Universität Wien

240035 VO History of Russian and Soviet Anthropology (2022W)

3.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 24 - Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
ON-SITE

Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann Studierende zu einem notenrelevanten Gespräch über erbrachte Teilleistungen einladen. Plagiierte Teilleistungen führen zur Nichtbewertung der Lehrveranstaltung (Eintragung eines 'X' im Sammelzeugnis). Es kommt die Plagiatssoftware (‘Turnitin') zum Einsatz.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
Register/Deregister for this course

Details

Language: German

Examination dates

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

If possible, the course will be held in-person. Adjustments might become necessary due to distancing regulations and other measures.

  • Monday 03.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Monday 24.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Thursday 03.11. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Friday 02.12. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Thursday 15.12. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Thursday 12.01. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock
  • Thursday 26.01. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal A, NIG 4.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Russia – and indirectly Russian science – has become internationally isolated since its attack on the Ukraine. One should not forget, however, that, in the course of the 20th century, the country has developed a largely independent tradition of ethnological and anthropological knowledge production, which quantitatively (number of practitioners, research projects and publications) is among the largest of its kind internationally. Due to ideological, language and political reasons, their results – however we might evaluate them – have rarely been thoroughly analyzed and discussed in “western” contexts. This course is intended to fill an information gap and to stimulate a critical treatment of Russian/Soviet methods, theories and practices. The “new Cold War” and the developments since February 24, 2022, will be treated in so far as they affect the relationship between Russian and “western” variations of our discipline.

During the first part of the course, the following topics will be presented:
- What is an anthropological history of theory?
- An overview over the "prehistory" of Russian ethnology
- The founding of ethnological institutions in Russia
- Soviet ethnography
- Russian ethnology and anthropology in post-Soviet times

The second part of the course will include presentations and discussions. The following topics will be addressed:
- Differences and similarities between Russian and Soviet ethnology.
- Russian/Soviet ethnology and international developments
- What is usable outside Russia?
- What is "Russian" about Russian/Soviet ethnology?

Assessment and permitted materials

The central elements will be a written exam OR a written paper. You can receive bonus points for active participation in group discussions (including reaction papers).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

In order to get a positive grade, you need at least 60 out of a possible 100 points. A 'sehr gut' requires at least 90 out of 100 points (a 'gut' at least 80 points, etc.).

Examination topics

The written exam will cover everything presented in class and part of the mandatory reading list.
For the written paper you can select any topic from the "history of Russian and Soviet ethnology" (minimally 5,000 words and no less than 10 sources used).

Reading list

- Alymov, Sergei. 2011. “On the Soviet Ethnography of Soviet Life: The Case of the ‘Village of Viriatino’.” Histories of Anthropology Annual 7: 23-48.
- Elfimov, Alexei. 2007. “Russian Ethnography: Dilemmas of the Present and the Past.” Anthropological Yearbook of European Cultures 16(1): 77-100.
- Glebov, Sergey. 2014. Siberian Ruptures: Dilemmas of Ethnography in an Imperial Situation. In An Empire of Others: Creating Ethnographic Knowledge in Imperial Russia and the USSR. R. Cwetkowski and A. Hofmeister, eds. Pp. 281-310. Budapest: Central European University Press.
- Hirsch, Francine. 1997. The Soviet Union as a Work-in-Progress: Ethnographers and the Category Nationality in the 1926, 1937, and 1939 Censuses. Slavic Review 56(2): 251-278.
- Kan, Sergei. 2008. Evolutionism and Historical Particularism at the St. Petersburg Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Museum Anthropology 31(1): 28-46.
- Meurs, Wim van. 2001. “Die sowjetische Ethnographie: Jäger oder Sammler?” In: Inszenierung des Nationalen. Geschichte, Kultur und die Politik der Identitäten am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. B. Binder, W. Kaschuba, and P. Niedermüller, eds. Pp. 107-135. Alltag und Kultur; 7. Cologne: Böhlau.
- Slezkine, Yuri. 1997. Naturalists Versus Nations: Eighteenth-Century Russian Scholars Confront Ethnic Diversity. In Russia's Orient: Imperial Borderlands and Peoples, 1700--1917. D.R. Brower and E.J. Lazzerini, eds. Pp. 27-57. Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
- Tishkov, Valery A. 1992. “The Crisis in Soviet Ethnography.” Current Anthropology 33(4): 371-394.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 09.02.2023 13:49