None are so deaf as those that won't listen

I’d like to propose a special subject on Stalin and Stalinism to start in 2009.  I’ve taught one in the past at the University of Leeds, so have some ideas on what I might cover, but feel that I could usefully produce a module that dealt with the Stalinist state in both a domestic and international context.  Students would not be expected to have a command of Russian, and would be directed to the wide range of primary material available in English.Topics that might be included: 

• The Comintern 
• The 1927 war scare
• Foreign policy in the 1930s
• The Nazi Invasion, 1941
• The beginning of the Cold War 
• Stalin’s rise to power
• Industry 
• Agriculture and Collectivization
• Culture: the Arts; everyday life
• Identity
• Terror (including the Purges and the Gulag)
• Women
• ‘High Stalinism’

We’ve come to the end of the second term, and although we still have two weeks to go it seems worth reflecting on the module at this point.

Essay titles: Still many are very popular, and library demand cannot always meet this. In future I think I shall have to make students sign up for essay topics. This is not about limiting choice, but about making sure that students are able to access material. This method worked well for my second year course at Leeds.

Library resources: We need more books! Students also need to be encouraged to make more use of journals, as many essays contain little to nothing in the way of articles in the bibliography. While books cannot be avoided, in the age of digital resources they do have much easier access to articles on some topics. It also seems that it is worth setting up a file of high demand articles/chapters that students can’t find in the UWE library.

Presentations: These need to go. I’ve never been a fan as I see that they lead one student to do a large amount of work, while others read and contribute little. The 100 word exercise will replace this element completely, and I shall consider increasing its weight in the module.100 word exercise: Seems to have been worthwhile, but on the basis of feedback the deadline should be moved to Sunday (actually a think I favour midnight on the day before the first seminar group session as I have know idea when the seminar will be timetabled).

Podcasts: Have been an amount of work, but a students have found them useful (and say they will be useful for revision). Students from outside the module have apparently been envious of the fact that T&C students get podcasts and my level one students have seen it as a resource they would like to benefit from in the future. I shall continue to podcast and will expand onto my other modules in the future.

Attendance: Although we have no policy on attendance yet, there remains a direct correlation between attendance and assessment marks.

We get to the last week of term.  Students show up, but almost universally have done no reading whatsoever.  How do they think they will learn from this?  Why do we bother with the last week? Answers please. 

Looking through the student feedback for the module, one complaint surfaces consistently - that there has been a struggle to get hold of material at times. To an extent there is little that can be done about this as it arises as a result of a number of factors

• This is a new course and the library stock has yet to be built up (even if I’ve ordered it, it’s not necessarily there yet)
• A large number of students on the module this year (55 - ideally there would be no more than 30) 
• Popular essay topics, leading a large number of students to compete for books (frequently at the last minute)
• The impossibility of stocking multiple copies of certain books 
• Limited literature on certain topics - this requires some thought by me as to the appropriateness of some topics for essays
• A lack of willingness or ability to identify material in other libraries and to then make use of them
• An overarching desire from students to use digital sources from which material cannot be accessed (who knew that journals came out in print?)

Still.  This all requires some thought from me in an effort to address the problems that some students have encountered.

• The use of podcasts have helped hugely. It allows us to go to a lecture and listen thoroughly rather than writing dense notes that we are then not able to understand. Podcasts will also be a huge help when revising.
• Podcasts are a good idea, so if a lecture is missed or important points are missed you have the opportunity to catch up

Responses to a question about the 100 word exercises:

• The 100 word exercises are useful because they ensure that reading will definitely be done each week, thereby making participation in the seminar easier. Also, when it comes to revision, I will have a little knowledge on more or less all the topics covered, so hopefully when it comes to the final exam, I shall have a greater choice of questions.
• I found it would get you thinking about the upcoming seminar and send you in with some kind of positive input.
• Because it means you actually have to think about what you are reading instead of just reading and forgetting. Hopefully this will be helpful for revision.
• the 100 word exercises have been useful as they have made me more prepared for the seminars but it has been difficult to fit them in whilst having other work due.
• They make sure that you do reading for the seminar and you have other aspects of the topic to look at other than the seminar question. This will be useful for revision.
• stimulates pre-seminar discussion
• These are useful as they help to clarify a particular topic and also help the student identify the more important aspects of the topic under discussion
• The 100 word exercises are useful because they make you research a topic which builds up more of an understanding of the module.
• Encourages students to do some reading before the seminar.
• I found the 100 words a week quite useful just as it gets you thinking and leads you down different paths.
• They force you to do reading before each seminar so you get a better all round understanding of the subject.
• The seminar uploads will be useful for revision. It also allows you to prepare adequately for that weeks topic.
• Doing the 100 words every week has been perfect as it makes us reflect on the lecture
• they ensure that a good level of work is maintained throughout the year therefore making it easier to revise.
• the early part of the module was an area I wasn’t too familiar with so the online exercises before the seminars I found useful as it made me focus on having at least a vague knowledge before the seminar discussions
• providing 100 word answers each week allows us to have prepared something for a seminar
• It motivates me to prepare for seminars. If I miss a seminar, it is usually because I haven’t done the necessary preparatory reading, and consequently don’t feel I have enough knowledge to attend as I wouldn’t be able to get involved fully in the discussion. However, knowing that I have to write 100 words means that I will read a book or journal article beforehand, thus providing me with the knowledge to participate in the discussion.
• it will be beneficial when it comes to revision and it does ensure students do seminar preparation
• I found they help to focus your thoughts on the topic and allow you to reflect on your reading.
• the 100 word exercises have been useful as they have made me more prepared for the seminars
• Because it encourages students to learn about every aspect of the module and prompts seminar discussion
• The weekly online tasks have helped me to [stay] focused and on track with the module
• they have been useful and I think they will be of value when it comes to revision

The vast majority of students who have given me feedback seem to have found them useful, and it is clear that they have added value to the module, with a positive impact on seminar preparation and overall understanding. The comments along the lines of ‘forcing’ students to prepare, or at least ensuring they are prepared, indicates a problem with student preparedness for seminars and their expectations of what is expected of them in this respect. It seems that without the exercise, students are less likely to be prepared and there is a degree of acceptability/inevitability implied in some of the responses. Of course, countering this was one of the purposes of making use of these exercises part of the seminar preparation and work on the module. It’s worked for me and my students on this module!

I took mover running a first year module this semester called Century of the Superpowers.  I’ve taught on it before, but this year it has the addition of the Graduate Development Programme (GDP).  This is supposed to give students skills that will be useful to them in future employmeny, and to allow them to see how they have developed.  In short it is about demonstrating to them, as Bourdieu notes, that any form of amassed capital is useless unless you can exploit it to your benefit.

This is the theory, but I’m not seeing much in the way of positive results.  The students don’t like it, and see it as teaching them things they already know how to do, although it’s not always apparent that they have the skills.  It’s also very dull and difficult to make it intwerate well with historical content.

This is definitely a challenge for us.

Details:

Kocho-Williams, Alastair, The Slavonic and East European Review, Volume 86, Number 1, 1 January 2008 , pp. 90-110(21)

Abstract:

This article offers a case study of a commissariat and its members during Stalin’s purges. It considers the effects of the purges on diplomats and on Soviet diplomacy, adding new dimensions to previous works, in particular dealing with how the Foreign Commissar Maksim Maksimovich Litvinov and the Soviet diplomats serving under him responded to the purges, what their opinions of them were, and how they dealt with the challenge of explaining the purges to observers abroad, as well as examining the numbers that perished, what they were accused of, why the Narkomindel was so vulnerable to the purges, how the Narkomindel struggled to function effectively during a difficult time in Soviet foreign relations, and how the regime achieved a withdrawal from international affairs.

Engaging the World: Soviet Diplomacy and Foreign Propaganda in the 1920s

…in the iTunes U project  Could be good for the world in general, but really good from the point if view of publicity. I can heartily  recommend these lectures.  There’s some great stuff and some truly interesting speakers.