POLS 366: Politics of
Spring 2006
Instructor: Laman Rzayeva
Meeting time and place: NIU Rockford
campus, room #100
E-Mail: lrzayeva@yahoo.com
Course
description/objectives.
The first objective of this course is to
provide students with an introduction to the politics of the newly emerging
states of
As most of you are aware,
As much as the professor would like
each of you to dedicate your lives to the study and analysis of Russian
politics, this is not likely. Realistically, therefore, the opportunities the
class offers you to develop your analytical and communication skills may be its
greatest benefit to you. The professor recognizes that students come to this
course with extremely varied backgrounds and majors. Some will undoubtedly
bring to the course extensive background in political science, while others
will have extensive knowledge of Russian area studies. Thus the professor will
not presume any specialized background knowledge. However, the professor will
gladly assist any students who wish to pursue additional reading or research.
Required/recommended
texts.
It should soon become apparent that the
lectures are not a mere reiteration of the readings. The readings and lectures
are presented as complementary (and only sometimes overlapping) sources of
information. Lecture notes will be available from the website, which will be
given in the class.
Readings from the following texts
have been assigned as specified in the course outline. They are available at
both the Village Commons and the Holmes Student Center Bookstores.
The following seven cases have been assigned. These are
short readings and can also be purchased in either the bookstore. Copies of
each case will also be placed on reserve at the library.
News
Each Week students are required to
read at least two stories about Russian and Eurasian politics. For the news sources students are encouraged
to search Academic Universe from the university online data base (http://www.niulib.niu.edu:2450/polisci.cfm,
how to search it will be shown in the class).
Other good news sources are:
Armenia
Azerbaijan
http://www.bakutoday.net/cat.php?h=2
Belarus
http://www.belta.by/engnews.nsf
Estonia
http://www.topix.net/world/estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
http://eurasia.org.ru/index_en.shtml
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
http://www.topix.net/world/latvia
Lithuania
http://www.topix.net/world/lithuania
http://www.penki.lt/news.aspx?Lang=EN
Moldova
Russia
Embassy
of the Russian Federation in Washington Gazeta
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Moscow Times
The
President of Russia
Russia Journal Daily
Russian
News and Information Agency Novosti
St.
Petersburg Times
Vladisvostok News
Tajikistan
Eurasia.net—Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Eurasia.net—Turkmenistan
Ukraine
ForUm
Kyiv Post
Ukraine Today
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan National News Agency
Uzreport
Writing
assignments.
News Journal.
To learn more about contemporary
developments in the former Soviet Union, each student will be expected to keep
a journal of the news, that summarizes recent political developments in
Eurasia.
Each week in their journals students will be expected
to write entries for three major news articles dealing with politics of Russia
or any Eurasian country covered in this course. Articles can be taken from any
of the above-mentioned news sources. Make sure to specify source of your
article, author and date in each journal entry. Not properly cited journal
entries will be downgraded.
Each entry should cover different country. These
entries should include a brief summary of the basic development, but should
primarily consist of the student’s assessment of the implications of these
developments.
For example, what do these developments mean for that
country’s future political stability or for democracy, how would they affect
their relations with Russia, or the US or other powerful neighbors? Do
you agree with the policy being undertaken?
What is basic argument of the author? Does author provide enough
evidence to support that argument? Do you find argument convincing?
Each entry should be approximately
one page in length double spaced and standard fonts and margins (no jumbo or
minute text) and can tie together multiple "related" articles.
Journal articles should be cited in text by date, for example (www.gazeta.ru,
6 January 2004). Direct quotes must be
placed in quotes. Journal entries may not be taken verbatim from the text.
In total, students are expected to type and submit
journal entries for the first ten academic weeks of the semester (assuming that
first week starts on February 4, 2006).
Each entry is worth of 1 point,
which equals to 1 percent of the total grade. In sum, students should submit 20
journal entries, and their grade from journals will constitute 20% of their
total grade. Late
journals will be downgraded (five points will be extracted for each late of
delay).
Journals are due on March 25,
2006.
Short papers.
In addition to the journal,
students are required to write two short papers. Both papers should be 10-15
word-processed pages long (font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12 point,
double-spaced, 1 inch margins). Both papers are due on April 22, 2005. Late papers will be
downgraded (5 points will be subtracted
from grade of each paper for each day after deadline).
Papers are worth 25 points each
(50% of the total course grade).
Difference between papers is not in
their organization/format, but in their topic. First short paper should
cover any topic about the one of the problems of the post-Soviet Russia (from
1991 till now). Second short paper should cover any non-Russian former
Soviet republic from 1991 till now.
Topic chosen for the essay should
be related to the social, military, economic, environmental, gender issues,
international relations of specific governments, governmental and
non-governmental organizations and any ethnic/cultural/religious groups of the
selected country.
Papers can refer to the Internet materials, but should
rely on the academic material (books and articles from the academic journals
and relatively neutral newspapers). Papers written on the base of one source or
on the base of the electronic (Internet) material will not be accepted.
For their research papers students
can benefit from the attached list of the “Selected Bibliography”, list of
articles for discussion, as well as from any other academic material (books and
articles).
All papers should be cited properly and include
bibliography list. It can be done in any of the accepted formats (Chicago
style, MLA, etc). Here is a list of the web sites with useful advices how to
write a better research paper and what are requirements of the different
writing styles. Students are strongly encouraged to give a look at them:
Web sites about writing a paper (how to chose a topic,
how to organize paper, how to present your argument, how to quote, etc.):
http://www.charleslipson.com/How-to-write-a-thesis.htm:
http://www.dushkin.com/online/study/dgen2.mhtml
http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ewp_writingcenter/writinggde/welcome.shtml
http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html
http://www.aresearchguide.com/
http://library.ust.hk/serv/skills/libskill.html
http://library.uwf.edu/Tutorials/other_resources/writing_research_papers.htm
Web sites about different citation styles:
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
http://www.acts.twu.ca/lbr/research_essays.htm
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/tools.html
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
Students are encouraged to discuss their topic with
instructor. The best way to do it would be in the form of one-or two pages long
(for each paper) research paper proposal, where student would specify
which topic s/he is going to explore, how s/he is going to approach it, and
which sources will be used (in form of preliminary bibliography). Proposals
will not be graded, but will be returned with detailed comments. Students can
e-mail their proposals and expect an answer within two-three days.
Each paper should contain the following:
Plagiarism
Statement
"The attempt of any student to present as
his or her own work that which he or she has not produced is regarded by the
faculty and administration as a serious offense. Students are considered to
have cheated if they copy the work of another during an examination or turn in
a paper or an assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else.
Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material
from books, magazines, or other sources or if they paraphrase ideas from such
sources without acknowledging them. Students guilty of,
or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz,
or examination may receive a grade of F for the course involved and may be
suspended or dismissed from the university." Northern
Illinois University Undergraduate Catalog.
Participation
Participation grade reflects
student’s presence as well as participation. Presence is accessed through number
of absences, which, because of the limited number of class meetings,
account for 20 percent of the total course grade. For each one (1) absence,
attendance grade will be decreased by one (1) letter.
Participation also will be accessed
though weekly short (10-15 minutes) presentations of the material, which
will be assigned to the students in the previous class (one article, see
“Course schedule with articles”). In their presentations students are expected
to summarize material, present basic argument of the article, underline points,
which they have found particularly interesting and contributing to the topic of
that day lecture. Presentations account for 10 percent of the total course grade.
List of articles from which students will be able to choose for their
presentations is attached.
Statement
Concerning Students with Disabilities
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, NIU us committed to making reasonable accommodations for persons with
documented disabilities. Those students with disabilities that may have some
impact on their coursework and for which they may require accommodations should
notify the Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR) on the fourth floor of
the Health Services Building. CAAR will assist students in making appropriate
accommodations with course instructors. It is important that CAAR and
instructors be informed of any disability-related needs during the first two
weeks of the semester.
Department of Political Science
Web Site
Undergraduates are strongly
encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science web site on a regular
basis. This up-to-date, central source of information will assist students in
contacting faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and syllabi,
exploring graduate study, researching career options, tracking department
events, and accessing important details related to undergraduate programs and
activities. To reach the site, go to http://polisci.niu.edu
Extra
Points
Extra points are points which will
be added to the total grade for some additional work done for this course and
are designed to reward students willing to work harder during the semester.
Extra points can be earned by writing a very short, 2-3 double-spaced pages
long, paper on any of the articles, listed in the attached list for weekly
presentations but NOT assigned to anyone.
In their for-extra-credit papers
students should summarize basic argument of the article, and provide
commentary: which evidence does author use to support this argument, is that
evidence enough, does student find argument convincing, does student agree with
author or not and why?
Each short paper will be worth 4
points. Students can e-mail their short papers for extra credit to instructor.
Communication
Keeping in mind limited number
of days of class meeting, students are strongly encouraged to e-mail instructor
any possible question in regard to the course requirements, readings, assignment,
or anything else course-related.
Course
requirements, due dates and grades
|
Requirements |
Due date |
Percent of total course grade |
|
Number of absences |
N/A |
20 percent |
|
Presentation |
N/A |
10 percent |
|
20 Journals |
March 25, 2006 |
20 percent |
|
Short papers 1 & 2 |
April 22, 2006 |
25*2=50 percent |
|
|
|
Total=100 percent |
LINKS to
Relevant Sites:
Gazeta Online (http://www.gazeta.ru/english/)
GazetaSNG, General CIS News
(http://eng.gazetasng.ru/)
(Itar
Tass, News Agency (http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/)
Moscow News, Weekly Online (http://www.mn.ru/english/)
Moscow Times Online (http://www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/01.html)
Pravda Online (not affiliated with the Communist
Party) (http://english.pravda.ru/)
RIA-Novosti, State Run News Agency (http://en.rian.ru/rian/index.cfm)
Russian Government (http://www.gov.ru/index.html)
Russian Political Weekly, for US Radio Liberty (http://www.rferl.org/rpw/)
http://www.redeemer.on.ca/academics/polisci/courses_cis.html
http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/russian/const/constit.html
BBC
World News (www.bbc.co.uk)
Christian
Science Monitor (www.csmonitor.com)
CNN Breaking News (www.cnn.com)
The Times (London) (www.the-times.co.uk)/news/pages/
New
York Times (www.nytimes.com)
Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com )
Maps of
Russia and Eurasia
(www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/commonwealth.html)
Transitions Online (www.tol.cz)
RIA Novosti
(http://en.rian.ru)
Mosnews
(www.mosnews.com)
Pravda
(http://english.pravda.ru)
Russia Journal (www.russiajournal.com)
Moscow Times
(www.themoscowtimes.com)
St. Petersburg Times (www.sptimes.ru )
http://www.cesww.fas.harvard.edu/
Course Schedule
February 4, 2006
1 PM – 4 PM
|
1:00 - 2:25 |
|
2:25 - 2:35 break |
|
2:35 - 4:00 |
1:00 – 2:25
Introduction and Distribution of Course Syllabus
2:35 - 4:00
The Geography and Climate of Eurasia
Remington, Preface and Chapter 1
February 18, 2006
9 AM – 4 PM
|
9:00 - 10:30 |
|
10:30 – 10:45 break |
|
10:45 – 12:15 |
|
12:15 – 12:45 big break |
|
12:45 - 2:15 |
|
2:15 – 2:30 break |
|
2:30 – 4:00 |
9 – 10:30
History of Russia and Eurasia
Tsarist Period
Remington, Chapter 2
10:45 - 12:15
History of Russia and Eurasia
The Soviet Economic System
Remington, Chapter 3
12:45 – 2:15
The Soviet Political System
The Communist Party
Remington, Chapter 6
2:30 – 4:00
The Soviet Political System
The Soviet State and its collapse.
Remington, Chapter 5
March 4, 2006
9 AM – 4 PM
|
9:00 - 10:30 |
|
10:30 – 10:45 break |
|
10:45 – 12:15 |
|
12:15 – 12:45 big break |
|
12:45 - 2:15 |
|
2:15 – 2:30 break |
|
2:30 – 4:00 |
9 – 10:30
Case #3 The August Coup
10:45 – 12:15
Case #1 Summit or Standoff: Regarding Lithuania’s Bid
12:45 - 2:15
Case #2 Elena Kotova and the Moscow Privatization
Agency
2:30 – 4:00
Russia
The Executive
Kempton and Clark, Chapters 8&14
March 25, 2006
9 AM – 4 PM
NEWS JOURNALS ARE DUE!
|
9:00 - 10:30 |
|
10:30 – 10:45 break |
|
10:45 – 12:15 |
|
12:15 – 12:45 big break |
|
12:45 - 2:15 |
|
2:15 – 2:30 break |
|
2:30 – 4:00 |
9:00 – 10:30
Russia
The Legislative Branch
Remington, Chapter 8
10:45 – 12:15
Russia
The Judicial Branch (and the Bureaucracy)
12:45 – 2:15
Russia
The Politics of Federalism
Kempton and Clark , Chapters 1, 2, & 4
2:30 – 4:00
Russia
The Politics of Federalism (continued)
April 8
9 AM – 4 PM
|
9:00 - 10:30 |
|
10:30 – 10:45 break |
|
10:45 – 12:15 |
|
12:15 – 12:45 big break |
|
12:45 - 2:15 |
|
2:15 – 2:30 break |
|
2:30 – 4:00 |
9:00 – 10:30
Russia
Russian Foreign Policy
Remington, Chapter 9
10:45 – 12:15
Russia
Russian Foreign Policy (continued)
12:45 – 2: 15
Case #4 Northern Territories Controversy
2:30 – 4:00
Case #5 Up in
Arms: Russia Rocket Sales for India