Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies

REES 18. Understanding the Jews of Russia and Poland. 1 Unit.

A preparatory course, for field trip to Moscow and Warsaw, that would cover Russian and Polish History, former Soviet Jewry, international relations, and current social realities.

REES 23. Issues in Global Health: Russia and Eastern Europe. 1-2 Unit.

Activity course features Stanford faculty and researchers who lecture weekly on their experiences working international health issues. Focus this year will be on the global region including Russia, and East Europe.

REES 35. Films of Central Asia. 1-2 Unit.

Films with English subtitles from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. May be repeated once for credit. (AU).

REES 54A. Central Asia Through Films: A Weekly 3-Hour Seminar. 3-5 Units.

Through films this course explores major issues of contemporary peoples of Central Asia while learning fundamental concepts in cultural anthropology. In this seminar we will consider a wide range of examples, including first of all the new feature films, which will be used as a window into the modern reality and therefore could be served in a certain sense as anthropological fieldwork data. Films are prearranged by the instructor according to certain thematic subjects for in-class discussions.
Same as: ANTHRO 54A

REES 84. Zionism and the State of Israel. 3 Units.

(Same as HISTORY 184. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 184.) Hotly contested still, this course will open up the movement's ideas, practices, achievements and crises in such a way as to allow students to hear the fullest range of voices - Jewish, Arab, religious, secular, etc. It will track the movement from its appearance in the late nineteenth century until the establishment of State of Israel in 1948, and beyond.
Same as: CSRE 84, HISTORY 84, JEWISHST 84

REES 85B. Jews in the Contemporary World: Faith and Ethnicity, Visibility and Vulnerability. 3 Units.

(Same as HISTORY 185B. History majors and others taking 5 units, register for 185B.) This course explores the full expanse of Jewish life today and in the recent past. The inner workings of religious faith, the content of Jewish identify shorn of belief, the interplay between Jewish powerlessness and influence, the myth and reality of Jewish genius, the continued pertinence of antisemitism, the rhythms of Jewish economic life ¿ all these will be examined in weekly lectures, classroom discussion, and with the use of a widely diverse range of readings, films, and other material. Explored in depth will the ideas and practices of Zionism, the content of contemporary secularism and religious Orthodoxy, the impact Holocaust, the continued crisis facing Israel and the Palestinians. Who is to be considered Jewish, in any event, especially since so many of the best known (Spinoza, Freud, Marx) have had little if anything to do with Jewish life with their relationships to it indifferent, even hostile?.
Same as: CSRE 85B, HISTORY 85B, JEWISHST 85B

REES 100. Current Issues in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 1-2 Unit.

Enrollment limited to REEES students. Scholars present analyses of methodologies, challenges, and current issues in the study of Russia, E. Europe, and Eurasia.

REES 105. Central and East European Politics. 5 Units.

Focus is on how the states of Central and East Europe, including the Baltic states, have moved from communism and the Soviet Bloc to democracy, NATO and the EU. Topics include the communist legacy, transitions and their legacies, ethnic issues, and the evolution of economic and social policies, and the comparison of democratization processes in these countries to democracies in other regions, such as Latin America and southern Europe.
Same as: REES 205

REES 130. WIth God in Russia: Orthodox Christianity in the 19th and 20th Centuries. 4-5 Units.

The experience of religion, particularly Orthodoxy, under tsars and commissars. Religion as a lived experience; practice and belief in the provinces and villages, intertwining of religion and folk customs (the so-called double faith); condition of the Church before and after the Revolutions of 1917; religion under Soviet control; and liberation of the Church since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Same as: REES 330

REES 145D. Jewish American Literature. 5 Units.

A study of Jewish-American literature from its Russian roots into the present. What distinguishes it from American mainstream and minority literatures? We will consider the difficulties of displacement for the emigrant generation who struggled to sustain their cultural integrity in the multicultural American environment, and the often comic revolt of their American-born children and grandchildren against their grand)parents¿ nostalgia, trauma, and failure to assimilate. Authors: Gogol, Dostoevsky, Babel, Olsen, Paley, Yezierska, Ozick, Singer, Malamud, Spiegelman, Roth, Bellow, Segal, Baldwin.
Same as: ENGLISH 145D, JEWISHST 155D

REES 184. Zionism and the State of Israel. 5 Units.

(Same as HISTORY 84.) Hotly contested still, this course will open up the movement's ideas, practices, achievements and crises in such a way as to allow students to hear the fullest range of voices - Jewish, Arab, religious, secular, etc. It will track the movement from its appearance in the late nineteenth century until the establishment of State of Israel in 1948, and beyond.
Same as: CSRE 184C, HISTORY 184, JEWISHST 184

REES 185B. Jews in the Contemporary World: Faith and Ethnicity, Vulnerability and Visibility. 5 Units.

This course explores the full expanse of Jewish life today and in the recent past. The inner workings of religious faith, the content of Jewish identify shorn of belief, the interplay between Jewish powerlessness and influence, the myth and reality of Jewish genius, the continued pertinence of antisemitism, the rhythms of Jewish economic life ¿ all these will be examined in weekly lectures, classroom discussion, and with the use of a widely diverse range of readings, films, and other material. Explored in depth will the ideas and practices of Zionism, the content of contemporary secularism and religious Orthodoxy, the impact Holocaust, the continued crisis facing Israel and the Palestinians. Who is to be considered Jewish, in any event, especially since so many of the best known (Spinoza, Freud, Marx) have had little if anything to do with Jewish life with their relationships to it indifferent, even hostile?.
Same as: CSRE 185B, HISTORY 185B, JEWISHST 185B

REES 200. Current Issues in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 1-2 Unit.

Enrollment limited to REEES students. Scholars present analyses of methodologies, challenges, and current issues in the study of Russia, E. Europe, and Eurasia.

REES 205. Central and East European Politics. 5 Units.

Focus is on how the states of Central and East Europe, including the Baltic states, have moved from communism and the Soviet Bloc to democracy, NATO and the EU. Topics include the communist legacy, transitions and their legacies, ethnic issues, and the evolution of economic and social policies, and the comparison of democratization processes in these countries to democracies in other regions, such as Latin America and southern Europe.
Same as: REES 105

REES 208C. Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium. 1-3 Unit.

Onassis Seminar "Icons of Sound: Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium". This year-long seminar explores the creation and operations of sacred space in Byzantium by focusing on the intersection of architecture, acoustics, music, and ritual. Through the support of the Onassis Foundation (USA), nine leading scholars in the field share their research and conduct the discussion of their pre-circulated papers. The goal is to develop a new interpretive framework for the study of religious experience and assemble the research tools needed for work in this interdisciplinary field.
Same as: ARTHIST 208C, ARTHIST 408C, CLASSICS 175, MUSIC 208C, MUSIC 408C, REES 408C, RELIGST 208C, RELIGST 308C

REES 209. Democratic Transition in Ukraine: Values, Political Culture, Conflicts. 3-5 Units.

This course introduces students to issues of social and political transition in Ukraine from the early 1990s through the Orange Revolution to the Euromaidan and the present-day Russian-Ukrainian crisis in a comparative perspective. Topics to include: democratization, shifts in values, identity, dynamics of political protest and revolutions, economics, corruption, and the international security context (NATO, EU). Class discussions to be based on analysis of relevant survey data and live, online interviews with experts on selected topics.

REES 219. The Russian Economy. 4-5 Units.

Brief introduction to the economic history of Russia, general overview of the modern Russian economy with analysis of its macroeconomic features and dynamics, industrial structure, and the major institutional features that are important for understanding Russian economic development. The period of transition from Soviet-type planned economy to a market economy and market reforms (1991-1998), the period of economic growth (1999-2007), and the economic development of Russia during the current global crisis of 2008-2010. Analysis of Russia¹s social structure and social policy, labor markets, the regional structure of the economy, the role of the state, and major Russian industries (oil, metals, machinery). Emphasis on the specific institutional aspects that have shaped Russia's economic development.
Same as: ECON 119

REES 220A. Literature and Cultural Politics in the Former Yugoslavia. 3-5 Units.

Socialist Yugoslavia disintegrated after 46 years. The story is a telling one, let's read it! Literature in Yugoslavia went through transformations from socialist-realism at the beginning toward nationalist-realism at the end. To understand this process, it is crucial to relate it to its political and ideological background: social myths and taboos, questions of language, cultural and class identity, individual and collective rights. These issues will be explored through fictional texts by prominent Yugoslav writers, including Ivo Andric, Miroslav Krleza, Milos Crnjanski, Mesa Selimovic, Danilo Kis.
Same as: REES 320A

REES 220G. Demons, Witches, Old Believers, Holy Fools, and Folk Belief: Popular Religion in Russia. 4-5 Units.

19th and early 20th centuries. Peasants, parish priests, witches, possessed persons, cults and sects, old believers, saints, and women's religious communities. Nominally Christian, and members of the Orthodox Church, Russians embraced beliefs and customs that combined teaching from Church and folk traditions.
Same as: HISTORY 220G, HISTORY 320G, REES 320G

REES 224A. The Soviet Civilization. 4-5 Units.

Socialist visions and practices of the organization of society and messianic politics; the Soviet understanding of mass violence, political and ethnic; and living space. Primary and secondary sources. Research paper or historiographical essay.
Same as: HISTORY 224A, HISTORY 424A

REES 227. All Quiet on the Eastern Front? East Europe and Russia in the First World War. 3-5 Units.

Until recently history has been comparatively quiet about the experience of World War I in the east. Far from being a peripheral theater of war, however, the experiences of war on the Eastern Front were central to shaping the 20th century. Not only was the first shot of the war fired in the east, it was also the site of the most dramatic political revolution. Using scholarly texts, literature and film, this course combines political, military, cultural and social approaches to introduce the causes, conduct and consequences of World War I with a focus on the experiences of soldiers and civilians on the Eastern Front. Topics include: the war of movement, occupation, extreme violence against civilians, the Armenian genocide, population exchanges, the Russian Revolution and civil war, and the disintegration of empires and rise of nation-states.
Same as: HISTORY 227D, HISTORY 327D, REES 327

REES 231. Russia, the West and the Rest. 4 Units.

Focus on understanding the diversity of political, social, and economic outcomes in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Exploration of questions, including: Is Russia still a global power? Where does it have influence internationally, how much, and why? Developmentally, what is the relevant comparison set of countries? Is Russia's economic growth over the last decade truly similar to Brazil, China, and India or is it more comparable to Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and Kenya? How has Russia's domestic political trajectory from liberalizing country to increasingly autocratic affected its foreign policy toward Ukraine, Georgia, and other formerly Soviet states? Finally, is Russia's reemergence as an important global actor more apparent than real?.
Same as: IPS 231

REES 240. Post-Socialist Heritages: memorialisation, past mastering and nostalgia in Eurasia. 3-5 Units.

The post-Soviet story is far from resolved! While national identities and geopolitical alliances are being (re)negotiated across Eurasia, unresolved atrocities continue to reopen old wounds. Within this process the past is skillfully embraced to support and sustain conflicting political discourses. Drawing on a variety of highly topical case studies this course will explore the main dynamics and historically entrenched structures that define how the past plays out in the present since the disintegration of the Soviet Empire.
Same as: ARCHLGY 140, ARCHLGY 240

REES 244A. Practice of Everyday Life in Kazakhstan: From Nomadism to Modernity. 3-5 Units.

An interdisciplinary introduction to the historically nomadic land of Kazakhstan, its peoples and their lifestyles ¿ the practice of everyday life. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory is greater than Western Europe: it stretches from the fringes of Europe to the borders of Mongolia and China. The seminar surveys language and society, traditional economics and customary law, rituals and folk customs, local dwelling, craft and art, the cultural panorama, the historical relationship between sedentary and nomadic peoples as well as new approaches to the study of nomads in modernity. Speaking of the present time, we will follow the changing nomads in a changing world. The instructor is going to base, to the extent possible, on the extremely rich fieldwork data recently discovered in Kazakhstan -- the data is yet little known in the West. The seminar will make extensive use of audio-visual materials and films.
Same as: ANTHRO 144A

REES 247A. Folklore, Mythology, and Islam in Central Asia. 3-5 Units.

Central Asian cults, myths, and beliefs from ancient time to modernity. Life crisis rites, magic ceremonies, songs, tales, narratives, taboos associated with childbirth, marriage, folk medicine, and calendrical transitions. The nature and the place of the shaman in the region. Sources include music from the fieldwork of the instructor and the Kyrgyz epoch Manas. The cultural universe of Central Asian peoples as a symbol of their modern outlook.
Same as: ANTHRO 147A

REES 250A. Minaret and Mahallah: Women and Islam in Central Asia. 3-5 Units.

Introduction to women's culture and art in Muslim countries of Central Asia. Women, bearers of family rites and folklore, are the key figures in transmission of traditional culture and guardians of folk Islam. Women helped to keep the continuity of Islamic education in Central Asia during the harsh times of Communist dominance. The whole wealth of women's oral tradition will be demonstrated and examined to the extent possible. The course will make broad use of audio-visual materials.
Same as: ANTHRO 150A, FEMGEN 150A

REES 299. Directed Reading. 1-12 Unit.

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REES 300. MA Capstone Seminar. 1-3 Unit.

Required for and limited to REEES MA candidates. Colloquia with CREEES Director and Associate Director to assist with refinement of research topic, advisor support, literature review, research, and thesis writing.

REES 301. An Introduction to Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. 5 Units.

This seminar investigates the origins and evolution of the field and exposes students to major debates about the history, geography, politics, societies, economies, cultures, and languages of the region.

REES 301B. History and Politics in Russian and Eastern European Cinema. 5 Units.

From 1945 to the mid-80s, emphasizing Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Yugoslav contexts. The relationship between art and politics; postwar establishment of film industries; and emergence of national film movements such as the Polish school, Czech new wave, and new Yugoslav film. Thematic and aesthetic preoccupations of filmmakers such as Wajda, Jancso, Forman, and Kusturica. Permission of instructor required prior to the first day of classes.
Same as: FILMSTUD 245B, FILMSTUD 445B

REES 304G. War and Society. 4-5 Units.

How Western societies and cultures have responded to modern warfare. The relationship between its destructive capacity and effects on those who produce, are subject to, and must come to terms with its aftermath. Literary representations of WW I; destructive psychological effects of modern warfare including those who take pleasure in killing; changes in relations between the genders; consequences of genocidal ideology and racial prejudice; the theory of just war and its practical implementation; and how wars are commemorated.
Same as: HISTORY 204G, HISTORY 304G

REES 312. Socio-Economic Issues in Contemporary Russia and Eastern. 3-5 Units.

Course focus on the political dynamics of market liberalization and response to economic crisis in these emerging markets, including the sources of support and opposition to reform, the interplay between international organizations and domestic politics, and the challenges of protecting the losers of economic liberalization.

REES 313. Transformation of Socialist Societies. 3-5 Units.

A quarter-century from the fall of the Berlin Wall, we have gained broad perspective on the challenges of wholesale transformations away from socialism. This course explores the process and social consequences of opening the economies of Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and China to market forces. We will answer questions about how individuals and social systems respond to the particular challenges of rapid economic and political openings, including demographic challenges, corruption, nationalism, and growing inequality. We will compare the Eastern European and Post-Soviet experiences of these issues with the Chinese experience, and highlight the similarities and distinctions between transformations in these societies.
Same as: SOC 313A

REES 320. State and Nation Building in Central Asia. 3-5 Units.

Issues of identity, development, and security following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emergence of independent states in Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. Topics include the impact of 9/11, the spread of radical Islamist movements in the region, its growing role as a transit route for drugs, weapons, and possibly nuclear materials, the impact of the Soviet legacy, the nature of political and economic transformations, relations with neighboring countries, security challenges, and options facing U.S. policy makers.

REES 320A. Literature and Cultural Politics in the Former Yugoslavia. 3-5 Units.

Socialist Yugoslavia disintegrated after 46 years. The story is a telling one, let's read it! Literature in Yugoslavia went through transformations from socialist-realism at the beginning toward nationalist-realism at the end. To understand this process, it is crucial to relate it to its political and ideological background: social myths and taboos, questions of language, cultural and class identity, individual and collective rights. These issues will be explored through fictional texts by prominent Yugoslav writers, including Ivo Andric, Miroslav Krleza, Milos Crnjanski, Mesa Selimovic, Danilo Kis.
Same as: REES 220A

REES 320G. Demons, Witches, Old Believers, Holy Fools, and Folk Belief: Popular Religion in Russia. 4-5 Units.

19th and early 20th centuries. Peasants, parish priests, witches, possessed persons, cults and sects, old believers, saints, and women's religious communities. Nominally Christian, and members of the Orthodox Church, Russians embraced beliefs and customs that combined teaching from Church and folk traditions.
Same as: HISTORY 220G, HISTORY 320G, REES 220G

REES 327. All Quiet on the Eastern Front? East Europe and Russia in the First World War. 3-5 Units.

Until recently history has been comparatively quiet about the experience of World War I in the east. Far from being a peripheral theater of war, however, the experiences of war on the Eastern Front were central to shaping the 20th century. Not only was the first shot of the war fired in the east, it was also the site of the most dramatic political revolution. Using scholarly texts, literature and film, this course combines political, military, cultural and social approaches to introduce the causes, conduct and consequences of World War I with a focus on the experiences of soldiers and civilians on the Eastern Front. Topics include: the war of movement, occupation, extreme violence against civilians, the Armenian genocide, population exchanges, the Russian Revolution and civil war, and the disintegration of empires and rise of nation-states.
Same as: HISTORY 227D, HISTORY 327D, REES 227

REES 330. WIth God in Russia: Orthodox Christianity in the 19th and 20th Centuries. 4-5 Units.

The experience of religion, particularly Orthodoxy, under tsars and commissars. Religion as a lived experience; practice and belief in the provinces and villages, intertwining of religion and folk customs (the so-called double faith); condition of the Church before and after the Revolutions of 1917; religion under Soviet control; and liberation of the Church since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Same as: REES 130

REES 335A. Animism and Alter-Native Modernities. 5 Units.

For many years indigenous knowledges were treated as a field of research for anthropologists and as "mistaken epistemologies," i. e., unscientific and irrational folklore and childish worldviews. This old view of animism was a product of the evolutionist and anthropocentric worldview of the Enlightenment. However within the framework of ecological humanities, current interest in posthumanism, postsecularism and discussions on building altermodernity (Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri), indigenous thought is used to critique modern epistemology and develop an alternative to the Western worldview. Treating native thought as an equivalent to Western knowledge is presented as a decolonizing and liberating practice. The term alter-native modernities as response to the challenges of Euromodernity and suggests modernities that might emerge out of indigenous ways of being in the world. Comparison between literature on indigenous cultures from Latin America and from Russia (animism in Amazonia and Siberia). Following recent works by anthropologists and archaeologists such as Nurit Bird-Rose, Philippe Descola, Graham Harvey, Tim Ingold and Viveiros de Castro, new animism is treated as an alternative (relational) ontology that allows rethinking the problem of matter and agency, goes beyond human exeptionalism and embraces non-humans. Topics include: alternative and alter-native modernities; Jean Piaget's theory of childhood animism; problem of anthropomorphism and personification; indigenous knowledge and the problem of epistemic violence; vitalist materialism (Jane Bennett, Rosi Braidotti); connectedness as the principle of life (relational epistemologies and ontologies); non-human agency (Bruno Latour).
Same as: ANTHRO 335A, FRENCH 335A

REES 408C. Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium. 1-3 Unit.

Onassis Seminar "Icons of Sound: Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium". This year-long seminar explores the creation and operations of sacred space in Byzantium by focusing on the intersection of architecture, acoustics, music, and ritual. Through the support of the Onassis Foundation (USA), nine leading scholars in the field share their research and conduct the discussion of their pre-circulated papers. The goal is to develop a new interpretive framework for the study of religious experience and assemble the research tools needed for work in this interdisciplinary field.
Same as: ARTHIST 208C, ARTHIST 408C, CLASSICS 175, MUSIC 208C, MUSIC 408C, REES 208C, RELIGST 208C, RELIGST 308C

REES 409. Iconoclasm. 5 Units.

Iconoclasm, iconophobia, and aniconism as markers of cultural transformation of the Mediterranean in the 7th-9th centuries. The identity crisis in the region as the Arabs established the Umayyad caliphate, conquering the Holy Land, Egypt, and Spain. The West consolidated around the Carolingians versus the East split between the Byzantines and the Arabs. How each of these three empires emerged from the ashes of late antique culture and carved an identity out of a common cultural foundation. The course will take place in the seminar room of the Art and Architectural Library located in the Cummings Art Building.
Same as: ARTHIST 209C, ARTHIST 409, CLASSICS 158, CLASSICS 258