OVERVIEW

The origins of Russian Populism

Using a methodology that draws on the political, cultural and social history of the 19th century, the course analyzes the origins of Russian Populism, that movement around which the entire discontented and rebellious Russia of the mid-19th century moved, by students and isolated intellectuals to the first socialist and revolutionary groups.

Ranging from the analysis of the political and social institutions of the time to the study of culture, the lessons will focus on the characteristics of a world affected, then as now, by turbulent changes.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aim of the course is equipping students with a thorough knowledge of the history of Russia from the 9th century to the present day. The main focus will be on the history of the different cultures and religions of the Russian world in modern and contemporary age. Great attention is paid to the acquisition of a method of critical interpretation of historiographical literature.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The objective of the teaching is to provide students with a detailed picture of the historical, political, economic and social situation of Russia at the time of Alexander II. The aim is to provide students with an adequate understanding of the Russian state and society and their connection with the situation of other state structures in Europe and Asia.

The student will have to acquire a profound knowledge of the period of Russian history characterized by the battle for the liberation of the serf peasants, demonstrating the ability to adopt the specific technical language of the discipline, to know the political, social and cultural events and dynamics of the Russian Empire at mid-nineteenth century.

Furthermore, the student must demonstrate that he has acquired a good understanding of the methods of analysis and interpretation of the great processes of nineteenth-century Russian history both from the point of view of internal politics and that of culture and religion and that he possesses adequate knowledge of the main historiographical debates around the key themes of the course with the aim of being able to evaluate the main problems of 19th century Russia.

In particular, at the end of the course the student will be able to:

communicate effectively in written and oral form, adapting one's communication to the context

develop your imagination and creativity;

demonstrate critical reflection and strategic thinking.

PREREQUISITES

To effectively address the teaching contents, a basic knowledge of European history and the history of culture in the 19th century is desirable.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons will take place in person. Only for those who expressly request it at the beginning of the course, it will be possible to follow the lessons remotely (in streaming via the Teams platform). In this case, you will be considered for all intents and purposes not attending and the program to take will be the specific one for non-attending students.

During the lectures considerable use will be made of slides, in order to better memorize the dates, the concepts and the phases of 19th century Russian history. Historical and geographical films and maps will also be used.

Students will be supported in their learning by teaching materials and resources related to the lectures and made available on  a website (Aulaweb).

In particular, the use of a didactic for projects and of the methodology of the debate is envisaged

For students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities (SLD).

Students with disabilities or SLD are reminded that in order to request adaptations during the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, well in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, an email must be sent to the teacher with whom the exam will be taken, copying both the School Contact Teacher for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (contact email) and the Sector indicated above. In the email you must specify:

the name of the course

the date of the exam

the surname, name and student number

the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The contact person will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the exam date in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, if you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for studying), if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.

For further information on the request for services and adaptations, please consult the document: https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course aims to provide the knowledge necessary to address the themes and problems of Russian and Eastern European history in the mid-19th century, and in particular during the reigns of Nicholas I (1825-1855) and Alexander II (1855-1881) .

The teaching program includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:

- The Decembrist movement

- Nicholas I: conservative or reformer?

- Bureaucrats, writers, academics

- The discontent of the nobility

- The formation of the intelligentsia

- Channels for expressing public opinion

- The Slavophiles and the Westerners

- The accession to the throne of Alexander II

- The politics of emancipation

- Herzen and Chernyshevsky

- The translation of the principles into the law of liberation

- Russian society after emancipation

- Historical judgment

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reading list for students for whom this course is worth 6 ECTS

Attending students:

Franco Venturi, Il populismo russo. Herzen, Bakunin, Černyševskij, vol. 1, Milano, Mimesis Edizioni, 2021 (selected pages).

Marco Natalizi, Il caso Černyševskij, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2006

Non-attending students:

Non-attending students are asked to contact the teacher to agree on the inclusion of an additional text in addition to those provided for in the program.

Reading list for students for whom this course is worth 9 ECTS

Attending students:

Isaiah Berlin, Il riccio e la volpe e altri saggi, Milano, Adelphi, 1986 (selected pages).

Franco Venturi, Il populismo russo. Herzen, Bakunin, Černyševskij, vol. 1, Milano, Mimesis Edizioni, 2021 (selected pages).

Marco Natalizi, Il caso Černyševskij, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2006

Non-attending students:

Non-attending students are asked to contact the teacher to agree on the inclusion of an additional text in addition to those provided for in the program.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARCO NATALIZI (President)

EMILIANO BERI

GURI SCHWARZ (Substitute)

ROBERTO SINIGAGLIA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

17th September 2024

h. 15.00-17.00

Aula 5 via Balbi 2

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral Exams:

The required knowledge will be verified through a final oral exam. The student will have to answer four / five open questions on the topics examined during the course.

The oral exam will verify:
• the effective acquisition of the knowledge imparted by the course on the history of Russia in the 19th century, the ability to place individual historical events within the broader international context, (15/30)
• the ability to make causal connections between historical events in the political, social and cultural fields, knowledge of historiographical debates, (10/30)
• the quality of the presentation, the acquisition of the correct vocabulary of the discipline (5/30).

In addition, the most important topics will be debated during some of the lectures with the aim of preparing the students for the oral exam.

For students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities (SLD).

Students with disabilities or SLD are reminded that in order to request adaptations during the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, well in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, an email must be sent to the teacher with whom the exam will be taken, copying both the School Contact Teacher for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (contact email) and the Sector indicated above. In the email you must specify:

the name of the course

the date of the exam

the surname, name and student number

the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The contact person will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the exam date in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, if you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for studying), if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.

For further information on the request for services and adaptations, please consult the document: https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The actual achievement of the expected learning outcomes will be verified by verifying the following:

• knowing how to adopt the specific technical language of the discipline, knowledge of the events and political, social and cultural dynamics of the Russian Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century, ability to place individual historical events within the broader international context, in order to demonstrate the effective acquisition of the knowledge imparted by teaching about the history of Russia of the 19th century, (15/30)
• the ability to make causal connections between historical events in the political, social and cultural spheres, knowledge of historiographical debates, in order to demonstrate a good understanding of the methods of analysis and interpretation of the great processes of Russian history of the nineteenth century both from the point of view of internal politics and from that of culture (10/30)
• the acquisition of the correct vocabulary of the discipline (5/30).

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Curriculum of the Lecturer

Marco Natalizi (1963) is Associated Professor in History of Eastern Europe. After graduating at the University of Pisa he was trained at the Universities of Florence and Siena. His most significant publications are: Il burattinaio dell’ultimo Zar. Grigorij Rasputin (Salerno, 2016); Pietro il Grande. Uno zar in Europa (EDISES, 2014); L’ingresso della Russia in Europa, in Storia d’Europa e del Mediterraneo. Dal Medioevo all’età della globalizzazione, Sezione V. L’Età moderna (secoli XVI-XVIII), Vol. XII. Popoli, stati, equilibri del potere (Salerno, 2013); La rivolta degli orfani. La vicenda del ribelle Pugačëv (Donzelli, 2011); Il caso Černyševskij (Bruno Mondatori, 2006); All’ombra della legge. L’amministrazione delle comunità urbane in Russia nella metà del XVIII secolo(Bruno Mondatori, 2003); Nikolaj Gavrilovič Černyševskij, Scritti politico-filosofici, traduzione, introduzione e note a cura di Marco Natalizi (Maria Pacini Fazzi, 2001). He is member of Società Italiana per la Storia dell'Età Moderna (SISEM) and of  Società Italiana di Studi sul Secolo Diciottesimo (SISSD).