 70% of the grade. Attendance will be 5% of the grade.
Class Schedule:
Week one: Introduction and Review of Syllabus
Week two: The US and USSR after World War II and the Start of the Cold War
Read: Hosking, pp. 296-325; Statiev, pp. 977-1003; Walker, pp. 1-28; McMahon, pp. 1-15.
If possible this week I would like to show the movie Red Terror on the Amber Coast: Soviet Occupation – Lithuanian Resistance 1939-1993 since it covers much of the material in the Hosking and especially the Statiev.
Week three: Europe in the wake of World War II
Read: Hayden, pp. 727-748; Ther 779-805; Walker, pp. 28-58; McMahon, pp. 16-34.
Week four: Asia and the Middle East in the wake of World War II
Read: Raymond, pp. 41-70; Esber, pp. 55-72; Khalidi, pp. 29-40; Walker, pp. 59-82; McMahon, pp. 35-55.
Week five: The 1950s: Khrushchev vs. Eisenhower
Read: Hosking, pp. 326-362; Walker, pp. 83-135; McMahon, pp. 56-77.
Week six: Mid-term examination. The exam is worth 25% of the total grade.
Week seven: The 1960s: Cuba, Vietnam and other Conflict Zones
Read: Walker, pp. 136-206; McMahon, pp. 77-104.
Week eight: The USSR during the Era of Stagnation and the US at Home
Read: Hosking, pp. 364-445; McMahon, pp. 105-121.
Week nine: The Twilight of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 207-277; McMahon, pp. 122-142.
Week ten: “Socialism” and Development in Africa
Read: Scott, pp. 223-261, Luke, pp. 413-436, and Clapham, pp. 151-165.
Week eleven: The End of the Cold War
Read: Walker, pp. 278-357; McMahon, pp. 143-168.
Week twelve: The End of the USSR
Read: Hosking, pp. 446-501.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Syllabus for Politics of Genocide
Politics of Genocide
ICP 425
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday and Wednesday 9:25 am
Course Description: This course will focus on genocide in the 20th century. The first weeks will cover the theoretical and legal aspects of genocide studies. From the third week to the tenth week the class will focus on specific case studies. The exact emphasis of each week’s reading will be determined by the students. I have only provided broad categories based upon perpetrators rather than victims. Within these categories students will choose the exact material covered with my approval.
Requirements: This course will revolve around class discussion based upon readings chosen by the students. Each week from week three to week ten, students will lead discussion on readings they have chosen. All readings must be approved by me at least a week before the scheduled discussion. All the students in the class and not just those presenting that week are required to read these selections. The students leading discussion must submit a written paper between 1500 and 2000 words on the subject on the same day. Every student will be required to select class readings, lead discussion and submit a paper on the readings once. In addition all students will be required to write a 3000 to 3500 word research paper on one case of genocide. They will be required to give an oral presentation on this research in one of the last five weeks of class. All late papers will lose ten percent for each day they are late. Please see the separate handout regarding late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: I will provide students with the readings for week two. For all other weeks, the readings will be selected by the students. The students doing the selection should make sure that the readings are available to the entire class. The easiest way to do this is to select journal articles from JSTOR or EBSCOHOST.
Plagiarism Policy: Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
First Paper – 20%
Leading Class Discussion – 10%
Final Paper – 30%
Final Oral Report – 15%
Class Participation – 25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: Theory and International Law
Read: Robert M. Hayden, “Schindler’s Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers,” Slavic Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 727-748, Ben Kiernan, Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), pp. 1-40, and Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan, “The Study of Mass Murder and Genocide,” in Gellately and Kiernan, eds., The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 3-26.
Week Three: The Colonial World
Week Four: The Ottoman Empire
Week Five: The USSR in the 1930s
Week Six: Nazi Germany
Week Seven: The USSR in the 1940s
Week Eight: Cambodia
Week Nine: Yugoslavia
Week Ten: Rwanda
Weeks Eleven to Fifteen: Student Oral Reports.
ICP 425
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday and Wednesday 9:25 am
Course Description: This course will focus on genocide in the 20th century. The first weeks will cover the theoretical and legal aspects of genocide studies. From the third week to the tenth week the class will focus on specific case studies. The exact emphasis of each week’s reading will be determined by the students. I have only provided broad categories based upon perpetrators rather than victims. Within these categories students will choose the exact material covered with my approval.
Requirements: This course will revolve around class discussion based upon readings chosen by the students. Each week from week three to week ten, students will lead discussion on readings they have chosen. All readings must be approved by me at least a week before the scheduled discussion. All the students in the class and not just those presenting that week are required to read these selections. The students leading discussion must submit a written paper between 1500 and 2000 words on the subject on the same day. Every student will be required to select class readings, lead discussion and submit a paper on the readings once. In addition all students will be required to write a 3000 to 3500 word research paper on one case of genocide. They will be required to give an oral presentation on this research in one of the last five weeks of class. All late papers will lose ten percent for each day they are late. Please see the separate handout regarding late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: I will provide students with the readings for week two. For all other weeks, the readings will be selected by the students. The students doing the selection should make sure that the readings are available to the entire class. The easiest way to do this is to select journal articles from JSTOR or EBSCOHOST.
Plagiarism Policy: Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
First Paper – 20%
Leading Class Discussion – 10%
Final Paper – 30%
Final Oral Report – 15%
Class Participation – 25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: Theory and International Law
Read: Robert M. Hayden, “Schindler’s Fate: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Population Transfers,” Slavic Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter 1996), pp. 727-748, Ben Kiernan, Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), pp. 1-40, and Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan, “The Study of Mass Murder and Genocide,” in Gellately and Kiernan, eds., The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 3-26.
Week Three: The Colonial World
Week Four: The Ottoman Empire
Week Five: The USSR in the 1930s
Week Six: Nazi Germany
Week Seven: The USSR in the 1940s
Week Eight: Cambodia
Week Nine: Yugoslavia
Week Ten: Rwanda
Weeks Eleven to Fifteen: Student Oral Reports.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
American Society Syllabus
American Society
American Studies 260
3 Credits
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday room 225 and Thursday 312 at 8:00
Course Description: This course will examine the ethnic diversity of the United States within the historical context of colonization and immigration. The course will start with an examination of the core Anglo-Saxon or WASP ethnicity in the US. It will then deal with Native Americans, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe including the Russian Empire and their descendants, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and finally Arab Americans.
Requirements: This course will consist of lectures, class discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will have to write two short reflection papers between 600 and 800 words. The first one should be on differences between the initial British settlers and later European immigrants. The second one should be on the differences between European immigrants and later immigrants from either Latin America, Asia or the Middle East. Finally, students will be required to write a 1500 to 2000 word research paper on the history of one specific ethnic group in the US. Prior to submitting the paper, students will be required to give a short oral presentation on their chosen subject followed by a question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course packet.
Plagiarism Policy: Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Class participation – 30%
Two reflection papers – 30% (15% each)
Oral report on research paper – 10%
Written version of research paper – 30%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule:
Week One: Introduction to Course and Review of Syllabus
Week Two and Three: Is there an American Ethnicity?
Eric Kaufmann, “Ethnic or Civic Nation? Theorizing the American Case”, pp. 1-45.
Week Four: Native Americans
William H. Lyon, “The Navajos in the Anglo-American Historical Imagination, 1807-1870,” Ethnohistory, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Summer 1996), 483-509.
Week Five: Eastern and Southern European Immigrants and their Descendants
John A. Kromkowski, “Eastern and Southern European Immigrants: Expectations, Reality, and a New Agenda,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, (Sep. 1986), pp. 57-78.
Week Six: Other European Immigrants: The German Diaspora from Russia
Timothy Kloberdanz, “The Volga Germans in Old Russia and in Western North America: Their Changing World View,” Anthropological Quarterly. Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct. 1975), pp. 209-222. First reflection paper due on Thursday.
Week Seven and Eight: Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the US
Gustavo Cano and Alexandra Delano, “The Mexican Government and Organised Mexican Immigrants in the United States: A Historical Analysis of Political Transnationalism (1848-2005), Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 33, No. 5 (July 2005), pp. 695-725.
Week Nine: Fall Break
Week Ten: African Americans
Jacqueline S. Mattis, “Religion and African American Political Life,” Political Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 2 (June 2001), pp. 263-278.
Week Eleven: Asian Americans
Helen Zia, “Surrogate Slaves to American Dreamers,” (Chapter 2) in Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People (New York: FSG, 2000), pp. 21-52.
Week Twelve: Arab Americans
Elias T. Nigam, “Arab Americans: Migration, Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics,” International Migration Review, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Autumn 1986), 629-649. Second reflection paper due on Thursday.
Week Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen: Student Oral Presentations
Week Sixteen: Final Remarks and Research Paper Due.
American Studies 260
3 Credits
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2008
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday room 225 and Thursday 312 at 8:00
Course Description: This course will examine the ethnic diversity of the United States within the historical context of colonization and immigration. The course will start with an examination of the core Anglo-Saxon or WASP ethnicity in the US. It will then deal with Native Americans, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe including the Russian Empire and their descendants, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and finally Arab Americans.
Requirements: This course will consist of lectures, class discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will have to write two short reflection papers between 600 and 800 words. The first one should be on differences between the initial British settlers and later European immigrants. The second one should be on the differences between European immigrants and later immigrants from either Latin America, Asia or the Middle East. Finally, students will be required to write a 1500 to 2000 word research paper on the history of one specific ethnic group in the US. Prior to submitting the paper, students will be required to give a short oral presentation on their chosen subject followed by a question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course packet.
Plagiarism Policy: Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Class participation – 30%
Two reflection papers – 30% (15% each)
Oral report on research paper – 10%
Written version of research paper – 30%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule:
Week One: Introduction to Course and Review of Syllabus
Week Two and Three: Is there an American Ethnicity?
Eric Kaufmann, “Ethnic or Civic Nation? Theorizing the American Case”, pp. 1-45.
Week Four: Native Americans
William H. Lyon, “The Navajos in the Anglo-American Historical Imagination, 1807-1870,” Ethnohistory, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Summer 1996), 483-509.
Week Five: Eastern and Southern European Immigrants and their Descendants
John A. Kromkowski, “Eastern and Southern European Immigrants: Expectations, Reality, and a New Agenda,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, (Sep. 1986), pp. 57-78.
Week Six: Other European Immigrants: The German Diaspora from Russia
Timothy Kloberdanz, “The Volga Germans in Old Russia and in Western North America: Their Changing World View,” Anthropological Quarterly. Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct. 1975), pp. 209-222. First reflection paper due on Thursday.
Week Seven and Eight: Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the US
Gustavo Cano and Alexandra Delano, “The Mexican Government and Organised Mexican Immigrants in the United States: A Historical Analysis of Political Transnationalism (1848-2005), Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 33, No. 5 (July 2005), pp. 695-725.
Week Nine: Fall Break
Week Ten: African Americans
Jacqueline S. Mattis, “Religion and African American Political Life,” Political Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 2 (June 2001), pp. 263-278.
Week Eleven: Asian Americans
Helen Zia, “Surrogate Slaves to American Dreamers,” (Chapter 2) in Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People (New York: FSG, 2000), pp. 21-52.
Week Twelve: Arab Americans
Elias T. Nigam, “Arab Americans: Migration, Socioeconomic and Demographic Characteristics,” International Migration Review, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Autumn 1986), 629-649. Second reflection paper due on Thursday.
Week Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen: Student Oral Presentations
Week Sixteen: Final Remarks and Research Paper Due.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Syllabus for Democratization
Democratization
ICP 329.5
ICP 329.5
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Spring Semester 2010
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Monday 2:10 room 309 and Thursday 2:10 room 229
Course Description: This course will cover the process of democratization in an historical and comparative manner. It will start by examining the history and social origins of democratic rule. After reviewing the general history and theory of democracy the course will cover the transition from authoritarian to more representative political systems in various countries during the last couple of decades. In particular the course will deal with the process of democratization in Eurasia and the Middle East. The course will analyze both those factors that facilitate greater democratization and those which impede it.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. For each of the three thematic sections students will have to write a reflection paper of between 800 and 1000 words. The first reflection paper should be on the general problems of developing and maintaining democracy. The second one should on unique problems faced in the former Soviet Union to democratizing. Finally, the third one should be on the problems faced in developing democratic systems in the Middle East. Students will also have to complete a 2500 to 3000 word research paper comparing and contrasting the process of democratization in two different countries. The paper is due the last week of class. In the three weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All of the required readings are included in the course packet.
Plagiarism Policy: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them for the assignment. If I catch them a second time I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than five words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Three short papers – 45% (15% each)
Written research paper – 20% (Due last week of class
Oral report on research – 10%
Class participation – 25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule:
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
General History and Theory of Democracy
Week Two: Read “Where and How Did Democracy Develop?: A Brief History” (chapter one), pp. 7-25 and Read “Democracy and Social Classes” (chapter one) in Tom Bottomore, pp. 12-27.
Week Three: Read “The Twisted Path” (chapter two) in Fareed Zakaria, pp. 59-87.
Week Four: Read “The Democratic Route to Modern Society” (chapter seven) in Barrington Moore, Jr., 413-432.
Week Five: Read “Globalization and Ethnic Hatred” (introduction) in Amy Chua, pp. 1-17. The first reflection paper is due on Thursday of this week.
Eurasia
Week Six: Read “Unintended Consequences: Economic Crisis and Social Awakening” (chapter four) in Robert Strayer, pp. 132-171.
Week Seven: Read “Strategies for Ethnic Accord in Post-Soviet States” (chapter thirteen) in Valery Tishkov, pp. 272-293.
Week Eight: Read “Epilogue: Memory” in Anne Applebaum, pp. 505-514 and conclusion of Lynne Viola, pp. 183-193. The second reflection paper is due on Thursday of this week.
The Middle East
Week Nine: Read Marina Ottaway “The Missing Constituency for Democratic Reform” (chapter eight), pp. 151-169.
Week Ten: Read “The Third Republic: Turkey since 1980” (chapter fifteen) in Erik J. Zurcher, pp. 292-342.
Week Eleven: Read “Iran: Revolutionary Islam in Power” (chapter three) in John L. Esposito and John O. Voll, pp. 52-77. The third reflection paper is due on Thursday of this week
Student Research
Week Twelve: Student oral presentations.
Week Thirteen: Student oral presentations continued.
Week Fourteen: Student oral presentations continued.
Week Fifteen: Written version of the research paper due and concluding remarks.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Syllabus for American Presidency
American Presidency
AMS 228
3 Credits
American Studies
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Course Description: This course will cover the history of the executive branch of the US government and focus on the person of the president from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Among the topic covered will be the relationship between the president and other branches of the federal government in particular Congress, the role of the presidency in the US rise to global power and lasting legacy of particular presidential policies.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will be required to write two 600 to 800 word reflection papers. The first reflection paper will be on the relative historical importance of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to the US presidency. The second one will be on the lasting importance of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and its subsequent influence, both positive and negative on later presidential administrations. Students will also have to write a 1400 to 2000 word research essay on the enduring legacy of one US president since World War II. The paper is due the last week of class. In the four weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course Packet. The main text for the class is Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson, The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-1993 (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2nd edition, 1994). Supplementary readings will be taken from Richard A. Watson and Norman C. Thomas, The Politics of the Presidency (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2nd edition, 1988) and Michael Nelson, ed., The Presidency and the Political System (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 4th edition, 1995).
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them for the assignment. If I catch them a second time I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than five words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers – 30% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation – 25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: The Constitution and Historical Overview
Milkis and Nelson chapter 2, Watson and Thomas chapters 2 and 5, and Nelson chapter 7
Week Three: George Washington
Milkis chapter 3
Week Four: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams.
Milkis chapter 4
Week Five: Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan.
Milkis chapter 5
Week Six: Abraham Lincoln
Milkis chapter 6
The first paper is due at the end of the week.
Week Seven: Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin A. Harrison, Grover Cleveland again, and William L. Mckinley.
Milkis chapter 7
Week Eight: Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
Milkis chapter 8
Week Nine: Woodrow Wilson
Milkis chapter 9
Week Ten: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover
Milkis chapter 10
Week Eleven: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower
Milkis chapter 11
The second paper is due at the end of the week.
Week Twelve: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Jimmy Carter
Milkis chapter 12
Week Thirteen: Ronald Reagan and George Bush the elder
Milkis chapter 13
Week Fourteen: Bill Clinton
Milkis chapter 14
Week Fifteen: Wrap up and conclusion. The final paper is due at the end of the week.
AMS 228
3 Credits
American Studies
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Course Description: This course will cover the history of the executive branch of the US government and focus on the person of the president from George Washington to Bill Clinton. Among the topic covered will be the relationship between the president and other branches of the federal government in particular Congress, the role of the presidency in the US rise to global power and lasting legacy of particular presidential policies.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will be required to write two 600 to 800 word reflection papers. The first reflection paper will be on the relative historical importance of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to the US presidency. The second one will be on the lasting importance of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and its subsequent influence, both positive and negative on later presidential administrations. Students will also have to write a 1400 to 2000 word research essay on the enduring legacy of one US president since World War II. The paper is due the last week of class. In the four weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course Packet. The main text for the class is Sidney M. Milkis and Michael Nelson, The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-1993 (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2nd edition, 1994). Supplementary readings will be taken from Richard A. Watson and Norman C. Thomas, The Politics of the Presidency (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2nd edition, 1988) and Michael Nelson, ed., The Presidency and the Political System (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 4th edition, 1995).
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them for the assignment. If I catch them a second time I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than five words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers – 30% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation – 25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: The Constitution and Historical Overview
Milkis and Nelson chapter 2, Watson and Thomas chapters 2 and 5, and Nelson chapter 7
Week Three: George Washington
Milkis chapter 3
Week Four: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams.
Milkis chapter 4
Week Five: Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan.
Milkis chapter 5
Week Six: Abraham Lincoln
Milkis chapter 6
The first paper is due at the end of the week.
Week Seven: Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin A. Harrison, Grover Cleveland again, and William L. Mckinley.
Milkis chapter 7
Week Eight: Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
Milkis chapter 8
Week Nine: Woodrow Wilson
Milkis chapter 9
Week Ten: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover
Milkis chapter 10
Week Eleven: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower
Milkis chapter 11
The second paper is due at the end of the week.
Week Twelve: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Jimmy Carter
Milkis chapter 12
Week Thirteen: Ronald Reagan and George Bush the elder
Milkis chapter 13
Week Fourteen: Bill Clinton
Milkis chapter 14
Week Fifteen: Wrap up and conclusion. The final paper is due at the end of the week.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Russian Politics Syllabus
Russian Politics
ICP 250
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, PhD
Course Description: This is a course covering the political system of the Russian Federation. In particular it will examine the political geography of the state as an ethno-territorial federation. The course will start with a review of the history of the USSR followed by specifically looking at the formation and solidification of the RSFSR, the administrative territory that became the Russian Federation. It will then cover such issues as the ethnic structure of the Russian Federation, political culture, transition from a socialist to a capitalist economy, and human rights.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will have to write two short papers during the semester. These papers should focus on the assigned readings and be from 600 to 800 words. Students will also have to complete a 1400 to 2000 word research paper on some aspect of Russian politics. The paper is due the last week of class. In the two weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of the paper followed by a question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. I will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking clearly and loudly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course packet
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing I will give them a zero for the assignment the first time. If I catch a student plagiarizing a second time in the class I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers – 30% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation -25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
General History of Russia and the USSR
Week Two Read: “Legacies: The Burdens of Russian and Soviet History” (chapter one) in Robert Strayer, Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?: Understanding Historical Change (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), pp. 21-44.
Week Three Read: “Cracks in the Foundation: The Post-Stalin Years” (chapter two) in Robert Strayer, Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?: Understanding Historical Change (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), pp. 47-83.
Week Four Read: Yuri Veselov, “Changing Trust in the History of Soviet Society,” in Heiko Schrader, ed., Trust and Social Transformation: Theoretical approaches and empirical findings from Russia (Munster: Litverlag, 2004), pp. 55-78. The first short paper is due at the end of the week.
The Formation, Structure and Ethnic Nature of the Russian Federation
Week Five Read: Yuri Slezkine, “The USSR as a Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism,” Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 414-452.
Week Six Read: “What is Rossia? Identities in Transition” (chapter twelve) in Valery Tishkov, Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union: The Mind Aflame (London: Sage, 1997), pp. 246-271.
Week Seven and Eight Read: “Rebirth of the Russian State” (chapter two) in Richard Sakwa, Russian Politics and Society (NY: Routledge, 1993), pp. 38-93.
Week Nine Read: Michael McFaul, “Lesson’s from Russia’s Protracted Transition from Communist Rule,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 114, no. 1 (Spring 1999), pp. 103-130. The second short paper is due at the end of the week.
Past Repression and Current Human Rights: is there a Link?
Week Ten: Read Arseny Roginsky, “The Embrace of Stalinism” at
http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/The-Embrace-of-Stalinism
“Epilogue: Memory” in Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps (London: Allen Lane, 2003), pp. 505-514 and Conclusion of Lynne Viola, Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements (NY: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 183-193
Week Eleven and Twelve: Read “Our New Middle Ages, Or War Criminals of all the Russias” (chapter two) in Anna Politkovskaya, trans. Arch Tait, Putin’s Russia” Life in a Failing Democracy (NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2004), pp. 25-80.
Student Research
Weeks Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Sixteen: Final research paper due and concluding remarks.
ICP 250
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, PhD
Course Description: This is a course covering the political system of the Russian Federation. In particular it will examine the political geography of the state as an ethno-territorial federation. The course will start with a review of the history of the USSR followed by specifically looking at the formation and solidification of the RSFSR, the administrative territory that became the Russian Federation. It will then cover such issues as the ethnic structure of the Russian Federation, political culture, transition from a socialist to a capitalist economy, and human rights.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will have to write two short papers during the semester. These papers should focus on the assigned readings and be from 600 to 800 words. Students will also have to complete a 1400 to 2000 word research paper on some aspect of Russian politics. The paper is due the last week of class. In the two weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of the paper followed by a question and answer session. Late papers will lose one letter grade for each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. Please turn off all cell phones while in class. I will eject any students carrying on cell phone conversations during class from the room. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking clearly and loudly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All the readings are contained in the course packet
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing I will give them a zero for the assignment the first time. If I catch a student plagiarizing a second time in the class I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers – 30% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation -25%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
General History of Russia and the USSR
Week Two Read: “Legacies: The Burdens of Russian and Soviet History” (chapter one) in Robert Strayer, Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?: Understanding Historical Change (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), pp. 21-44.
Week Three Read: “Cracks in the Foundation: The Post-Stalin Years” (chapter two) in Robert Strayer, Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?: Understanding Historical Change (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1998), pp. 47-83.
Week Four Read: Yuri Veselov, “Changing Trust in the History of Soviet Society,” in Heiko Schrader, ed., Trust and Social Transformation: Theoretical approaches and empirical findings from Russia (Munster: Litverlag, 2004), pp. 55-78. The first short paper is due at the end of the week.
The Formation, Structure and Ethnic Nature of the Russian Federation
Week Five Read: Yuri Slezkine, “The USSR as a Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism,” Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 414-452.
Week Six Read: “What is Rossia? Identities in Transition” (chapter twelve) in Valery Tishkov, Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union: The Mind Aflame (London: Sage, 1997), pp. 246-271.
Week Seven and Eight Read: “Rebirth of the Russian State” (chapter two) in Richard Sakwa, Russian Politics and Society (NY: Routledge, 1993), pp. 38-93.
Week Nine Read: Michael McFaul, “Lesson’s from Russia’s Protracted Transition from Communist Rule,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 114, no. 1 (Spring 1999), pp. 103-130. The second short paper is due at the end of the week.
Past Repression and Current Human Rights: is there a Link?
Week Ten: Read Arseny Roginsky, “The Embrace of Stalinism” at
http://www.opendemocracy.net/russia/article/The-Embrace-of-Stalinism
“Epilogue: Memory” in Anne Applebaum, Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps (London: Allen Lane, 2003), pp. 505-514 and Conclusion of Lynne Viola, Unknown Gulag: The Lost World of Stalin’s Special Settlements (NY: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 183-193
Week Eleven and Twelve: Read “Our New Middle Ages, Or War Criminals of all the Russias” (chapter two) in Anna Politkovskaya, trans. Arch Tait, Putin’s Russia” Life in a Failing Democracy (NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2004), pp. 25-80.
Student Research
Weeks Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Sixteen: Final research paper due and concluding remarks.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Syllabus for Conflicts in the Caucasus
Military Conflicts in Asia: Conflicts in the Caucasus
ICP 410.3
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday room 308 and Friday room 216 at 3:35 pm
Course Description: This course will cover the five major military conflicts that have erupted in the Caucasus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. These conflicts are the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh, the two wars in Chechnya between pro-independence forces and the Federal government of Russia, and the conflicts between the Georgian government and secessionist movements in Abkhazia and Ossetia. The class will focus on the roots of these conflicts in the Russian Empire and USSR and concentrate on the historical, ethnic and geographic factors involved in sustaining continuing hostilities.
Requirements: The grade for this course will be based upon one geography test, two oral presentations and two papers. At the end of the third week I will administer a test on the political geography of the Caucasus. Students will be asked to identify the various political units of the Caucasus and their administrative capitals on a map. This test will form 10% of the total grade. Most of the course will be centered on student presentations. To this end students must give two oral presentations on a single conflict in the Caucasus. These reports are to be based upon written reports due exactly one week after the oral presentations. Presentations must be given on the day for which they are assigned. For the first set of reports students must have at least three sources for the oral presentation and five for the written paper. The first report and paper should provide a basic historical background to the conflict. This information should include the participants, their motives and goals, and the key events of the conflict. The oral presentations should be at least ten minutes long and no longer than fifteen minutes. The first written paper should be between 2000 and 2500 words. The second oral report should have at least five sources and the second paper ten sources. The second report and paper should expand upon the first one and deal with the reasons behind the prolongation of the conflict, international involvement in the conflict, and possible solutions to the conflict. The second oral report should also be between ten and fifteen minutes. The second written paper should be between 2500 and 3000 words. Finally, students are expected to actively participate in asking questions and commenting on the presentations of other students. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: Each week that there are presentations the students presenting are responsible for selecting the possible readings for the class. For the first presentation they should select three articles. For the second presentation they should select five. All presenters are to provide me with a list of their selected articles the week before their presentation. That way I can read the articles and judge whether they are appropriate. I will then assign at least one of the articles provided to me by the presenters to the entire class to read each week. Please only select academic journal articles. The easiest way to do this is to use JSTOR and EBSCOhost. Please avoid submitting articles posted on the internet that have not first been published in a peer reviewed academic journal. Providing me with appropriate articles a week in advance will form a significant component of the grade for the oral presentations. Failure to provide me with the requisite number of articles a week before the presentation will result in a 10% reduction of the grade for the oral report.
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them for the assignment. If I catch them a second time I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than five words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Geography Test: 10%
First Oral Report: 10%
First Written Paper: 20%
Second Oral Report: 20%
Second Written Paper: 30%
Class Participation: 10%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule:
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Week Two: Geography, Ethnicity and History of the Caucasus
Week Three: Geography Test
Week Four: First presentations on Nagorno Karabakh.
Week Five: First presentations on the First Chechen War.
Week Six: First presentations on Abkhazia.
Week Seven: First presentations on the Second Chechen War.
Week Eight: First presentations on Ossetia.
Week Nine: Review of material presented so far.
Week Ten: Second presentations on Nagorno Karabakh.
Week Eleven: Second presentations on the First Chechen War.
Week Twelve: Second presentations on Abkhazia.
Week Thirteen: Second presentations on the Second Chechen War.
Week Fourteen: Second presentations on Ossetia.
Week Fifteen: Wrap up and conclusion. The final paper is due at the end of week fifteen.
ICP 410.3
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday room 308 and Friday room 216 at 3:35 pm
Course Description: This course will cover the five major military conflicts that have erupted in the Caucasus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. These conflicts are the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh, the two wars in Chechnya between pro-independence forces and the Federal government of Russia, and the conflicts between the Georgian government and secessionist movements in Abkhazia and Ossetia. The class will focus on the roots of these conflicts in the Russian Empire and USSR and concentrate on the historical, ethnic and geographic factors involved in sustaining continuing hostilities.
Requirements: The grade for this course will be based upon one geography test, two oral presentations and two papers. At the end of the third week I will administer a test on the political geography of the Caucasus. Students will be asked to identify the various political units of the Caucasus and their administrative capitals on a map. This test will form 10% of the total grade. Most of the course will be centered on student presentations. To this end students must give two oral presentations on a single conflict in the Caucasus. These reports are to be based upon written reports due exactly one week after the oral presentations. Presentations must be given on the day for which they are assigned. For the first set of reports students must have at least three sources for the oral presentation and five for the written paper. The first report and paper should provide a basic historical background to the conflict. This information should include the participants, their motives and goals, and the key events of the conflict. The oral presentations should be at least ten minutes long and no longer than fifteen minutes. The first written paper should be between 2000 and 2500 words. The second oral report should have at least five sources and the second paper ten sources. The second report and paper should expand upon the first one and deal with the reasons behind the prolongation of the conflict, international involvement in the conflict, and possible solutions to the conflict. The second oral report should also be between ten and fifteen minutes. The second written paper should be between 2500 and 3000 words. Finally, students are expected to actively participate in asking questions and commenting on the presentations of other students. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: Each week that there are presentations the students presenting are responsible for selecting the possible readings for the class. For the first presentation they should select three articles. For the second presentation they should select five. All presenters are to provide me with a list of their selected articles the week before their presentation. That way I can read the articles and judge whether they are appropriate. I will then assign at least one of the articles provided to me by the presenters to the entire class to read each week. Please only select academic journal articles. The easiest way to do this is to use JSTOR and EBSCOhost. Please avoid submitting articles posted on the internet that have not first been published in a peer reviewed academic journal. Providing me with appropriate articles a week in advance will form a significant component of the grade for the oral presentations. Failure to provide me with the requisite number of articles a week before the presentation will result in a 10% reduction of the grade for the oral report.
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them for the assignment. If I catch them a second time I will fail them from the class. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than five words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, endnote or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, endnote or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Geography Test: 10%
First Oral Report: 10%
First Written Paper: 20%
Second Oral Report: 20%
Second Written Paper: 30%
Class Participation: 10%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule:
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Week Two: Geography, Ethnicity and History of the Caucasus
Week Three: Geography Test
Week Four: First presentations on Nagorno Karabakh.
Week Five: First presentations on the First Chechen War.
Week Six: First presentations on Abkhazia.
Week Seven: First presentations on the Second Chechen War.
Week Eight: First presentations on Ossetia.
Week Nine: Review of material presented so far.
Week Ten: Second presentations on Nagorno Karabakh.
Week Eleven: Second presentations on the First Chechen War.
Week Twelve: Second presentations on Abkhazia.
Week Thirteen: Second presentations on the Second Chechen War.
Week Fourteen: Second presentations on Ossetia.
Week Fifteen: Wrap up and conclusion. The final paper is due at the end of week fifteen.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Migration and Borders Syllabus
Migration and Borders
ICP 329.5
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 10:50 am
Course Description: This course will cover the topic of cross border migration. It will concentrate primarily upon the movement of people across international borders. However, it will also briefly cover the role of internal state borders with regards to forced migration in the USSR during the 1940s. The class will deal with various types of international migration in the 20th and 21st centuries including labor migration, forced migration and ethnic “return” migration. The course will emphasize the effects of state policies upon migrants in both countries of emigration and immigration. Case studies will be drawn from the US-Mexican border, Europe, the USSR and its successor states and Palestine.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will be required to write three 600 to 800 word reflection papers. They will have to write one paper on each of the three types of migration covered in this course: labor migration, forced migration and return migration. Each of these papers should engage with one or more of the readings assigned for the topic. They will also have to write a 2500 to 3000 word essay on one specific case of migration. The paper is due the last week of class. In the five weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Please see the separate handout on late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All of the required readings are included in the course packet.
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Three Short Papers – 45% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation – 10%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week one: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Crossing the Border
Week Two: Read “Border Crossings and the Transformation of Value and Valuers” (chapter six) in Hasting Donnan and Thomas M. Wilson, Borders: Frontiers of Identity, Nation and State (Oxford, UK: Berg, 1999), pp. 107-127.
Week Three: Read “Frontiers and Migration” (chapter five) in Malcolm Anderson, Frontiers: Territory and State Formation in the Modern World (Cambridge, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), pp. 127-150.
Labor Migration
Week Four: Read Thomas J. Espenshade, “Unauthorized Immigration to the United States,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21 (1995), pp. 195-216.
Week Five: Read “Europe’s Immigrant Integration Crises,” (chapter one) in Patrick Ireland, Becoming Europe: Immigration, Integration and the Welfare State (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004), pp. 1-26. The first paper is due Thursday.
Ethnic Cleansing
Week Six: Read “Forced Migrations: Prehistory and Classification” (chapter two) in Pavel Polian, Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2004), pp. 17-48.
Week Seven: Read Elza-Bair Guchinova, “Deportation of the Kalmyks (1943-1956): Stigmatized Ethnicity,” (chapter seven) in Uyama Tomohiko, ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Slavic Eurasian Studies, no. 14 (Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007), pp. 187-221.
Week Eight: Read Introduction and Piotr Pykel, “The Expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia,” (chapter one) in Steffen Prausser and Arfon Rees, eds., The Expulsion of the ‘German’ Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War (Florence, Italy: European University Institute, 2004), pp. 1-20.
Week Nine: Read Rosemarie M. Esber, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72. The second paper is due Thursday.
Ethnic “Return” Migration
Week Ten: Read “Did they jump or were they pushed?” (chapter one) in Hilary Pilkington, Migration, Displacement and Identity in Post-Soviet Russia (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 3-22.
Week Eleven: Read “18 May 1944: The Deportation of Crimean Tatars” (chapter one) in Forced Migration Project of the Open Society Institute, Crimean Tatars: Repatriation and Conflict Prevention, (New York: Open Society Institute, 1996, pp. 11-28.
Week Twelve: Read Rainer Ohliger and Rainer Munz, “Minorities into Migrants: Making and Un-Making Central and Eastern Europe’s Ethnic German Diasporas,” Diaspora, vol. 11, no. 1 (2002), pp. 45-83. Watch the documentary, Through the Red Gate. The third paper is due Thursday.
Student Research
Week Thirteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Fourteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Fifteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Sixteen: Student oral presentations continued.
Week Seventeen: Written version of the research paper due and concluding remarks.
ICP 329.5
3 credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University of Central Asia
Fall Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 10:50 am
Course Description: This course will cover the topic of cross border migration. It will concentrate primarily upon the movement of people across international borders. However, it will also briefly cover the role of internal state borders with regards to forced migration in the USSR during the 1940s. The class will deal with various types of international migration in the 20th and 21st centuries including labor migration, forced migration and ethnic “return” migration. The course will emphasize the effects of state policies upon migrants in both countries of emigration and immigration. Case studies will be drawn from the US-Mexican border, Europe, the USSR and its successor states and Palestine.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussion, short writing assignments, an oral report and a research paper. Students will be required to write three 600 to 800 word reflection papers. They will have to write one paper on each of the three types of migration covered in this course: labor migration, forced migration and return migration. Each of these papers should engage with one or more of the readings assigned for the topic. They will also have to write a 2500 to 3000 word essay on one specific case of migration. The paper is due the last week of class. In the five weeks prior to this deadline each student will be required to give a short oral presentation on the subject of their paper followed by a short question and answer session. Late papers will lose ten percent each day they are late. Please see the separate handout on late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: All of the required readings are included in the course packet.
Policy on Plagiarism and Citations: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Three Short Papers – 45% (15% each)
Written research paper – 30% (Due last week of class)
Oral report on research – 15%
Class participation – 10%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week one: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus
Crossing the Border
Week Two: Read “Border Crossings and the Transformation of Value and Valuers” (chapter six) in Hasting Donnan and Thomas M. Wilson, Borders: Frontiers of Identity, Nation and State (Oxford, UK: Berg, 1999), pp. 107-127.
Week Three: Read “Frontiers and Migration” (chapter five) in Malcolm Anderson, Frontiers: Territory and State Formation in the Modern World (Cambridge, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), pp. 127-150.
Labor Migration
Week Four: Read Thomas J. Espenshade, “Unauthorized Immigration to the United States,” Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21 (1995), pp. 195-216.
Week Five: Read “Europe’s Immigrant Integration Crises,” (chapter one) in Patrick Ireland, Becoming Europe: Immigration, Integration and the Welfare State (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004), pp. 1-26. The first paper is due Thursday.
Ethnic Cleansing
Week Six: Read “Forced Migrations: Prehistory and Classification” (chapter two) in Pavel Polian, Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR (Budapest: Central European University Press, 2004), pp. 17-48.
Week Seven: Read Elza-Bair Guchinova, “Deportation of the Kalmyks (1943-1956): Stigmatized Ethnicity,” (chapter seven) in Uyama Tomohiko, ed., Empire, Islam, and Politics in Central Eurasia, Slavic Eurasian Studies, no. 14 (Sapporo, Japan: Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University, 2007), pp. 187-221.
Week Eight: Read Introduction and Piotr Pykel, “The Expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia,” (chapter one) in Steffen Prausser and Arfon Rees, eds., The Expulsion of the ‘German’ Communities from Eastern Europe at the End of the Second World War (Florence, Italy: European University Institute, 2004), pp. 1-20.
Week Nine: Read Rosemarie M. Esber, “Rewriting the History of 1948: The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Question Revisited,” Holy Land Studies, vol. 4, no. 1 (2005), pp. 55-72. The second paper is due Thursday.
Ethnic “Return” Migration
Week Ten: Read “Did they jump or were they pushed?” (chapter one) in Hilary Pilkington, Migration, Displacement and Identity in Post-Soviet Russia (London: Routledge, 1998), pp. 3-22.
Week Eleven: Read “18 May 1944: The Deportation of Crimean Tatars” (chapter one) in Forced Migration Project of the Open Society Institute, Crimean Tatars: Repatriation and Conflict Prevention, (New York: Open Society Institute, 1996, pp. 11-28.
Week Twelve: Read Rainer Ohliger and Rainer Munz, “Minorities into Migrants: Making and Un-Making Central and Eastern Europe’s Ethnic German Diasporas,” Diaspora, vol. 11, no. 1 (2002), pp. 45-83. Watch the documentary, Through the Red Gate. The third paper is due Thursday.
Student Research
Week Thirteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Fourteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Fifteen: Student oral presentations.
Week Sixteen: Student oral presentations continued.
Week Seventeen: Written version of the research paper due and concluding remarks.
Political History of the USSR Syllabus
Political History of the USSR
ICP 255
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Spring Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 2:10 pm.
Course Description: This course is an introductory survey course to the political history of the Soviet Union. It will cover the political, economic and social changes in the USSR from the time of its founding until its collapse. Important political events that will be covered include the Bolshevik Revolution, the Civil War, the collectivization of agriculture, the Great Terror, World War II, and the reforms of the Khrushchev era. Special emphasis will be given to the multinational nature of the Soviet Union. In particular the course will pay attention to how different nationalities in the USSR experienced and remembered the events covered in class.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussions, short writing assignments, and a research paper. There will be two short 600 to 800 word papers due. The first one will be on collectivization and dekulakization. The second one will be on some aspect of World War II in the Soviet Union. Students will also have to complete a 1400 to 2000 word research paper on the history of their family in the USSR. Students may substitute a research paper on a different subject in consultation with the instructor. This paper is due the last week of class. All late papers will lose ten percent for each day they are late. Please see the separate handout regarding late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The primary text book for this class is Geoffry Hosking’s, The First Socialist Society: The History of the Soviet Union from Within (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993). In addition to this book there are a number of shorter readings that will be provided to the students by the instructor.
Plagiarism Policy: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers - 40% (20% each)
Written research paper –30% (Due last day of class)
Class participation – 30%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: The Bolshevik Revolution.
Chapters 1 and 2 in Hosking, pp. 15-56.
Week Three: War Communism
Chapter 3 in Hosking, pp. 57-92.
Week Four: The 1920-1921 Famine
Read: James W. Long, “The Volga Germans and the Famine of 1921,” Russian Review, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Oct., 1992), pp. 510-525.
Week Five: Nationality Policy during the 1920s
Chapter 4 in Hosking, pp. 93-118 and read Yuri Slezkine, “The USSR as Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism,” Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 414-452.
Week Six: Economic Transformation in the 1930s.
Chapters 5 and 6 in Hosking, pp. 119-182.
Week Seven: Destruction of the “Kulaks”
Read: Lynne Viola, “The Other Archipelago: Kulak Deportations to the North in 1930,” Slavic Review, Vol. 60, no. 4 (winter 2001), pp. 730-755. Watch the video, Through the Red Gate. The first paper is due on Thursday.
Week Eight: The Great Terror
Chapter 7 in Hosking, pp. 183-204 and read James Morris, “The Polish Terror: Spy Mania and Ethnic Cleansing in the Great Terror,” Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 56, No. 5 (July 2004), pp. 751-766.
Week Nine: The USSR on the Eve of the Great War
Chapters 8 and 9 in Hosking, pp. 205-260.
Week Ten: World War II
Chapter 10 in Hosking, pp. 263-295.
Week Eleven: World War II Continued
Read: Viktor Krieger, “Patriots or Traitors? – The Soviet Government and the ‘German Russians’ After the Attack on the USSR by National Socialist Germany” in Karl Schlogel, ed., Russian-German Special Relations in the Twentieth Century: A Closed Chapter? (New York: Berg Publishers, 2006), pp. 133-163.
Week Twelve: Late Stalinism
Chapter 11 in Hosking, pp. 296-325 and read Nicolas Werth, “The ‘Chechen problem’: Handling an Awkward Legacy, 1918-1958,” Contemporary European History, no. 15, 2006, pp. 347-366. The second paper is due on Thursday.
Week Thirteen: Khrushchev
Chapter 12 in Hosking, pp. 326-362.
Week Fourteen: The Era of Stagnation
Chapter 13 in Hosking, pp. 363-401 and read H.M. Joo, “Voices of Freedom: Samizdat,” Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 56, No. 4, June 2004, pp. 571-594.
Week Fifteen: Nationality in the USSR after World War II
Chapter 14 in Hosking, pp. 402-445 and read Anatoly Khazanov, “People with Nowhere to Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks,” (chapter 7) in After the USSR: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Politics in the Commonwealth of Independent States (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), pp. 192-210.
Week Sixteen: The End of the Soviet Union
Chapter 15 in Hosking, pp. 446-501.
Week Seventeen: Research paper due and concluding remarks.
ICP 255
3 Credits
International and Comparative Politics
American University Central Asia
Spring Semester 2009
J. Otto Pohl, Ph.D.
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 2:10 pm.
Course Description: This course is an introductory survey course to the political history of the Soviet Union. It will cover the political, economic and social changes in the USSR from the time of its founding until its collapse. Important political events that will be covered include the Bolshevik Revolution, the Civil War, the collectivization of agriculture, the Great Terror, World War II, and the reforms of the Khrushchev era. Special emphasis will be given to the multinational nature of the Soviet Union. In particular the course will pay attention to how different nationalities in the USSR experienced and remembered the events covered in class.
Requirements: The course will consist of assigned readings, lectures, discussions, short writing assignments, and a research paper. There will be two short 600 to 800 word papers due. The first one will be on collectivization and dekulakization. The second one will be on some aspect of World War II in the Soviet Union. Students will also have to complete a 1400 to 2000 word research paper on the history of their family in the USSR. Students may substitute a research paper on a different subject in consultation with the instructor. This paper is due the last week of class. All late papers will lose ten percent for each day they are late. Please see the separate handout regarding late papers. Students must come to class on time. Being more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence. Students will lose one letter grade after four unexcused absences and fail the course after seven. Written proof of an emergency from a doctor or other appropriate authority is required for an absence to be excused. No mobile phones are to be visible during class. They are to be out of sight and turned off. I will eject any student from class that has a visible cell phone or whose cell phone rings during class. This will count as an unexcused absence. Finally, I have a significant hearing loss and may have to ask people to repeat their questions or statements from time to time. You can minimize this by speaking loudly and clearly. This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.
Readings: The primary text book for this class is Geoffry Hosking’s, The First Socialist Society: The History of the Soviet Union from Within (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993). In addition to this book there are a number of shorter readings that will be provided to the students by the instructor.
Plagiarism Policy: I have a zero tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. If I catch any student plagiarizing once I will fail them from the course and recommend to the chairman of the ICP department that they be expelled from the program. Plagiarism includes any verbatim copying of from a source without using quotation marks or setting the text up as an indented single spaced block quotation. If I find that more than four words in a row in your paper show up in the same order in a Google search and you do not have the words in quotation marks or set up as a block quotation I will fail you. Putting a footnote, end note or other citation after the copied words without the quotation marks or block quotation form is still plagiarism, you are claiming to have paraphrased verbatim text, and you will still receive an F for the course and be recommended for expulsion from ICP. Taking text from a source without citing it and rearranging the words so that it does not show up in a verbatim Google search is also plagiarism. I will also do Google searches to see if you have taken text and merely rearranged the words. You must either paraphrase the sentence by putting it completely in your own words and citing it with the proper footnote, end note or in text citation or quote the actual text verbatim complete with the proper citation. Completely paraphrasing sentences in your own words, but neglecting to cite the source of the information is also plagiarism. All information that would not be known to the average person on the street with no university education must be cited. When in doubt always cite a legitimate source. Wikipedia is not a legitimate source. Books published by university presses and academic journal articles found on JSTOR are legitimate sources. Other sources may or may not be legitimate. If you have questions about whether a particular source is legitimate you can ask me. Using Wikipedia or other illegitimate sources will result in a reduction of one letter grade for each citation in a paper.
Grading:
Two short papers - 40% (20% each)
Written research paper –30% (Due last day of class)
Class participation – 30%
Grading Scale:
100-96 = A
95-91 = A-
90-86 = B+
85-81 = B
80-76 = B-
75-71 = C+
70-66 = C
65-61 = C-
60-56 = D+
55-51 = D
50-46 = D-
45 and lower = F
Class Schedule
Week One: Introduction to the course and review of the syllabus.
Week Two: The Bolshevik Revolution.
Chapters 1 and 2 in Hosking, pp. 15-56.
Week Three: War Communism
Chapter 3 in Hosking, pp. 57-92.
Week Four: The 1920-1921 Famine
Read: James W. Long, “The Volga Germans and the Famine of 1921,” Russian Review, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Oct., 1992), pp. 510-525.
Week Five: Nationality Policy during the 1920s
Chapter 4 in Hosking, pp. 93-118 and read Yuri Slezkine, “The USSR as Communal Apartment, or How a Socialist State Promoted Ethnic Particularism,” Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 414-452.
Week Six: Economic Transformation in the 1930s.
Chapters 5 and 6 in Hosking, pp. 119-182.
Week Seven: Destruction of the “Kulaks”
Read: Lynne Viola, “The Other Archipelago: Kulak Deportations to the North in 1930,” Slavic Review, Vol. 60, no. 4 (winter 2001), pp. 730-755. Watch the video, Through the Red Gate. The first paper is due on Thursday.
Week Eight: The Great Terror
Chapter 7 in Hosking, pp. 183-204 and read James Morris, “The Polish Terror: Spy Mania and Ethnic Cleansing in the Great Terror,” Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 56, No. 5 (July 2004), pp. 751-766.
Week Nine: The USSR on the Eve of the Great War
Chapters 8 and 9 in Hosking, pp. 205-260.
Week Ten: World War II
Chapter 10 in Hosking, pp. 263-295.
Week Eleven: World War II Continued
Read: Viktor Krieger, “Patriots or Traitors? – The Soviet Government and the ‘German Russians’ After the Attack on the USSR by National Socialist Germany” in Karl Schlogel, ed., Russian-German Special Relations in the Twentieth Century: A Closed Chapter? (New York: Berg Publishers, 2006), pp. 133-163.
Week Twelve: Late Stalinism
Chapter 11 in Hosking, pp. 296-325 and read Nicolas Werth, “The ‘Chechen problem’: Handling an Awkward Legacy, 1918-1958,” Contemporary European History, no. 15, 2006, pp. 347-366. The second paper is due on Thursday.
Week Thirteen: Khrushchev
Chapter 12 in Hosking, pp. 326-362.
Week Fourteen: The Era of Stagnation
Chapter 13 in Hosking, pp. 363-401 and read H.M. Joo, “Voices of Freedom: Samizdat,” Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 56, No. 4, June 2004, pp. 571-594.
Week Fifteen: Nationality in the USSR after World War II
Chapter 14 in Hosking, pp. 402-445 and read Anatoly Khazanov, “People with Nowhere to Go: The Plight of the Meskhetian Turks,” (chapter 7) in After the USSR: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Politics in the Commonwealth of Independent States (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), pp. 192-210.
Week Sixteen: The End of the Soviet Union
Chapter 15 in Hosking, pp. 446-501.
Week Seventeen: Research paper due and concluding remarks.
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