Graduate Calendar Archives: 1998 / 1999

Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies

Paterson Hall 3A59
Telephone: 520-2888
Fax: 520-7501
Email: CERAS@carleton.ca

The Institute

Director, Joan DeBardeleben

An interdepartmental committee was formed in 1963 to foster teaching, research, conferences, and publications in Soviet and East European studies at Carleton. In 1970, a separate department — the Institute of Soviet and East European Studies — was established to administer the interdisciplinary programs developed by the committee. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of l99l, the Institute of Soviet and East European Studies was renamed the Institute of Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies to reflect the changing political reality in the region. Faculty members from ten disciplines (art history, business, economics, geography, history, international affairs, law, political science, Russian, and sociology) participate regularly in the institute’s activities. They are joined on an occasional basis by visiting scholars from outside the University, including invited specialists from Eastern and Central Europe and the successor states to the USSR.

In recent years the Central and East European countries and the former Soviet republics have been in the midst of a transition from one type of socio-economic and political system to another, although they are still linked with each other by earlier historical experience, the common legacy of Soviet-style communism, and by a set of similar problems resulting from that legacy. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the field of study remains unified by a concern with understanding the nature of the transitional processes affecting the region, in their multiple social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions. Institute courses and research programs focus on several broad themes. These themes are treated in historical context, with attention to historical roots and parallels of contemporary developments. Major themes include:

• legacy of the Soviet system in the region and its impact on contemporary developments
• transition periods in the history of the region, with particular emphasis on political, economic, and social dimensions of the post-communist transition
• nationalism and ethnicity as forces for change in the area
• international integration among countries of the region, and the reintegration of the region into the larger international community
• environmental problems and policies in a comparative perspective
• the changing relationship between state and society, with attention to ethnic, class, and gender issues

At the undergraduate level, the Institute offers an interdisciplinary B.A. Honours program in the field. The Institute also administers a program of studies leading to a Master of Arts degree in Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies, the first of its kind in Canada. The curricula for both programs are offered largely through participating departments. The M.A. program is designed for students wishing to acquire specialized knowledge of the region, including proficiency in the use of Russian as a research tool. The approach is interdisciplinary with emphasis on the social sciences and history. Students may take advantage of the university’s regular academic exchanges with post-secondary institutions in Hungary, Poland, and Russia.

Qualifying-Year Program

Applicants who have a general (3 year) bachelor’s degree in one of the disciplines represented in the program, or who lack sufficient area studies or language training, may be admitted to a qualifying- year program designed to raise their status to that of honours graduates in East European Studies. Students are expected to achieve high honours standing in qualifying-year courses in order to qualify for admission to the master’s year.

To be eligible for admission to the qualifying-year program, an applicant must already have taken some courses in the area of East European Studies, so that by the end of the program he or she will have satisfied the basic requirements for admission to the master’s program. All students are normally required to have completed the equivalent of an introductory course in Russian upon entry into the qualifying-year program.

Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

The normal requirement for admission to the master’s program is an honours degree (or equivalent), with at least high honours standing, dealing with East European Studies.

Honours graduates in other disciplines are eligible for admission provided they meet the following requirements:

• A total of 7.0 credits in the field should have been taken in no fewer than three different departments (excluding Russian language courses)
• At least high honours standing
• A reading knowledge of Russian (normally equivalent to two academic years of Russian instruction, or one year with an intensive summer program) or, at the discretion of the Institute, equivalent knowledge of another of the region’s languages.

Program Requirements

The specific requirements in the master’s program are the following:

• East European Studies 55.500 and 55.501, two 0.5 credit seminars in Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies, offered specially by the Institute and incorporating the approaches of several relevant disciplines
• 2.0 credits chosen with the approval of the graduate supervisor from the list below, with at least 1.0 credit (or the equivalent) at the 500-level. No more than 1.0 credit may be taken at the 400-level. No more than 0.5 credit may be taken in the Department of Russian
• One of the following:

East European Studies 55.598, a research essay incorporating the approaches of at least two of the disciplines represented in the program; the research essay must be combined with an additional 1.0 credit, or the equivalent, chosen from those listed below (not including Russian) and must be defended orally
or
East European Studies 55.599, an M.A. thesis which must combine the interdisciplinary approach with a greater degree of originality than that required of the research essay, and which must be defended orally

In both cases (55.598, 55.599) the paper should demonstrate that its author is capable of undertaking research in Russian, or in another language used in the region. The 55.599 option cannot be taken without the specific permission of the graduate supervisor.

• Each student must demonstrate proficiency in Russian or in another of the region’s languages. A list of languages which may be selected to meet this requirement is available from the Institute. If a language other than Russian is selected (a) this language must be utilized in undertaking research for the research essay or M.A. thesis; (b) its selection must be approved by the graduate supervisor; and (c) the student must demonstrate proficiency in the language by passing a written translation examination.

Proficiency in Russian may be demonstrated in one of two ways:

(a)  successful completion of a written translation examination to be administered by the Institute, or

(b) completion of 36.307 (Russian Syntax) and 36.308 (Russian Translation) with a minimum grade of B+, either within two years prior to admission, or as extra to the degree while enrolled in the master’s program

Language courses taken to enable a student to fulfil the language requirement cannot be used to fulfil the minimum course requirements for the master’s program, described above.

Students are advised to consult with the relevant departments for final course listings for 1998-99, as changes in curricula may be made too late for inclusion in the Calendar; not all of the courses are offered every year. Undergraduate courses below the 400-level may be taken by qualifying-year students, and by students in the M.A. program as supplementary to the minimum M.A. requirements. (See the program description for the Institute in the Undergraduate Calendar.)

Other 400- and 500-level courses may be approved by graduate advisers as Institute of Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies credits if they are deemed appropriate to a particular student’s objectives.

Academic Standing

Master’s candidates must obtain a grade of B– or better on each credit counted towards the degree.

Guidelines for Completion of Master’s Degree

Students are normally expected to complete all requirements for the master’s degree in four to six terms, although students entering the program with sufficient proficiency in Russian may complete the degree within one calendar year. Students participating in international exchanges will normally require longer to complete degree requirements.

Graduate Courses

Not all of the following courses are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for 1998-99, please consult the Registration Instructions and Class Schedule booklet published in the summer.

F,W,S indicates term of offering. Courses offered in the fall and winter are followed by T. The number following the letter indicates the credit weight of the course: 1 denotes 0.5 credit, 2 denotes 1.0 credit, etc.

East European Studies 55.500F1
Interdisciplinary Seminar I

The theme of the seminar varies from year to year, but the continuing objective is to apply the approaches and methods of several relevant disciplines to selected themes and countries.

East European Studies 55.501W1
Interdisciplinary Seminar II

Students should normally complete 55.500Fl before enrolling in this course. In addition to continued discussion of approaches and methods of several relevant disciplines, students will begin preparatory work on their master’s research essays or theses.

East European Studies 55.502Fl or Wl
State-Society Relations in Transition

This seminar addresses the relationship between social forces and state structures at both the national and local levels in the USSR, in its successor states, and/or in other Central/East European states.
Prerequisite: Appropriate facility in the Russian language and approval of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.505F1,W1
Environmental Problems and Politics in East/Central Europe and Eurasia

Nature, origins and policy responses viewed from economic, political and geographic perspectives.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with additional or different requirements, as East European Studies 55.405«, for which additional credit is precluded.
Prerequisite: 1.0 credit in the area of East European or environmental studies, or permission of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.507W1
Social and Political Discourse in Russia

Contemporary, social and political issues as covered in Russian-language media. Most course reading and instruction in Russian-language but student participation may be in English or Russian.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with additional or different credit requirements, as East European Studies 55.407«, for which additional credit is precluded.
Prerequisite: Appropriate facility in the Russian language and permission of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.508F1,W1
Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Eastern and Central Europe

Ethnic basis of nationalism in the region. Ethnic politics and trends.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with additional or different requirements, as East European Studies 55.408«, for which additional credit is precluded.
Precludes additional credit for East European Studies 55.401« (taken prior to 1997-98).
Prerequisite: Permission of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.509F1,W1
Development of the Russian North

An overview of the economic, social and political development of the Russian North.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with additional or different requirements, as East European Studies 55.409«, for which additional credit is precluded.
Precludes additional credit for East European Studies 55.402« (if taken before 1995-96).
Prerequisite: Permission of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.510
Nation Building in Central and Eastern Europe

Processes of nation-building in the region examined in terms of a particular country, or set of countries. Country focus may vary.
Also offered at the undergraduate level, with additional or different requirements, as East European Studies 55.410«, for which additional credit is precluded.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Institute.

East European Studies 55.590F1
Tutorial in Russian-Area Studies

A course of directed readings on selected aspects of the Soviet successor states, involving preparation of papers as the basis for discussion with the tutor. Offered when no regular course offering meets a candidate’s specific needs.

East European Studies 55.591W1
Tutorial in Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.592S1
Tutorial in Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.593F1
Tutorial in Central and East European Studies

A course of directed readings on selected aspects of Eastern and Central Europe, involving preparation of papers as the basis for discussions with the tutor. Offered when no regular course offering meets a candidate’s specific needs.

East European Studies 55.594W1
Tutorial in Central and East European and Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.595S1
Tutorial in Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.596T2
Tutorial in Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.598F2, W2, S2
Research Essay

A research essay on some topic relating to Central/East European and Russian-Area Studies

East European Studies 55.599F4, W4, S4
M.A. Thesis

Other courses may be available at the University of Ottawa.