Moscow, Russia: History, Politics, and Culture
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO RUN AGAIN SUMMER 2014
Led for the fifth time by Dr. Robert Goeckel, first director of SUNY's office in Moscow, this program offers two three-credit courses during a one-month period in early summer of 2012.
Fast Facts
| Program Type: | Faculty-led |
| Term/Duration: | Summer/4 weeks |
| Summer 2012 Program Dates: | May 15 - June 14 (tentative) |
| Credits: | 6 |
| Application Fee: | $20 |
| Estimated Program Fee: | $4525 |
| Tuition: | $1320 NYS Residents/$3582 Non-NYS Residents |
| Application Deadline: | March 1, 2012 |
The Courses
Dr. Goeckel teaches the first course, Politics of Russia (PLSC 291: Russia Yesterday and Today) providing an overview of Russian history -- pre-revolutionary as well as Soviet -- and analyzing the collapse of communism under Gorbachev. Changes under Yeltsin, Putin and Medvedev, as well as current dilemmas of the transition will receive particular treatment.
A second course (INTD 250: Russian Civilization) will be taught by a variety of professors from Moscow State University. It will cover several aspects of Russian civilization such as Moscow's development as a city, Moscow architecture, contemporary media and film, business culture in Russia, 19th and 20th century Russian art, and religion in Russia.
The format of the program is intensive, with morning seminars followed by a wide variety of excursions and briefings. Scheduled in the afternoons and some evenings, these sessions provide the basis for ensuing discussions. Both courses are 200-level and meet the requirements for majors in Political Science and International Relations; non-majors may apply one course toward the Social Science and Multicultural general education requirements.
The Setting
Political changes are reflected in Moscow's architecture: from its fortress Kremlin and Red Square to the Lubyanka KGB headquarters and Lenin's mausoleum; from beautiful onion-domed churches and monasteries to the modern restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior; from wedding cake Stalin-era skyscrapers to the glistenin glass towers of Russian "biznes"; from the narrow medieval streets to broad boulevards and modern subways; from the historic Bolshoi Theater and Moscow Conservatory to modernistic New Opera and avante-garde musical venues.
Moscow excursions include: the Kremlin (churches, Armory); World War II museum and memorial; Lenin's tomb and country estate; KGB headquarters; political cemetary of the Young Maidens Convent; Duma; Gorky Park; Russian Orthodox Patriarch's headquarters and Danilovskii monastery; Kolomenskoe estate; and the New Tretyakov Art Gallery.
St. Petersburg excursions include the Hermitage Museum; Peter the Great's Summer Palace; the Peter and Paul Fortress; St. Isaac's Cathedral, and White Nights festivities.
