VIExpert opetusohjelma 2024-2025

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 3.9.–9.10.2024 

Check the timetable from the course page.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Una Bergmane

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

This research informed course offers an introduction to the history of the USSR, paying special attention to the imperial relations between the Soviet centre and the periphery. It brings together lecturers who currently conduct novel and original research on Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian, Central Asian, Georgian, and Baltic
experiences during the Soviet period. During the first seven sessions of the course students will learn about the key topics and concepts in Soviet history such as empire, nationality, race, modernity, ideology, violence. The last 30 minutes of each session will be devoted to a primary sources analysis.

Five sessions will consist of in-depth discussions of Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian, Georgian, Central-Asian, and Baltic history during the Soviet period, led by a guest lecturers.

Through lectures, readings, class discussions, and written assignments, students will learn to analyse primary sources, develop academic writing and discussion skills, independently analyse historical processes and compile relevant materials to complete assignments. Students will not only acquire knowledge about key developments in Soviet history but also develop an understanding of the multinational character of the Soviet empire.

40 % of the grade: a 500 word primary source analysis. A list of primary sources will be provided be the instructor. During the first six sessions students will learn to analyse a primary source.

60% of the grade: a 2000-word essay. Students will be allowed to freely choose a topic for their essay, but the choice will have to be validated by the course instructor.

Course plan

1. From the Russian empire to the Soviet empire.
2. Soviet Nationality policy from Lenin to Brezhnev.
3. Soviet foreign policy from Lenin to Gorbachev
4. State violence in the USSR
5. Sexuality and gender in the USSR.
6. Economy, modernity and exploitation in the Soviet Union.
7. Crimean Tatars under the Soviet rule taught by guest instructor Martin-Oleksandr Kisly (National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”)
8. Central Asia during the Soviet period taught by guest instructor
9. Man-made famines in the Soviet Kazakhstan and Ukraine taught by guest instructor Iryna Skubii (Queens University)
10. Georgia during the Soviet period taught by guest instructor Maia Barkaia (Tbilisi State University)
11. Baltic states during the Soviet period.
12. Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place  24.10.-28.11.2024
Hybrid: Zoom and Joensuu campus (Lecturer is usually present via Zoom, Heta is always present at the campus) 

Thu 24th October 12-14
Thu 31st October 12-14
Tue 5 November 12 -14
Thu 7 November 12 - 14
Tue 12 November 12 -14
Thu 14 November 12 -14
Tue 19 November 12-14
Thu 21 November 12-14
Tue 26 November 12- 14
Thu 28 November 12 -14

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Hurskainen, Laitila, Fert, Ketola, Wasmuth

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content    

Upon completing the study unit, a successful student will

• be familiar with the main church and state actors in the Ukrainian religious landscape
• understand the role of churches and their leaders in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras
• be able to describe and compare church-state relations in Ukraine and related countries, especially in the post-Soviet era
• be capable of differentiating and explaining the Russian and Ukrainian churches’ views and actions regarding the war that started in 2022
• be able to describe the churches’ colonialization and decolonialization processes in the 20th and 21st centuries

Generic skills in this Lecture course era: knowledge processing, reflection, thinking skills, argumentation

Content

The course examines church-state relations and state religious policy in the Soviet Union, Ukraine and Russia in the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular emphasis on 

• understanding the historical background of the churches’ present positions in their relations with one another and 
• explaining the churches’ different positions during Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine from 2022 onwards.

Orthodox churches in Ukraine and its neighboring countries, especially Russia, share a common ecclesiastical tradition but have different views on the ways how to practice, live through and interpret it, in history as well as today. What kinds of narratives various churches produce to create and maintain their versions from a ‘common’ tradition? What do they emphasise, what do they ‘forget’? How do they react to the other churches’ ‘counternarratives’?

The autocephaly granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) in January 2019 indicates that differences in narrating history may produce results that necessitate other means than narratives. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine from 2022 onward has shown that churches’ existing ecclesial political choices and societal emphases, both before and during the war, have consequences for interreligious diplomacy as well as for church-state relations.

The course especially stresses that although Orthodoxy has traditionally talked in singular, the latest events in Ukraine has challenged this view. Solely the existence of several Orthodox Churches in Ukraine, and the various statements of representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate points out that one should talk about Orthodoxy in plural.

Lecture Titles (in chronological order):

1. Prof. Jennifer Wasmuth

• Between decline and rise. The Russian Orthodox Church in the 19th/20th century.
• The Russian Orthodox Church as 'The Moralist International'? A Critical Evaluation of a Recent Religious Sociological Thesis

2. Dos. Teuvo Laitila

• Ukrainian dissent between Soviet authorities and the West: a case study (Romanjuk?)
• Ukrainian domestic and diaspora nationalism and the legacy of WWII in relation to the Holocaust (since 1991)

3. Dos. Heta Hurskainen

• Russian Orthodox Church’s Human Rights discourse from 1990 onwards in its relations with Ukraine
• Spiritual Security in Ukraine and Churches Discussing Peace (2022-)

4. Dos. Mikko Ketola

• The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Its Views on the Russian Orthodox Church
• The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and Pope Francis 

5. PhD Andriy Fert 

• (Not) leaving the «Moscow Church»: Orthodox Christian parishes during the Russian Invasion
• Church History and National Identity or why does Ukraine decolonize religion?

Teaching methods

• Lectures 10 times, each 2x 45 minutes (2cr)
  • Reading or watching material given prior to lecture
  • discussions within lectures
  • learning assignment = written reflection of lectures and what has learned
• Writing assignment 3 cr
  • 5 different themes, students can choose one of these topics.
  • Based on reading materials approximately 400 pages

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 7.-10.10.2024

Students of the University of Lapland are welcome to follow the course on-site. The ExpREES students can fully participate in the lectures via live streaming.

07 October 2024, 10.00-14.00
08 October 2024, 10.00-14.00
09 October 2024, 10.00-14.00
10 October 2024, 10.00-14.00

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Olga Pushina

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content
The students will learn about the ECHR standards of human rights protection. They will also learn to analyze the developments of national public policies in historical context and in comparative perspective.

The multi-disciplinary lecture course will discuss the issues of democratic transition of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE states) that have been reflected in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) since the accession of these countries to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The course will give a comparative overview of the case law of the ECtHR regarding compliance of the CEE states with the ECHR standards of human rights protection. It will also include three case studies of policy areas that are crucial for understanding of non-compliance
of transitional policies with the ECHR (the judicial system, welfare policies, and restitution and privatization policies and their economic and social consequences).

The lectures will cover the following topics:
1) The history and impacts of the accession of the CEE states to the ECHR.
2) Overview of the CEE states’ compliance with the ECHR standards.
3) Structural problems in the judicial systems of the CEE states.
4) Reforms in the welfare sector.
5) Effects of restitution and privatization on the security of property rights.

Implementation methods: Lectures (16h). Written home examination based on the lectures and recommended literature. The questions of the home exam will be given after the lecturing course is over.

Literature: The list of recommended literature will be distributed to the registered students before the course.

Learning material: The required reading is comprised of academic literature such as books and journal articles and
relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The list of recommended literature will be distributed to the registered students before the course.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 21.10.2024 – 2.12.2024

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Rune Saugmann Andersen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The student is able to identify a wide range of issues discussed in critical approaches to peace and conflict research as well as to security studies. They include digital and visual mass surveillance practices, new patterns of political conflict fueled by digital media, the role of materiality, technology, and visuality in the understanding of peace and conflict. The student can also analyze the impact of material, technological and visual environments on issues and problems of peace, conflict and security.

Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine has made peace in Eastern Europe a problem, not the given it was for many years assumed to be. Images relate to, represent and reflect this destruction and human suffering of the war, but also facilitate creative, critical and propagandistic responses to it. Negative media reports on current events and the focus on violence in large parts of the literature on the visual construction of reality tend to create feelings of passivity, helplessness and hopelessness among observers, denying them visual agency. Widespread alternative media practices do the opposite, while image-based interactive online media puts in question the ways in which images and their spectators act together. 

In this course, we implement a new method for reflecting on the visual politics of peace and war: interactive peace imagery (IPI). We focus it on our contemporary European moment as it is reflected in the Eastern European regions most directly affected by the renewal of war and geopolitical rivalry. 

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 7.11.-12.12.2024

to 07.11.2024 14:30-16:00 Lectures via zoom
to 14.11.2024 14:30-16:00 Lectures via zoom
to 21.11.2024 14:30-16:00 Lectures via zoom
to 28.11.2024 14:30-16:00 Lectures via zoom
to 12.12.2024 14:30-16:00 Lectures via zoom

Lectures will be held via Zoom as live video streaming. Essays are submitted via Moodle. There will be two possibilities for students to return take-home exam via Moodle.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Mariya Riekkinen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content    

This course takes a human rights-based approach to carrying out international law obligations while combining a legalistic and interdisciplinary understanding of how Russia officially sees its performance in the arena of protecting human rights. After the completion of the course, the students are expected to gain the following advancements:

• deepening understanding of the place and the role of international law within Russia's legal system;
• understanding the difference in protecting collective and individual human rights in the context of Russia’s high-profile international law cases;
• realizing how the gradual decay of respect for international human rights law in Russia affected Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe - aka Ruxit;
• nuancing how Russia-driven discourse on international law differs from the universally-recognized understanding of “universality and inalienability” as the guiding principles of human rights protection. This will contribute to developing the following transferable skills: Analytical and critical thinking will be developed through exploring which central arguments justifying Russia’s non-compliance with international law can be found in modern international scholarship, e.g. the politization argument, the civilizational argument, and the Orthodox religion-based argument. Problem-solving skills will be advanced through training the analyzis of how Russia employed the above-mentioned justifications in two contexts 1. by misusing the right to self-determination when orchestrating the so-called “independence referendums” in Crimea and in East Ukraine and 2. by positing the supremacy of its own Constitution over the standards of the CoE Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). In order to develop efficient independent work skills, students will acquire knowledge and training that will enable them to research international and Russian law while applying these skills and knowledge in writing a course essay.

The course has three thematic clusters. Firstly, it focuses on the basics of international human rights protection and the place of international law in Russia’s legal system including the key set of arguments that the officials employ for circumscribing the rules of international law. Secondly, it reconstructs how Russia used its key arguments for non-compliance in the case studies of Russia’s relationships with the European Court of Human Rights for protecting individual human rights. The process of employing the said argumentation in relation to the collective human right to self-determination in the cases of what Russia terms “independence referendums” in Crimea and East Ukraine is reconstructed. Thirdly, the course provides an overview of Russia's performance in the CIS and its strategic importance for Russia.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 5.9.-10.10.2024. 

Thu 10-12 and Mon 12-14. Check the lecture halls from the course page.

In person and live stream.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Riikka Tuori, Anatoly Pinsky, Elina Kahla and visiting lecturers

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content    

This course brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who work on Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The course is a response to the wars in these two regions and a consequent need to deepen our understanding of them. It explores the questions: What is the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism? What are the dominant narratives in the history of Russian and Ukrainian Jewry? And how has the social and political landscape in Israel changed with the arrival of refugees from Ukraine as well as Russia after February 24, 2022? In addition, to bring our concerns closer to home, we ask: How has the armed conflict in Israel/Palestine reverberated in Finland? In the course, we will seek to understand the roots of the various phenomena at issue as well as their possible future development. 

Expected Learning Outcomes. Students will familiarize themselves with the history of the present-day wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East with a focus on antisemitism. The course introduces basic concepts such as antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and pogroms; and anti-Jewish accusations such as blood libel and cosmopolitanism. The course will also help students learn about the connections between the two regions, e.g., by investigating migration and other transnational phenomena. Finally, students will develop their writing skills by analyzing both fiction and nonfiction. 

• Session 1, Thursday, September 5, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa 3010—An Introduction to Antisemitism 
• Session 2, Monday, September 9, 12:15–1:45 pm, Fa 3005—Antisemitism and Russian Messianism: Pogroms, Blood Libel, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Beilis Affair
• Session 3, Thursday, September 12, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa 3010—Antisemitism and Zionism 
• Session 4, Monday, September 16, 12:15–1:45 pm, Fa 3005—What Was the Soviet Jew?
• Session 5, Thursday, September 19, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa 3010—From Pogroms to Holocaust: Memorialization in Fiction and Non-Fiction 
• Session 6, Monday, September 23, 12:15–1:45 pm, Fa 3005—Connecting the Conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East 
• Session 7, Thursday, September 26, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa 3010—Negotiating Peace in the Middle East: A Practitioner’s View
• Session 8, Monday, September 30, 12:15–1:45 pm, Fa 3005—Antisemitism in Finland 
• Session 9, Thursday, October 3, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa P673—Student Group Presentations and General Discussion
• Session 10, Thursday, October 10, 10:15–11:45 am, Fa 3010—Summary and Concluding Thoughts 

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 9.9.–17.10.2024

Check the time and place from the course pages.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Margarita Zavadskaya, Marina Vyrskaia

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course “Political Behavior Across Eurasia” aims at introducing students to ‘the demand side’ of politics focusing on citizens’ perspectives, preferences, opinion, actions, and values in a diverse region of Central and Eastern Europe and former USSR, sharing a communist and authoritarian legacy. ‘The demand side’ of politics means a primary focus on citizens, their values, political attitudes instead of intra-elite interactions. We combine substantive topics with the most illustrative case studies and bring insights and original materials from our own research projects. Thus, instead of focusing on intra-elite and international tensions (‘the supply side’ of politics), we seek to make citizens’ perspective more visible and to look at it through systematic comparison. We define political behavior as citizens’ engagement with politics considering the specificity and nature of political regimes and accounting for limited opportunities to affect politics in closed authoritarian set-ups. We emphasize, problematize and challenge the impact of post-communist and authoritarian legacies drawing on evidence-based empirical research. 

The course brings together area studies perspectives (Central-European, Russian and Eurasian studies) with comparative politics, political economy, and history. The course seeks to familiarize the students with the overall context and specifics of political behavior in the designated region given the authoritarian past/present and communist legacy. Political behavior encompasses a wide array of political phenomena - electoral behavior, values, protest, civic engagement, political activism - which will be covered within the course. Special attention is paid to the analytical tools, theories, and conceptual frameworks that will allow the students to provide meaningful comparisons and carry out independent political analysis.

The course consists of 24 contact hours, i.e. 12 lectures) covering various aspects of political behavior combining introduction of specific topics and concepts with empirical materials. The course is taught in English and is delivered by Margarita Zavadskaya (Ph.D.), Federica Prandin, Marina Vyrskaia and Aleksei Gilev (doctoral researchers at the Aleksanteri Institute). We also invite Kristiina Silvan from FIIA as an expert in Belarusian and Central Asian politics to be a guest lecturer. Prior to each lecture a list of readings will be offered via Moodle. The in-class meetings will consist of lecturing parts and seminars in order to facilitate knowledge construction, where assignments will include problem solving, practical tasks, writing a blog post, and group presentations.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 26.08.2024–13.10.2024

The course will be held at Tampere University, City Centre Campus, and on Zoom. Prior to the course, the students should choose whether they intend to take the course on campus or on Zoom; the choice stays throughout the course.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Iuliia Gataulina

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

This seven-week course aims to deepen understanding of different theoretical approaches and topics in studying political economies of the Global East. The concept of “Global East” is understood as both geographical and epistemological position of what have been also referred to as postsocialism, Eurasia, or, more narrowly, post-Soviet; Global East is sometimes described as liminal space between Global North and Global South. 

The course starts with the introductory lecture (Iuliia Gataulina; lecture title “Political economies of/in Global East: Conceptualizations, theoretical approaches, critique”) providing the conceptual basis of what political economy and theoretically different approaches of analyzing it are. Moreover, the concept of “Global East” is studied: both scholarly endorsements and critique/alternatives to it are introduced. 

Departing from the idea that Global East is characterized by liminal and understudied positionality in theorization or conceptualization of the global politico-economic processes, the course then proceeds by covering a range of different topics (labor, migration, universities, international governance and cooperation) and theoretical approaches (IPE realism, IPE liberalism, postcolonial IPE, racial capitalism, authoritarian neoliberalism) about politico-economic processes in the region (including Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia). The guest lectures also use different conceptualizations of the region endorsing or contesting the idea of “Global East”. 

Composition of the course

1. lecture – Iuliia Gataulina, Introductory lecture “Political economies of/in Global East: Conceptualizations, theoretical approaches, critique” Tuesday 27 August 12-14
2. lecture – Iuliia Gataulina “Authoritarian-neoliberal assemblages: Political economies of Russian universities and beyond” Tuesday 3 September 12-14 
3. lecture – Julie Yu Wen “China's political and economic initiatives in post-Soviet societies (Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe)” Tuesday 10 September 12-14
4. lecture – Eugenia Pesci “The management of unemployment in post-soviet Central Asia: ideas and bureaucratic practices in public employment services of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan” Tuesday 17 September 12-14
5. lecture – Anni Kangas “What makes labour migration geopolitical” Tuesday 24 September 12-14
6. lecture – Daria Krivonos “Ukrainian migration, labour, and racial capitalism” Tuesday 1 October 12-14
7. Concluding seminar – Iuliia Gataulina Tuesday 8 October 12-14

At the concluding seminar (Iuliia Gataulina), the students will present the idea papers for their essays (approx. 2 pages). The concluding seminar will allow students to share their learning from the course, to develop their ideas and argument for the concluding written assignment (i.e. an essay), and to act as a discussant for other papers.

Learning outcomes

After the course, the students will 

• learn different conceptualizations of the region (Global East, postsocialism, post-Soviet) and their strengths and limitations as well as be able to apply these conceptualizations in their own analysis;
• study different theoretical approaches to political economy and apply these approaches in their own research;
• reflect on how the analysis of politico-economic processes in the region influence the scholarly understanding of similar processes globally.

The course support students’ argumentation skills and critical thinking. The course contributes to the development of teamwork skills (participating in group discussions and acting as a designated discussant) as well as the ability to work independently (an essay). 

Assignments and assessments

The course will include pre-readings (1-2) and the written pre-assignments submitted through Moodle before each lecture. In each pre-assignment, the students will reflect on the following four points and engage with others: 

1. What do you think was the main point of the readings? 
2. What did you find insightful? 
3. What did you find difficult to understand? 
4. How does the content relate to different conceptualizations of the region as well as understanding of political economy discussed in the introductory lecture? 

The students will be expected to a) post their own four points and b) comment on at least two (2) posts from other students. 

Each lecture will consist of a lecture part as well as group discussions based on the pre-readings and pre-assignments. The duration of each lecture is 90 minutes. 

The course will end with a 2-hour student seminar. 

The final written assignment is an essay. Essay instructions:

• topic of the essay is related to the themes of the course 
• length of the essay is 6–8 pages, 1.5 spacing, font 12 Times New Roman (or similar) 
• writing and argumentation is based on academic, preferably peer-reviewed articles 

or books/book chapters 

• sources are properly cited following a citation system of students’ choice (e.g. APA, Chicago Style, the “Finnish style”) 
• writing follows the university’s instructions on written assignments (available on Moodle) 
• grading (0–5) is based on the university’s evaluation criteria (available on Moodle) 

The assessment is done on 1-5 grading criteria. The final grade is composed out of: 1) 30% - pre-assignments before the lectures; 2) 70% - final essay. 

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 4.10.-29.11.2024

Teaching will take place in the autumn term 2024 on following Fridays: 4.10. at 10-13 / 11.10. at 10-13 / 1.11. at 10-13 / 15.11. at 10-13 / 29.11. at 10-13 

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Olga Dovbysh

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course studies the conditions of exile – in which the political aspect of displacement is accentuated – as large socio-cultural and political phenomenon affecting peoples and societies at different levels. The course invites students to ponder on problems of knowledge and cultural production in exile, significance of exilic professional communities for home and host countries, politics of exile. 

The course places these problems into the context of Russia after February 2022, when a massive exodus of people occurred. The course puts a special attention on the defining role of digital technologies that on one hand empower exilic communities but on the other hand create new forms of (dis)connection with home and host countries. 

This course brings together experts in Russian studies to examine how different aspects of exile processes and to explore the role of digital technologies for the practices in exile.

While the lectures focus primarily on the case of Russia, throughout the course the students will be invited to reflect on the discussed questions in relation to other countries and ponder how the (dis)similarities of the cases can be explained.

The course is suitable for all students interested in Russian studies, migration studies, and digital media and internet studies.

Learning outcomes: After the course, the students will be able to: 

1. recognize analytical approaches and apparatus to study exile as socio-cultural and political phenomenon;
2. interpret processes and phenomena of exile analysed in the course;
3. apply gained approaches and apparatus for further study of exile from Russia and other countries;
4. use inquiry-based learning skills and collaborative study methods for group work and research.

Assessment

The course will include formative and summative assessments. After each session the students are to write individual reflection papers (1-2 pages long). Teacher of the lecture will read the papers and give feedback. By the end of the course, students in groups of 4-5 people produce a final assignment on the extended analysis of a complex problem related to exile and elaborate own vision/solution of it. The final assignment is presented and discussed at the last session, after that students have time to improve their work and submit the final versions.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 11.9.-9.10.2024

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Pallavi Pal and Minna Hanhijärvi

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Course Outline:  We will understand nuclear energy from the perspective of social science. In this lecture you will be able to understand about Russia’s energy and climate politics and the role of nuclear energy diplomacy before and after Russia’s war against Ukraine. The nuclear energy diplomacy will be approached by focusing on Russia’s nuclear energy technology export and the actors involved and their interests, and the structures shaping their operations abroad. You will also get to understand Russia’s nuclear energy diplomacy through two example cases: Finland in the European framework and India within the Asia-Pacific context. You will be able to participate in a simulation game to discuss the issues of nuclear energy diplomacy and Russia’s role in the global and European framework.  This series of lectures will provide introduction to the nuclear energy diplomacy of Russia. 

Learning Outcomes: Students will have enhanced understanding of changes of the global and European energy landscapes and Russia’s role as an energy producer and exporter before and after Russia’s war against Ukraine. The contribution of Russia to the global energy transfer and climate change mitigation cooperation will be discussed as well.  The students will get to familiarize with the structural approach to nuclear energy diplomacy in Russia with focus on nuclear energy technology export, the key actors and their interests and the policy framework. Through two example cases of Finland in the European framework and India within the Asia-Pacific context, students will get to understand the practices of Russia’s nuclear energy diplomacy. Through participation in a simulation game and familiarization of the course reading material, students will get to better analyze the issues regarding the global and European effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict 2014 and war since 2022 on the energy landscape and the role of nuclear energy in the energy transfer.  

Lectures: The Lectures will be of two hours per lecture (45 min + 45 min) spread across eight times. The simulation game model participation sessions will be three hours each (45 min + 45 min  + 45 min).

1. Lecture: Introduction to energy and climate policy of Russia.
2. Lecture: Introduction to Russia’s Nuclear Energy industry- Rosatom. 
3. Lecture: Studying Russia’s nuclear energy technology cooperation with Finland. 
4. Lecture: Studying Russia’s nuclear energy technology cooperation with India.
5. Lecture: Russia’s contribution to the energy transfer - renewable energy sources from Russia.
6. Lecture: Understanding why studying Russian energy market and strategy is important. 
7. Lecture: Simulation game model designed for students to better understand the topic. 
8. Lecture: Continuation of the simulation game model.

Learning assessment: Students will be required to submit either a learning diary or write a brief paper on one of the lecture topics of their choice. Participation in the simulation game will help both students and teachers understand and assess the learning outcomes intended from the course.  Feedback from students will be collected via Flinga or through survey questions. 

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 21.10.2024 – 4.12.2024

Teaching will take place in the 2nd  period (Autumn 2024) at 15-17 on following days: 

MON 21.10.
WED 23.10.
WED 30.10.
WED 6.11.
WED 13.11.
WED 20.11.
WED 27.11.
WED 4.12. 

The deadline for all course work (that is the learning diaries or paper) is January 15th 2025 about a month from the end of lectures.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Tatu Laukkanen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course introduces students to the (geo)politics and aesthetics of films from the Eurasian region. These films are explored through different methods of film and cultural analysis stressing charting changes in the ideological constellation, close textual and formal analysis through comparative juxtaposition, and geopolitically informed approaches to culture. Seminal works of Russian film are used to introduce the students to film form and analysis after which Russian film from its different territories, and Sino-Russian screen relations, become central points of study. Sino-Russian cinematic relations are looked at from a variety of angles from the impact of the early Soviet avant-garde to Chinese film, representations of Russians in Chinese films and vice-versa, comparative studies of  critically acclaimed independent films about the marginalized and massively popular nationalist blockbuster war films to contemporary industry collaboration. In addition to comparative analyses, cinematic flows, and co-productions between these polities, the manifestation of Sino-Russian geopolitical ambitions and BRICS cultural statecraft will be examined in the field of cinema. As the course moves across different geopolitically contested locations such as the Arctic, we participate in a process of cognitive mapping and comparative analysis that will underscore these regions, their peoples and countries different positions in, and their relation to, the world system. Particularly the impact of economic liberalization, authoritarian capitalism, and the post-socialist condition in these films production, distribution, ideology, and aesthetics will be analyzed.

Course texts and lectures will introduce students to the social contexts and the major aesthetic and political currents informing these films as the course charts changes in the ideological constellation through these works. Concepts such as propaganda, censorship, socialist realism, gender, genre, auteurism, censorship, cultural stetecraft, modernism, militainment, globalization, popular geopolitics, postmodernism, and nationalism will be explored and instrumentalized to screen analysis.

Lectures (tentative plan):

Lecture 1: Changing film form and ideology, Alexandr Sokurov, Russian Ark (2002) vs. Sergei Eisenstein, October (1928) and Storm Over Asia (dir. V. Pudovkin, 1928)
Lecture 2: Sino-Russian flows of culture, capital, and people 
Lecture 3: Cinemas of the peripheries through a Eurasian lens, the ´losers of globalization´ in Russia and China
Lecture 4: Conquering the Arctic and the atom
Lecture 5: The Soviet and postmodern Chukotka
Lecture 6: Late socialist and post-socialist sci-fi and the geopolitical aesthetic
Lecture 7:  The rise and development of the nationalist blockbuster in China and Russia
Lecture 8: Sino-Russian co-productions, BRICS cinema and cultural statecraft, future directions

Learning Objectives: After the course students are 

1. familiar with some key texts and filmmakers of Russian cinema and have an understanding of the cultural, political, and other factors behind its development. 
2. exposed to various theoretical approaches to screen studies 
3. able to approach films through a geopolitical and Sino-Russian perspective 
4. able to analyze comparatively how the social and historical changes from socialism to post-socialism and economic liberalization in Russia and China have influenced screen culture 
5. understand film as a product and producer of nation and identity. 
6. understand how changing industrial and distribution practices such as global markets, blockbusterization, digitalization, and the multiplex have shaped Russian film.

Assessment:

8 two hour lectures, do the required course readings, and watch the films of the course available online before class. Engaging in class discussion and the digital media of the course.
4 part learning diary or one film analysis essay.
Length of the learning diary entry: ca 1100 words per entry for about a total of 4300 words or a 4000 word film analysis essay.

The Learning Diary or Paper will be 80% of the grade 
Class participation/attendance will form 20% of the grade.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place More information coming in September/October

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Larissa Remennick, Ekaterina Protassova, Sasha Razor, Olga Caspers 

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

This graduate-level course offers a broad overview of the formation and development of the global diaspora of former-Soviet (mostly Russophone) citizens – reflecting mass emigration from the USSR/FSU over the last 35 years. These emigres left the (former) Soviet countries in the wake of Perestroika and subsequent demise of the USSR and resettled on the three continents (Europe, Asia, and the Americas) using a variety of entry channels – as ethnic returnees, labor and business migrants, students, family migrants, and refugees. As of today, former Soviet immigrants and their children form a large and diverse archipelago of communities embracing Israel, US, Canada, Germany, France, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, and a host of other countries. Most of them retain elements of their Russian-Soviet socialization and identity, keep speaking Russian, and many keep social and economic ties with their former homelands. The course draws on the sociological perspective to paint a broad and comparative picture of resettlement, adaptation, and social inclusion of these immigrants in their adopted countries. It starts from explaining the background of mass emigration from the USSR/FSU in the late 1980s and across the 1990s, and then zooms on specific streams among the emigres: Ethnically driven (Jews, ethnic Germans, Armenians, Greeks, and Finns), education and work-related, refugees from ethnic and political conflicts (including Chechen wars and the current war in Ukraine). The remainer of the course explores the key issues in integration processes as they reflect age/generation and gender differences, human capital, and other features of the immigrants, as well as different contexts of their reception in Europe, US, Israel, and elsewhere.

Lectures:

1-2. Migration waves in the post-Soviet era: sociological perspectives and historical contexts. Basic concepts in sociology of international migration. Perestroika, Glasnost, and the Soviet collapse as a background for mass emigration from the USSR/FSU in the late 1980s and 1990s. The main streams and time waves of post-Soviet emigration; destination countries and entry routes. (Larissa Remennick)

3-4. Ethnic return migration. “Russian” Jews, Germans, Greeks, Finns and their reception in historic homelands. Lost relatives or Soviet ‘invaders’? The gaps between host societies’ expectations and actual integration. (Larissa Remennick)

5-6. Former Soviet countries as ‘open societies’. Economic and educational migrations of (ex)Soviet citizens during the 1990s and 2000s. Transnational networks, secondary and circular migrations, brain drain and brain gain. (Larissa Remennick)

7-8. Integration and economic success of ex-Soviet immigrants: comparative analysis and influencing factors. Comparative view of integration and economic success of ex-Soviet immigrants in different host countries. The role of age, gender, human capital, and integration policies. (Larissa Remennick)

9-10. Generational Shifts in Diaspora. Cultural and linguistic processes in subsequent generations of (Ex)Soviet immigrants: Is Homo Sovieticus still alive? How long is the Russian Street in Israel and in the West? (Larissa Remennick)

11. Everyday linguistic and cultural practices of the Russophone diaspora. The general situation with the Russian language in the world is multifaceted and sometimes ambivalent. For example, historically, there are lovers and haters of the Russian culture. Some do business with Russia, and others develop stable antagonism towards any connections with it. Around the world, there are various constellations of the presence of the Russian language and its speakers. We focus on the combination of home-making practices, language and culture maintenance, work and leisure habits, and virtual life as different aspects of survival principles of the Russian speakers outside the nation. (Ekaterina Protassova)

12. Russian as a pluricentric language. The corpus of the language use embraces everything spoken and written in a certain community on different occasions. Even when we look at individual families living outside Russia, we will see that they have their language abounding in mannerisms, private jokes, and new coinages. The examples of linguistic landscape illustrate the situation. We explore language commodification and show inseparable ties between language and society. (Ekaterina Protassova)

13. Russian Hollywood. Historical context of Russian influence in the global film industry. Early Russian filmmakers and their impact on cinema. (Sasha Razor)

14. Russophone migration to California. The lecture will address historical contexts, demographics, integration challenges, cultural contributions, economic roles, and future trends. (Sasha Razor)

15-16.TBA (Olga Caspers)

The course will combine frontal lectures with interactive/ participatory forms of teaching, including small research assignments like observations and interviews with recent immigrants. English is the language of instruction, with possibility of some interactions in Russian – as Prof. Remennick is a fluent speaker of both languages. 

Assignments

1. Lecture diary.
2. Study of the literature, an essay

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page (will be updated in August)

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 03.09.2024 - 20.10.2024

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Jussi Jalonen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The lecture series focuses on the representations and narratives of the “Great Patriotic War” of the Soviet Union against the Nazi Germany. The primary emphasis in on cultural history of warfare, both in the political construction of wartime narratives and the cultural resonance of wartime narratives in subsequent politics in the USSR and the present-day Russia. The lecture series covers the construction of war propaganda and wartime narratives in 1941–1945, their significance in the Soviet era and their exploitation in the memory politics by the Putin regime, especially in the present-day invasion of Ukraine, where old images and narratives have been deliberately revived. 

The lecture series aims to illustrate to the students such matters as the role of the Great Patriotic War as the cornerstone of Soviet patriotism comparable to the Revolution and as the paramount cornerstone of subsequent post-Soviet Russian patriotism; intersections between Soviet patriotism and Russian nationalism and their resonance to this day; importance of war propaganda and demonization of the enemy to the culture of war; significance of gender in the construction of wartime heroic myths and images; and the impact of the memory of war on the fault lines between loyalists and dissidents and its ability to transcend these fault lines. 

Learning outcomes: Participants will gain a broad understanding of how the culture of war can be constructed, appropriated and utilized as a tool for political goals, and how it can be revived as the opportunity presents itself. They will be able to analyze and understand the far-reaching impact of war on Soviet and present-day Russian society and culture, particularly the role of the memory of war in the construction of identity in the 20th century Soviet Union and the 21st century Russia.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 2.9.2024–31.5.2025

Itsenäinen suoritus (Moodle)

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Outi Tanczos

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojakson suoriettuasi tunnet Unkarin historian tärkeimpiä kausia ja tapahtumia sekä nykypolitiikan pääpiirteitä. Tunnistat historian heijastumat nykypolitiikkaan.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 1.11.–13.12.2024

Online course. Tue and Fri 14.15–15.45.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Alina Mozolevska

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 30.10.–13.12.2024

Check the time and place from the course page

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Arto Luukkanen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 28.10.–12.12.2024

See time and the lecture hall from the course page. 

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Anna-Liisa Heusala, Katalin Miklossy

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The students learn about circular, material and immaterial processes and flows that take place in the Eurasian post-socialist space. The students gain an understanding of the significance of such processes for the development of the area´s societies. The lectures may include such topics as global migration.

The course introduces the students to a selected global process or several global processes which have a major impact in the Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European societies. The lectures may include such topics as global migration in the Eurasian space.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 29.10.–27.11.2024

See time and the lecture hall from the course page. 

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Kaarina Aitamurto, Katalin Miklossy, Jouni Järvinen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

1. Students are familiarized with, and differentiate the mainstream theoretical approaches analyzing social and political interaction taking place on various (transnational, national, local) levels in connection to the state and society.
2. Students understand how responses and interactions are rooted in the complex societal and political evolution of societies and how these are conditioned by the changes in the spatial and temporal contexts.
3. Students are able to use basic concepts (civil society, religion, nationalism, gender) and understand their relevance in societal change.
4. Student acquires various skills: critical thinking, scholarly argumentation through lectures, in-class discussions, home reading, team work and essay writing.

The course focuses on the interaction of the state and the society as well as the responses to societal changes and challenges. The lectures address such themes as, for example, civil society, nationalism, gender and religion.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 3.9.–9.10.2024

See time and the lecture hall from the course page. 

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen

The course looks at Europe–Russia relations through the resource-(inter)dependency frame that guided European foreign policy practice until 2022. The European side of the story, as seen from the German and Finnish contexts, is juxtaposed to the Russian: the course unfolds how Russia managed to utilise the interdependency frame for its imperialist objectives. Russian understanding of the nation as a “Great Power of flows”, a concept related to “energy Superpower”, is central explaining steps taken to weaponize different commodity flows. Therefore, the course also sheds light on Europe’s strategic mistakes in trying to pacify Russia.

By bringing together geoeconomical, material and environmental approaches concerning trade and interdependency, and security and violence the course discusses the possibility of a new Russia Strategy for Europe. The course discusses the need for a Russia Strategy that outlines Europe’s objectives and action both in the case of less violent but also belligerent Russia.

Objectives: The course provides a much-needed analysis how Europe in concrete terms could engage with Russia considering both European values, as well as Russia’s imperial mindset and polity. It will inform students how to understand Russia, and how to encourage both European and Russian actors to work for a common democratic and sustainable future.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 05.11-27.11.2024

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marja Sorvari

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojaksolla perehdytään kulttuurintutkimuksen keskeisiin käsitteisiin, joiden kautta tarkastellaan nyky-Venäjän kulttuurin ilmiöitä, sekä selvitetään ilmiöiden historiallista taustaa ja yhteiskunnallista kontekstia.

Osaamistavoitteet: Opiskelija

• tuntee kulttuurintutkimuksen avainkäsitteitä ja tunnistaa niiden merkityksen Venäjän kontekstissa
• osaa tulkita kulttuurintutkimuksen avaamien näkökulmien avulla venäläisen kulttuurin ja yhteiskunnan ilmiöitä
• on syventänyt kulttuurista asiantuntemustaan
• on omaksunut kriittisen ajattelun taitoja

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 2.9.–2.10.2024

ks. kurssisivuilta tarkka aika ja paikka

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Arto Luukkanen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojaksossa perehdytään Ukrainan historiaan, sen alueelliseen kehitykseen ja historian merkitykseen nykypäivässä sekä tarkastellaan ukrainalaisen kulttuurin muutoksia ja sen eri ilmentymiä.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 3.9.–10.10.2024

Tue and Thu 14.15–15.45. See the lecture hall from the course page. 

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Eugenia Pesci, Anna-Liisa Heusala

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The student gains an understanding of how norms and views on ethics have been produced, disseminated and contested in the REEE area, and their implications for societal transformation. The student gains skills and knowledge to analyze and situate governance trajectories in a global context.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 29.10.–10.12.2024

Tue 16.15–17.45. Metsätalo, B525 (sali 25), Helsinki

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marco Siddi

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content 

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 3.9.–10.12.2024

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Outi Tanczos

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Käännöskirjallisuuden avulla muodostetaan yleiskuva Unkarin kirjallisuuden eri vaiheista (renessanssi, barokki, romantiikka, realismi, modernismi, postmodernismi) sekä tutustutaan eri kausien tärkeimpiin kirjailijoihin. Vaihtoehtoisesti keskitytään eri teemoihin kirjallisuudessa (esim. yhteiskunta- ja historian kuvaus).

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle Huom! kurssi on kanditasoinen

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 28.10.–4.12.2024

Maanantaisin ja keskiviikkoisin 14.15–15.45. Metsätalo, B214 (sali 4), Helsinki

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Ira Jänis-Isokangas, Sari Autio-Sarasmo

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojakso kattaa Venäjän historian soveltuvilta osin ja keskittyy Venäjän historiaan ja kulttuurin vaikuttaneisiin tapahtumiin.

Osaamistavoitteet: Opiskelija tunnistaa Venäjän historiaan ja kulttuuriin liittyviä ominaispiirteitä. Opiskelija tunnistaa Venäjän historiaan liittyviä kehityskulkuja sekä jatkumoita menneisyydestä nykypäivään.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle Huom! Kurssi on kanditasoinen.

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 5.9.–12.12.2024

To 14-16

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojakson jälkeen olet hankkinut perustiedot Viron yhteiskunnasta ja kulttuurista. Osaat tulkita virolaisen kulttuurin ilmiöitä ja analysoida yhteiskuntaa kuulumisen käsitteen avulla. Tunnet Viron historian keskeiset vaiheet ja tapahtumat ja osaat tarkastella Viroa ja virolaista kulttuuria alueellisessa kontekstissa. Osana opintojaksoa olet harjoitellut argumentaatiotaitoja.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle Huom! kurssi kanditasoinen

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 9.9.–9.12.2024, maantaisin 12-14, U3030, Päärakennus, Helsinki

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Osaamistavoitteet: Opintojakson jälkeen tunnet Viron nykykirjallisuuden keskeiset suuntaukset ja kirjailijat. Olet perehtynyt tarkemmin muutaman kirjailijan tuotantoon ja lukenut heidän teoksiaan. Osaat analysoida Viron nykykirjallisuutta laajemmassa yhteiskunnallisessa ja kulttuurikontekstissa.

Asiasisältö: Opintojakson aikana tutustutaan Viron nykykirjallisuuteen ja perehdytään sen tärkeimpiin suuntauksiin, teoksiin ja kirjailijoihin. Opintojakso tarjoaa katsauksen 1990-2000-luvun keskeisiin kirjailijoihin, kirjallisuuden päälinjoihin ja merkittävimpiin aiheisiin, joita tarkastellaan Viron yhteiskunnallisessa ja kulttuurikontekstissa.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 28.10.–2.12.2024

Mon and Wed 14.15–15.45. Metsätalo, B308 (sali 12), Helsinki.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Katalin Miklóssy

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 11.3.-6.5.2025

Distance teaching

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Dawid Bunikowski

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course presents problems concerning abortion and homosexuality in the light of nationalism and religion in Poland and chosen countries of East Central Europe and the Balkans (such as Czechia, Bulgaria or Romania and Serbia). This concerns abortion laws and debates as well as LGBT rights discourses and discussions about homosexuality and homosexuals or nonheterosexuals. Relevant laws, social attitudes and practices concerning abortion and homosexuality are analysed in both the communist and post-communist/democratic periods. 

Learning outcomes: The student is acquainted with the complexity of relations between abortion, homosexuality, nationalism and religion in Poland, East Central Europe and the Balkans. The student knows and understands different relevant debates, regulations, and arguments.

Lectures: 

1. Introduction to problems of abortion and homosexuality in Poland and East Central Europe as well as the Balkans. Attitudes to abortion and homosexuality. Nationalism and religion - links. 
2. Abortion in the communist Poland. 
3. Abortion in the communist and post-communist Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. 4. Abortion in the post-communist and democratic Poland. 
4. Abortion in the post-communist and democratic Poland.
5. Current abortion debate in Poland. New restrictions. 
6. Homosexuality in Romania. From penalisation to depenalisation in 2001. 
7. LGBT rights debates in the democratic Poland. 
8. Religion, abortion and homosexuality in Poland and East Central Europe as well as the Balkans. 
9. European values and standards versus conservatism in Poland and East Central Europe/the Balkans. 
10. Other chosen contemporary problems and developments related to abortion and homosexuality in Poland and East Central Europe as well as the Balkans (discussions on civil partnerships, same-sex marriages, liberalisation of abortion law, the role of religion, tradition and morals, secularisation, women's rights, sexual minority rights, nationalist movements, state church relations, etc.). 

Methods of teaching: All together 20 hours of lectures online (Teams). 10 topics, each for 2 h. Activating tasks for students to pass the course: active participation with reading and discussion as well as short written assignments (writing a 5-7-page essay on a topic agreed with the lecturer).

Other notes:

1. The course will be held at the MS Teams platform. 
2. All the meetings will be in the Teams, online in a real time. 
3. The lectures will be also recorded in the Teams for those who cannot participate in a real time in order to watch it later. 
4. The students can contact the teacher via email or during an office hour (one a week) in the Teams, also in the field of reading, opinions, etc., especially if they cannot participate in a real time in the lecture meetings.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.1.-21.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Natalya Bekhta

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

During the five centuries of its history, Utopia has taken many forms. But at its heart, inevitably, lies a desire for a better world. In the midst of war, catastrophic climate crisis, and new forms of fascism – to name but the most urgent global crises – the very mention of Utopia seems odd: surely dystopia or apocalypse would be more suitable lenses for understanding the present? Miguel Abensour famously described the persistence of Utopia as an impulse “toward freedom and justice,” which is continuously “reborn in history, reappears, makes itself felt in the blackest catastrophe, resists as if catastrophe itself called forth new summations”. If catastrophes are an indicator, it is no wonder that Utopia has returned with new force into scholarly and cultural debates today.

This course offers a general introduction to the contemporary theories of Utopia, as human impulse and literary form, drawing on philosophy, semiotics and literary theory. It then puts theory into practice by offering an overview of Utopia in Eastern European literatures, with a special focus on the 21st-century texts. The students will be expected to read a selection of literary excerpts (in the English translation) and theoretical texts (book chapters and articles). 

Expected learning outcomes

The course will provide students with an understanding of the current meanings of the concept of Utopia and of a variety of reading methods, which pay attention to content, form and structure of a literary text. Its main goal is (1) to introduce the students of literature to a canon of Utopian writing that has scarcely – if at all – figured in the utopian studies and mainstream literary theory. And (2) to familiarize the students with a complex meaning of Utopia in the context of contemporary literary theory. 

Tentative lecture plan:

1. Introduction
2. Utopia in Theory 1: Contemporary approaches to Utopia
3. Utopia in Theory 2: Methods of reading (for) Utopia in a Literary Text
4. Czech Utopia
5. Polish Utopia
6. Hungarian Utopia
7. Ukrainian Utopia
8. Concluding Session

Assessment:

Requirements for the course completion include: 

• Attendance (20% of the grade): you may not miss more than two sessions without a valid reason; 
• Reading questions (30% of the grade): submitted via Moodle/email in response to the reading assignments;
• Written analysis (50% of the grade): a learning diary or group-work assignment.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 12.3.-16.4.2025

Online course, on Wednesdays at 10:15-11:45

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Inna Häkkinen, invited lecturers 

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course is to introduce students to major theoretical and practical frames of narrating nuclear heritage of East Central European within the current nuclear agenda of the region in order to provide with the critical toolkit for assessing political/social/cultural perspectives of current nuclear narratives of East Central Europe and beyond. Such approach equips students with the basic knowledge of debating the nuclear heritage of East Central Europe from intersectional perspective and expands their understanding of conceptualizing and contextualizing nuclear power in the region. 

Learning goals. Students are able to:

1. identify the key issues of debating ‘nuclear heritage’ within East Central European narratives;
2. use critical thinking skills of combining the theoretical bases of East Central European studies and energy humanities’ agenda in order to outline the intersectional frames of ‘nuclear heritage’ within the current nuclear policies in East Central Europe;
3. critically assess the conceptual parameters of nuclear narratives of the post-Soviet/Chernobyl discourse in the East Central European context.

Lectures

1. Nuclear Narrative Frames: Conceptualizations of the Nuclear Heritage within Narrative Theories in the East Central European Context (Dr. Inna Häkkinen, University of Helsinki)
2. Constructing Techno-scientific Promises of Nuclear Heritage Through(out) History (Dr. Markku Lehtonen, University of Pompeu Fabra)
3. Chernobyl as a Post-Soviet Memory Space : How Ideas of Progress and Fear Shaped A Nuclear Heritage Site in Eastern Europe (Dr. Achim Klüppelberg, KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
4. Nuclear Urbanism and Its Legacy Today: Silenced Narratives of East Central European Nuclear Infrastructure (Dr. Liliana Iuga, RWTH Aachen)
5. Anti-nuclear Shelters in Central and Eastern Europe: Narrative Dimensions of Nuclear Heritage (Prof. Kinga Gajda, Jagiellonian University in Krakow):
6. ‘Nuclear Myths’ in post(Soviet) Slavonic Europe (Dr. Mika Perkiömäki, Tampere University / the University of Helsinki)

Completion: attending online lectures, participation in the Q&aA sessions after the lectures, ‘question list’ on obligatory readings, and ‘reflection paper’ (one page writing on the topic of one lecture or on one book from the obligatory/recommended reading list).

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 11.3.–10.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marianna Muravyeva

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place  Spring 2025

PÄIVITETÄÄN

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Olga Tkach

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The main aim of the course Home, inequalities, mobilities, and social change is to introduce students to the rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of home studies, drawing mainly on the insights from sociology, anthropology It builds on the teacher’s expertise on home studies and her current involvement in the project, which studies the experiences of voluntary accommodation of people displaced from Ukraine in private homes in Finland. Specifically, the course invites a critical approach to the phenomenon of home from the perspective of intersecting social inequalities and mobilities, and in
the context of different societies, including Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics and Eastern Central Europe. It analyses home through the lens of classic and current international research on migration and mobility, work and class, generations and age, space, community, translocality and post-socialist transitions. The course creates links between home studies and other disciplinary areas and to evaluate how different sociological themes are viewed through the lens of home studies. In the end of the course, the students will be able to orient themselves in the roadmap of home studies, define the sociological meaning of home, to critically read and interpret the texts on home studies, and to apply their new knowledge in the everyday life.

Modes of study: Online lectures and a hybrid seminar discussion, literature and case study exercises, assignment submission (includes 22 hours of contact teaching).
 

Class 1. Home studies as a discipline and home as a focus of social sciences: Introduction
Why focus on home? How sociology and anthropology intersect in the discipline, what are its themes, levels, dimensions.
Home, the private and the public. Approaches to the study of home: phenomenological, spatial, gender (feminist), migration (translocal). Singularity and multiplicity, stability and mobility of home

Section I: Geographies and multiscale of home: Space and mobility
Class 2. Immobile, stable and reproducible home
The concept of a stable home. Anthropology of home. The house as a symbol of the reproduction of kinship and as the centre of the world. Structural anthropology and its critique. Cultural diversity of home. The house as an intergenerational value in current research. How the house resists destruction and strategies of reproduction of the ancestral/family house.
Class 3. Home, housing and neighbourhood
Home as dwelling: historicity, materiality and scale. Housing type and home, symbolic value of domestic space, home
ownership. Types of urban housing and property: capitalist and socialist contexts. The social dimension of housing: ways of communication between co-inhabitants. Relationships between home and neighbourhood. Expanding the boundaries of home and zoning space. Neighbour networks, solidarity, conflict and the sense of home. Neighbourhood as a condition for quality of life at home.
Class 4. Home on the move: Migrations and mobilities
Home studies in the context of globalisation, global migrations, transnationalism /translocality. The multiplicity of the
migrant home, the problem of the transportability of homes, the fluidity and temporality of the migrant home. The portability of home in migration. The mobile turn in the social sciences. Life on the move and home. The temporality of mobile home. The moving, the temporary, the transitory and the guest house. Tourist’ or traveller’s home
Class 5. Home and homeland: Is home transportable?
The concept of homeland as home and home left behind in migration. The concept of diaspora and translocality. Homemaking in migration, different meanings of homeland and home.

Section II. Home and labour: Feminist and postcolonial lenses
Class 6. Unpaid domestic labour: Feminist lenses
How did reproductive/domestic labour become the focus of the social science? Second wave feminism. The issue of housewives and the “second shift” (A. Hochschild). The home as a site of unpaid labour: inequality, division of labour, power, exploitation. Collectivisation of domestic labour: the case of the Soviet Union. Domestic labour in modern households. Postwork perspective on home and domestic labour, care manifesto
Class 7. Paid domestic services: Migration and post-colonial lenses
Globalisation of care, care drain, care chains, international division of reproduction labour, migrant care workers from
Eastern European and Global South countries. Delegation, commercialisation and professionalisation of domestic work.
Home as a place of residence and a site of work for the paid domestic worker. Live-in and live-out paid domestic work.
Conflict between home as a place to live and a place to work. Problems of power, exploitation, violation of boundaries

Section III. Home across the lifespan
Class 8. Home and youth: Transit to emancipation?
Home in adolescence. Moving out of the parental home as a transit to autonomy. Research on the residential emancipation of young people. Residential mobility of young people, co-living. Multiple homes: parental, rented, own home
Class 9. Home and adulthood: Property and investment
Homemaking in adulthood. Materiality and meanings of home, the house as a value, class and property. The construction of home in the media and commercialised discourse. The concept of 'homeowners society' and its version in postsocialist societies
Class 10. Home and the elderly: Space of care
Home and the elderly household members, home as a care space, the changing material and social dimensions of the home with an elderly dependent person, home and public services for the elderly, hybrid care spaces
Class 11. Presentations of students’ case studies

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Tämä kurssi on saanut valtakunnallisen yliopistoverkoston VIExpert-opetusrahoitusta

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.3.–26.3.2025

Verkkokurssi

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marina Vituhnovskaja-Kauppala

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Keisari Nikolai II nousi valtaistuimelle 130 vuotta sitten, 1. marraskuuta 1894. Hän on yksi Venäjän historian avainhahmoista, joka edelleen herättää suuria erimielisyyksiä ja riitoja sekä historioitsijoiden piirissä että Venäjän yhteiskunnassa. Oliko tämä tsaari taitamaton poliitikko, joka oli syyllinen moniin virheellisiin poliittisiin päätöksiin, jotka veivät Venäjän imperiumin romahdukseen? Tai, päinvastoin, oliko hän katkeran kohtalonsa, monien sisäisten vihollisten ja ratkaisemattomien ongelmien uhri? Missä määrin keisarista riippuivat kohtalokkaat tapahtumat, jotka veivät Venäjä kriiseihin, alkaen väentungoksesta Hodynkan kentällä ja nk. ”verisunnuntaista” ja päättyen maan liittymiseen ensimmäiseen maailmansotaan? Olisiko ollut mahdollista ratkaista monenlaisia keisarikunnan ongelmia taitavammin, ja oliko oikeassa Anton Tšehov, joka kirjoitti Nikolai II:sta: ”Hänestä sanotaan väärin, että hän on sairas, tyhmä ja ilkeä. Hän on vain tavallinen kaartinupseeri”?

Kurssin tarkoituksena on mainittujen ja monien muiden kysymyksien käsittely. Viimeisen Venäjän keisarin onneton hallintokausi, joka päättyi sotaan ja vallankumoukseen, on yksi tutkituimmista ja edelleen kiistellyistä periodeista. Silloin maahan oli kasaantunut lukuisia ongelmia, ja jokaisen niistä ratkaisu vaati poikkeuksellisia poliittisia kykyjä ja rohkeutta. Venäjällä oli kehittyvä teollisuus, mutta takapajuinen maataloussektori. Sen poliittinen järjestelmä oli vanhoillinen ja jälkeenjäänyt eikä tyydyttänyt väestön enemmistöä. Maassa, missä väestön suurin osa kuului vähemmistökansallisuuksiin, toteutettiin hyvin epäjohdonmukaista imperiaalista politiikkaa, joka vain herätti tyytymättömyyttä eri kansallisalueilla. Venäjällä oli kasvamassa entisestään kuilu eri sosiaalisten ryhmien välillä. Näitä ja monia muita ongelmia piti tsaarin ratkaista, joka vuonna 1894 nousi valtaistuimelle.

Kurssin alussa puhutaan keisarin persoonallisuuden muotoutumisesta ja hänen luonteensa erikoispiirteistä. Samalla luonnehditaan monenlaisia ongelmia, joita hänen oli pakko kohdata. Puhumme siitä, millaiseksi jätti maansa Nikolai II:n edeltäjä, hänen isänsä keisari Aleksanteri III. Seuraavilla luennoilla käsitellään Nikolai II:n hallituskauden tärkeimpiä solmukohtia, kuten Japanin sota, vuoden 1905 vallankumous ja parlamentarismin synty, pääministeri Stolypinin aika, vähemmistökansapolitiikka ja sen rooli vallankumouksellisen mielialan kasvussa, venäläistämispolitiikkaa ja juutalaiskysymys, ”Rasputinin tapauksen” rooli sisäpoliittisen kriisin syvenemisessä. Tutkimme jokaisen näistä kriiseistä juuria sekä keisarin roolia niiden ratkaisemisessa. Pohdimme, minkälaisia hallinnollisten strategioiden vaihtoehtoja olisi ollut ja miksi keisari valitsi juuri käsillä olleen poliittisen ratkaisun. Luennoilla kerron myös tärkeimmistä historiallisista tutkimuksista teemoista.  

Erityistä huomiota kiinnitetään keisarikunnan historian viimeiseen vaiheeseen: ensimmäiseen maailmansotaan ja vuoden 1917 vallankumouksiin. Sotaan astuminen oli kohtalokas Venäjän imperiumille, mutta olisiko ollut mahdollista välttää sitä? Historioitsijat ovat erimielisiä. On tärkeää myös perehtyä Grigori Rasputinin ilmiöön ja hänen rooliinsa sodan aikaisessa sisäpolitiikassa sekä kysymykseen, missä määrin hänen personallisuutensa ja mielipiteensä vaikuttivat Nikolai II poliittisiin päätöksiin. Miten oli mahdollista, että Rasputinin hahmo herätti niin suurta vihamielisyyttä maan korkeimman eliitin piirissä? Miten vaikutti Rasputinin murha Venäjän yhteiskunnallisiin ilmapiiriin? Lopuksi puhumme siitä, miten tsaarin päätös tulla Venäjän armeijan ylipäälliköksi ja hänen päätöksensä sotasuunnitelmista vaikuttivat sodan kulkuun ja armeijan johdon mielialoihin. Miksi vuoden 1917 helmikuun lopussa, kun rintamien ylipäälliköiltä kysyttiin, pitäisikö keisarin luopua vallasta, he kaikki (yhtä lukuun ottamatta) vastasivat ”kyllä”? 

Professori Boris Kolonitski teoksessaan ”Traaginen erotiikka: kuvia keisarillisesta perheestä ensimmäisen maailmansodan aikana” antaa hyvin tärkeän käsityksen siitä, miltä keisari ja keisarinna näkyivät kansan silmissä. Kurssi käyttää tätä tarkastelutapaa myös myöhemmän periodin, erityisesti neuvostojälkeisen vaiheen, suhteen. Tulemme puhumaan siitä, mitä ja miksi tapahtui Nikolai II ja hänen hallituskautensa nouseminen kansantajunnassa Venäjän postsosialistisessa vaiheessa. Tutkitaan sitä, miten ja miksi Venäjän ortodoksinen kirkko vuonna 2000 julisti Nikolai II perheineen pyhimyksiksi. Puhumme Nikolai II:n kuvasta nyky-Venäjän historiapolitiikassa ja siitä, miten, millä keinoilla ja missä muodossa esitetään viimeisen idealisoitu myytti Venäjän keisarista.

Kurssin tarkoituksena on yhden, mutta hyvin tärkeän historiallisen hahmon monipuolinen analyysi. Pyrin näyttämään keisari Nikolai II:n päätösten ja tekojen taustaa ja logiikkaa, hänen toimintansa seurauksia ja vaikutusta Venäjän historiaan ja tulevaisuuteen. Missä määrin yksi historiallisen hahmo voi vaikuttaa maansa ja maailman historiaan? Ja miten voivat nykyiset ideologit ja poliitikot käyttää historiallisia toimenpiteitä maan nykypolitiikan konstruoimista varten? 

Sisältökuvaus luennoittain.

1. Nikolai II:n edeltäjät: Aleksanteri II ja Aleksanteri III. Nikolai II:n luonteen ja maailmankatsomuksen muovautuminen. Hallituskauden alku.Väentungos Hodynkan kentällä.
2. Keisari ja Japanin sodan syyt. Agraarikysymys ja ensimmäinen vallankumous, 1905 – 1907. Lokakuun 17. manifesti ja Venäjän perustuslaillisen periodin alku. Duuma ja tsaari.  
3. Nikolai II, Pjotr Stolypin: sisäpolitiikan ”ajelehtiminen” äärioikeiston suuntaan. Stolypinin uudistukset ja maan kehityssuunnat. Vähemmistökansapolitiikka ja sen rooli vallankumouksellisen mielialan kasvamisessa.
4. Stolypinin kauden loppu. Keisarin harrastama ulkopolitiikka ja ensimmäisen maailmansodan edellytykset. Grigori Rasputin ja keisarin perhe.
5. Ensimmäisen maailmansodan alku. Sota ja Venäjän sisäpoliittinen tilanne. Rasputinin murha.
6. Helmikuun 1917 vallankumous, Nikolai II:n vallasta luopumisen syyt ja seuraukset. Tsaariperheen kohtalo. Nikolai II hahmo nyky-Venäjän historiapolitiikassa. 

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 14.1.–25.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marina Khmelnitskaya, invited lecturers 

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Tämä kurssi on saanut valtakunnallisen yliopistoverkoston VIExpert-opetusrahoitusta

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place Kevään 1. periodi, ke 14-16.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Pia Koivunen (koordinointi ja opetus), vierailevat luennoitsijat: Jussi Jalonen, Kristiina Silvan, Jussi Lassila, Elina Viljanen ja Pertti Grönholm

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Kurssikuvaus: Kurssilla käsitellään Venäjän lähihistoriaa Vladimir Putinin valtaan noususta tähän päivään. Putinin aikana Venäjä on pyrkinyt palauttamaan Neuvostoliiton romahtamisen jälkeen menettämänsä aseman maailman politiikassa ja muovannut uudelleen kansallista identiteettiään sosialismin jälkeisessä ajassa. Kurssilla tarkastellaan Putinin vallankäyttöä, suurvaltaidentiteetin luomista sekä venäläisen yhteiskunnan suhdetta näihin ilmiöihin putinismin, nuorison, Ukrainan, taiteen, historianpolitiikan ja megatapahtumien näkökulmista. Menetelmällisesti kurssin keskeisenä teemana on lähihistorian tutkimus, sen haasteet ja mahdollisuudet.

Oppimistavoitteet: Kurssi antaa opiskelijalle perusvalmiudet ymmärtää Venäjän lähihistoriaa, siihen liittyviä muutoksia ja kehityskulkuja sekä hahmottamaan suurten poliittisten tapahtumien vaikutusta siihen, miten katsomme ja arvioimme lähimenneisyyttä. Kurssin suoritettuaan opiskelija tuntee lähihistorian tutkimusmenetelmiä ja tutkimuksen ajalliseen läheisyyteen liittyviä mahdollisuuksia ja riskejä.

Suoritukset: Strukturoitu oppimispäiväkirja

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivuille

Tämä kurssi on saanut valtakunnallisen yliopistoverkoston VIExpert-opetusrahoitusta

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.02.2025 - 28.02.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Ilya Solomeshch ja Seija Jalagin

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Karjalan historiaa käsittelevää tieteellistä tutkimusta on tähän mennessä kertynyt melko paljon. Iso osa tästä tutkimuksesta perustuu kuitenkin edelleen valtiokeskeiseen lähestymistapaan. Näin on erityisesti Venäjällä. Tällä maisteritason kurssilla Karjalaa tarkastellaan alueena, joka on sijainnut eri aikoina ja eri tavoin osana hallinnollista tai valtiollista Suomea ja Venäjää, käytännössä se tarkoittaa Karjalan tasavaltaa ja Suomen Karjalan eri osia.

Rajaa lähestytään niiden karjalaisten historiana, joille elämä rajamaalla oli jokapäiväistä todellisuutta. Raja toi mukanaan sekä haasteita ja uhkia että myös mahdollisuuksia ja vuorovaikutusta. Historiapolitiikan käänteet, muistipolitiikka ja viimeaikaiset "muistisodat" lisäävät aiheen ajankohtaisuutta. Karjalaa esimerkkinä käyttäen pohditaan rajaseudun ominaispiirteitä. Luentokokonaisuus ei lähtökohtaisesti rajoitu vain alueen historiaan Venäjän ja Suomen valtiokeskeisten kansallisten historiallisten narratiivien näkökulmasta. Luennoitsijat kutsuvat tarkastelemaan aihetta Karjalassa asuneiden ihmisten näkökulmasta, heidän arkielämänsä prisman kautta. Miten arjen käytännöt sopeutumisesta elämään rajaseuduilla kehittyivät naapurivaltioiden välisten lukuisten konfliktien keskellä? Millainen rooli rajalla ja sen takana asuvalla naapurilla oli kansallisten, etnisten ja paikallisten identiteettien muodostumisessa? Miten valtiovalta on eri aikoina hyödyntänyt mielikuvia naapurista politiikassaan? Miten Karjalan historia kaikuu nykyajan "muistisodissa", muistipolitiikassa, historiapolitiikassa ja poliittisessa propagandassa?

Luentojen teemat:

1. Raja tutkimuskohteena. Karjala tutkimuskenttänä ja laboratoriona / Solomeshch & Jalagin Rajatutkimus (Border Studies) poikkitieteellisena kokonaisuutena. Karjala rajamaana: historia 1300-luvulta nykypäiviin. Karjala Venäjän ja Ruotsin sotien, ensimmäisen maailmansodan, Suomen sisällissodan ja Venäjän sisällissodan (1918–1922) ja toisen maailmansodan välimaastossa.
2. Rajaseudun elämä / Solomeshch Arjen käytännöt ja selviytymiskokemukset keskiajalta nykypäivään. Rajat ylittävät kontaktit "alhaalta päin" Vienan Karjalasta Karjalan kannakselle.
3. Raja identiteetin rakentamisen osatekijänä, valtion politiikassa ja propagandassa / Solomeshch Identiteetin ulottuvuudet. Naapurin kuva ja uhkakuva. Raja identiteetin elementtinä: Suomen, Venäjän ja Karjalan mallit. Karjalan valtiollisuus 1900-luvulla. Nevostokauden kokemukset.
4. Rajamaa sotien, väestönsiirtojen ja pakkomuuton paikkana / Jalagin Konfliktien vaikutus raja-alueen väestöön erityisesti 1900-luvulla. Venäjän vallankumouksen ja sisällissodan aiheuttama pakolaisuus, Suomen sisällissodan pakolaisuus ja 1930-luvun laman muuttajat Venäjälle, sotienvälisen ajan epäluulon raja, toisen maailmansodan evakuoinnit Neuvosto-Karjalassa ja Suomessa, jatkosodan miehitys Karjalassa, kylmän sodan vaikutukset raja-alueella.
5. Rajan ylittävät kontaktit siihen liittyvät diskurssit toisen maailmansodan jälkeen / Solomeshch Rajayhteistyö YYA-sopimuksesta perestroikaan (1948–1985). Rajaan liittyvät diskurssit 1990-luvulta 2000-luvun alkuun: silta, käytävä, portti. Deborderingista reborderingiin – rajan häivyttämisestä sen vahvistamiseen. 2000-luku ja rajan uudet ilmenemismuodot ja merkitykset. Nyky-Karjala "muistisotien", muistipolitiikan, historiapolitiikan ja poliittisen propagandan näyttämönä.Kurssin suoritettuaan opiskelija tuntee Karjalan väestön historiaan liittyvän tieteellisen tutkimuksen keskeiset osa-alueet sekä ne perusteet, joiden avulla rajatutkimusta voidaan soveltaa aihepiirin käsittelyyn. Luennoilla käsiteltyjen tutkimusesimerkkien avulla opiskelija on lisäksi saanut valmiuksia soveltaa rajatutkimukseen kuuluvia poikkitieteellisiä lähestymistapoja.

Sisältö: Luennot 18 h (Solomeshch 14 h, Jalagin 4 h) hybridiopetuksena ja luennoille etukäteen luettavat tekstit. Lähiopetus Oulun yliopistossa ja Zoom-yhteydellä etäopiskelijoille. Luennot nauhoitetaan ja ne ovat kurssin Moodle-työtilassa katsottavissa suoritusten palautuspäivään asti.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivuille

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 15.1.2025–19.4.2025

Opetus järjestetään hybridiopetuksena.

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Anna Kyppö

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojaksolla esitellään erilaisia slaavilaisia kieliä ja maita. Slaavilaisia kieliä ovat yleensä esittelemässä kieltä äidinkielenään puhuvat henkilöt, jotka myös tarjoavat ensikäden tietoa omista maistaan ja niiden kulttuureista.
 

Sen lisäksi opintojaksolla keskitytään monikulttuuriseen ja monikieliseen vuorovaikutukseen, jonka tarkoituksena on jakaa tietoa eri slaavilaisista kulttuureista. Opintojaksolla keskustellaan myös kulttuuri-identiteetin käsitteestä slaavilaisten maiden näkökulmasta - keskustelut slaavilaisten maiden historiasta, arvoista, kokemuksista pyrkivät lisäämään opiskelijoiden monikulttuurista tietoisuutta ja kykyä kriittiseen ajatteluun.

Kun opiskelija on suorittanut opintojakson, hän

• kykenee tunnistamaan slaavilaisia lähisukukieliä yhdistäviä ja erottavia piirteitä
• tuntee kunkin slaavilaisen kielen sekä maan tai kansan historiaa ja kulttuuria
• ymmärtää monikulttuurisuutta ja monikielisyyttä erityisesti slaavilaisten kielien ja kansojen näkökulmasta
• hyödyntää omaa monikielistä kielirepertuaariaan oman kielitaitonsa kehittämisessä ja kehittää kriittistä ajatteluaan

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivuille

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.3.–2.5.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Anna Tarasenko, Elena Bogdanova

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place PÄIVITETÄÄN

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Mika Perkiömäki

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

This course has received  ExpREES course funding

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place PÄIVITETÄÄN

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Tatiana Romashko 

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

This course explores the evolution of cultural policy in Russia, focusing on its organisational features and approaches to cultural governance across three distinct political regimes: the total control of culture during Stalin’s rule, the liberal state during the post-Soviet period, and the authoritarian state under Putin’s leadership. By analysing cultural legislation, the role of ideology and the dynamics of cultural memory and subversion, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how cultural policy shapes and is influenced by the political landscape.

Learning objectives

• Understand the framework and development of cultural policy in Russia under different political regimes.
• Analyse the interplay between cultural policy, social regulation, ideology and identity politics.
• Develop critical approaches to the study of cultural policy, with the ability to initiate independent research from a critical perspective.

Description

The course lectures will explore the dynamic evolution of Russian cultural policy in three key periods: the era of dual control under the Communist Party and Stalin’s regime, the transformative period following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the current landscape under President Putin’s administration. This research will go beyond a simple chronological account of cultural policy shifts to explore the complex interplay between political power and cultural expression. It aims to examine how successive governments have sought to harness, shape and, at times, suppress cultural spheres.

Under Communist Rule: My course will begin with an analysis of the Communist Party’s establishment of pervasive control over all facets of life in the early twentieth century. We will look at the core principles of Socialist Realism and Stalin's use of culture as a means of self- promotion. The strict regulations imposed on art and culture to propagate Soviet ideals and suppress dissent will be examined. The fate of those who deviated from these prescribed norms and the use of culture to forge a distinct Soviet identity will also be explored.

The 1990s and early 2000s: Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia entered a period of cultural and artistic liberalisation and decentralisation. During this period, the government retreated from strict cultural control, allowing a proliferation of artistic expression and cultural production. The lectures will focus on the freedoms and challenges of this era, analysing the adaptation of culture within a nascent market economy and democratic social context.

The Putin era: The course will then move on to an examination of contemporary cultural policy in Russia, characterised by a regression towards increased state control and conservatism. The focus will be on the resurgence of nationalism, the promotion of traditional values, and the curatorial role of the state in promoting certain cultural narratives while sidelining others. The session will highlight how culture has re-emerged as a contested arena for political and social struggles.

Seminars and case studies: Complementing the lectures, seminar discussions will use case studies to highlight how cultural policies reflect and influence broader social and political developments in each historical period. Topics of discussion will include the contested regulation of cultural production by professional unions, party cells or public councils (obschestvennye sovety), the significance of public art, and the representation of national identity in literature and the visual arts. This examination aims to provide students with a nuanced understanding of the relationship between cultural policy and political authority in Russia, and to reflect on the consequences of these interactions for artistic expression and social identity.

Learning outcome

The course aims to provide an understanding of how cultural policy has developed in Russia and why it matters. It will help students critically analyse cultural phenomena and approach the complex relationship between power, culture and society in Russia. Upon successful completion of this course students will be able:

1. to think critically about the role of culture in political life and how governments can shape cultural landscapes,
2. to evaluate the role of cultural policies in societal identity formation, to explore the role of art and literature in national identity construction,
3. to critically examine contemporary cultural dynamics in Russia and other post-socialist societies.

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Tämä kurssi on saanut valtakunnallisen yliopistoverkoston VIExpert-opetusrahoitusta

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 13.01.2025 - 16.03.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Reeta Kangas

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Kurssilla perehdytään propagandaan käsitteenä, sen erityispiirteisiin ja käyttötapoihin. Yleisen tarkastelun lisäksi kurssilla tutustutaan visuaaliseen propagandaan erityisesti Neuvostoliiton ja Venäjän konteksteissa. Tarkastelu keskittyy Neuvostoliiton ja Venäjän visuaalisen propagandan historiaan ja toimintamekanismeihin erilaisten temaattisten kokonaisuuksien kautta, kuten kuvien käyttö henkilökulttien rakentamisessa ja sotakuvaukset visuaalisessa mediassa. Temaattisissa kokonaisuuksissa visuaalista propagandaa tarkastellaan aina tsaarin Venäjältä Neuvostoliittoon ja Neuvostoliitosta nyky-Venäjälle. Näin visuaalisen propagandan erityispiirteet ja merkitykset historian eri vaiheissa hahmottuvat kokonaisuutena, jossa on mahdollista havainnoida myös erilaisia jatkumoja.

Kurssi tutustuttaa opiskelijat propagandaan käsitteenä ja visuaalisen propagandan erityispiirteisiin keskittyen erityisesti Neuvostoliiton ja Venäjän propagandahistoriaan ja sen kehitykseen. Kurssin jälkeen opiskelijat osaavat analysoida Neuvostoliiton ja Venäjän visuaalista propagandaa suhteessa niiden historialliseen taustaan sekä tarkastella laajemmin kuvien käyttöä osana propagandaa. Lisäksi opiskelijat perehtyvät Venäjän ja Neuvostoliiton visuaaliseen perinteeseen ja ymmärtävät siihen sisältyvät jatkumot. Kurssi avaa myös näkökulmia nykyhetken poliittisen tilanteen ja sitä ympäröivän propagandan käsittelyyn. Ennakkotehtävät ja oppimisportfolio harjaannuttavat opiskelijoiden analyyttista ajattelua, propagandakuvan lukutaitoa sekä kriittistä kirjoitus- ja keskustelutaitoa.

Kurssisuoritus koostuu 7 luennosta (7 x 1,5 t), oheislukemistosta, ennakkotehtävistä Moodlessa sekä oppimisportfoliosta. Kurssille voi osallistua joko lähi- tai etäopetuksessa (Zoom).

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivuille

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 15.1.–28.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Brendan Humphreys

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.3.–28.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Jani Korhonen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.1.2025 – 23.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Rinna Kullaa

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

The course consists of lectures. We study historical works and historians of Ukraine published in English language or in English translation as well as additional primary sources written by experts. The course addresses core questions of how Ukraine´s statehood and identity was formed and cemented. We discover how Ukraine´s history has been impacted by economic, political, societal and international relations developments and begin our examination from the 17th century onwards. The course deals with the emergence of the Soviet Union from the perspective of Ukraine´s development and also the contribution Ukrainian historical figures made towards the USSR. We examine the post-Soviet transition towards democracy. Key topics including the Orange Revolution (2004-2005) and Euromaidan (2013-2014) uprisings as well as Nato´s 2008 Bucharest summit to shed light on the nature of development of Ukraine as a regional and international actor. We consider the relationship between Ukraine´s post-Communist development and the European Union and international politics. We examine the ongoing Russia´s war of aggression against Ukraine. 

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 11.3.–11.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Katri Pynnöniemi

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content 

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle Huom! Kandi-tasoinen kurssi.

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 15.1.–30.4.2025, keskiviikkoisin 14-16, B314 (sali 7), Unioninkatu 40 (Metsätalo)

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Opintojakson suoritettuasi olet perehtynyt kulttuurisen muistin käsitteeseen ja merkitykseen Virossa. Osaat tarkastella Viron kulttuurista muistia laajemmassa alueellisessa ja yhteiskunnallisessa kontekstissa ja analysoida Viron menneisyyttä suhteessa kulttuuriseen muistiin. Kykenet analysoimaan Viron kulttuurista muistia eri muistivälineiden kuten kirjallisuuden, elokuvan ja rituaalien pohjalta. Osana opintojaksoa olet harjoitellut argumentaatiotaitoja.

Opintojakso rakentuu kulttuurisen muistin käsitteen ympärille. Viron kulttuurista muistia tarkastellaan laajemmassa alueellisessa ja yhteiskunnallisessa kontekstissa sekä analysoidaan suhteessa Viron menneisyyteen. Opintojakso lähestyy kulttuurista muistia Virossa eri muistivälineiden kautta. Käsitteellistä pohdintaa havainnollistetaan käytännön esimerkkien avulla. Kulttuurisen muistin välineinä analysoidaan esimerkiksi kirjallisuutta, elokuvaa, rituaaleja ja kulttuuriperintöä.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 15.1.–30.4.2025, keskiviikkoisin 10-12. B525 (sali 25), Unioninkatu 40 (Metsätalo), Helsinki

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Osaamistavoitteet: Opintojakson suoritettuasi olet perehtynyt Viron lähimenneisyyteen ja yhteiskunnalliseen kehitykseen alkaen perestroikasta ja laulavasta vallankumouksesta 1980-luvun lopulla. Kykenet analysoimaan erilaisten yhteiskunnallisten ja kulttuuristen toimijoiden roolia Viron lähimenneisyydessä ja tunnet niiden merkityksen yhteiskunnallisten muutosten ja demokratian näkökulmasta. Osaat tarkastella Viron poliittisia, yhteiskunnallisia ja kulttuurisia muutoksia laajemmassa alueellisessa ja eurooppalaisessa kontekstissa ja analysoida niitä erilaisista näkökulmista, mm. kansalaisten näkökulmasta. Osana opintojaksoa olet harjoitellut argumentaatiotaitoja.

Asiasisältö: Opintojakso keskittyy Viron lähimenneisyyteen Neuvostoliiton hajoamiseen johtaneesta perestroikasta EU-jäsenyyteen asti ja tarkastelee sen aikakauden keskeisiä prosesseja demokratian kehyksessä. Siinä analysoidaan eri toimijoiden roolia sen aikaisissa yhteiskunnallisissa ja kulttuurisissa muutoksissa, ja tarkastellaan näitä muutoksia muun muassa kansalaisten näkökulmasta. Opintojakson aikana harjoitellaan tapahtumien ja yhteiskunnallisten muutosten analyysiä erilaisista näkökulmista sekä yhteiskunnallisten ja kulttuuristen tekstien kriittistä tulkintaa.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 11.3.–29.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Arto Luukkanen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 12.3.–25.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Zea Szebeni

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place Kevät 2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Heino Nyyssönen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 10.3.–25.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Anatoly Pinsky

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page Note! The course is BA-level course

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 21.1.–21.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Ryhor Nizhnikau

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Link to the course page

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 16.1.–24.4.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Outi Tanczos

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Unkarin maantuntemuksen perustiedot sijoitamme itäisen Keski-Euroopan kontekstiin. Unkarin maantuntemuksen keskeisimmistä asioista nostamme esille mm. seuraavat: Unkarin maantieteelliset alueet, historia ja nykyaika, unkarin kieli menneisyydessä ja nykyään, unkarilaisen kulttuurin tärkeimpiä tekijöitä.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle Huom! Kurssi on kanditasoinen.

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place Ma 12-14

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Sigrid Kaasik-Krogerus

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 08.01.2025-19.02.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Marja Sorvari

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

Teemana Vähemmistöt ja kirjallisuus Venäjällä

Osaamistavoitteet: Opiskelija

• on perehtynyt siihen venäläisen kulttuurin, kirjallisuuden tai niiden tutkimuksen osa-alueeseen, mitä kurssin aihepiiri käsittelee.
• on syventänyt venäläisen kirjallisuuden ja/tai kulttuurin erityisosaamista.

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle 

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 20.1.–19.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Arto Luukkanen

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle

Aika ja paikka / Time and Place 14.1.–25.2.2025

Luennoitsija(t) / Lecturer(s) Jan Senius

Tavoite ja sisältö / Aim and content

TBA

Lisätietoa / More information Linkki kurssisivulle