79-235 Crime and Punishment in Russian History and Culture
6 units, Carnegie Mellon University
Crime and punishment constitute not only the title of a classic Russian novel, but an enduring theme in Russian history. Russian art and literature are rich in scenes of exile and incarceration, and the history of a modernizing states efforts to control both crime and dissent through judicial systems reveals the shifting boundaries of its power over its people. At a moment when Americans are increasingly questioning policing and mass incarceration in their own country, this course offers students a way to understand how crime and punishment have been constructed in a different historical context. Russian and Soviet practices of punishment have often embodied acute clashes of values between different social, national, and ideological groups. Actions deemed criminal by one group may be seen as justified, even admirable, by another. The course will deepen students understanding of those values as well as familiarizing them with the lived experiences of people whose circumstances or convictions led them to courts, exile, and incarceration. Using novels, poetry, memoirs, archival and visual materials, we will consider such questions as How did peasants avoid or invoke the Tsarist state to order their communal lives How did revolutionaries use the jury trial to propagate their ideas Why did Marxists believe that a socialist state would have no need for a legal system How did prisoners in the Gulag make sense of their experiences Assessment will include participation in class discussion, short written assignments, and a final project.
Prerequisites: none listed
Courseweave needs JavaScript to show sections, workloads and planning tools.