RUTR 2460

When I was looking to take this course all the reviews were a little old, so I wanted to offer a more recent one. Overall, it's not an awful class: the material was very interesting, there were minimal assignments, and Professor Clowes is generally a good lecturer. The readings were a bit dry, but about halfway through the course I realized that skimming them was fine as long as you took good notes when Clowes discussed them in class. There are 10 VSAs ("very short assignments") in the syllabus, but you only have to do 8 of them. They usually aren't hard and just ask a question about the readings or course material that you answer in a few hundred words. However, VSAs often seemed to be graded arbitrarily -- one of them was to draw a map of Russia, and she took points off mine because Crimea wasn't shaped exactly like a bull's head despite never having mentioned that was a distinct or important feature in class. She's also weirdly strict about grammar -- she WILL take off if your grammar is not to her standards.

There were two or three class debates where we were put into groups and asked to debate based on a certain POV. Since I NEVER spoke up in class otherwise, I'm assuming this is where the participation portion of the grade came in. I'm pretty sure as long as you talk in one of the rounds you'll get 100% for participation! Debates were generally disorganized and weren't really true "debates" -- the moderators would ask a question that each group would respond to, and then one group had the chance to rebut.

I took this class as a chemistry major with no knowledge of Russian language and it was perfectly fine. Clowes sometimes relates class topics to Russian authors or the language because a lot of students were Russian majors, but it was nothing that hindered understanding of the course material.

There was no final exam, and the three midterms were fairly straightforward: matching events and dates, picture IDs, vocab IDs, and a few short essay questions (like a paragraph each). Clowes provides a study guide of terms and dates to know so it's easy to prepare. Readings ARE on the exam, but usually in the form of IDs so you only had to know the very very main point. She also lets you choose like 5/8 (the number varied) IDs you want to do so I usually just focused on other material and skipped reading IDs on exams. I got an A on every exam without knowing much about the readings.

Oh, I almost forgot about the final book project: you do have to choose an academic book about Russian culture and write a paper on it. It seems daunting at first, but Clowes provides some guidance on what to include and is flexible with how you approach the topic. Most books on the list were collections of essays, so you could get away with reading a few of the essays and writing the paper on that. I read less than 1/2 of my 300 page book and got an A on the paper -- just make sure you don't have any major grammar mistakes and connect the book to class topics and you'll be fine.

Overall, if you're looking for a class to knock out two requirements this one is definitely low-effort and interesting. Although Clowes' grading was annoying, for the amount of effort I put in this class was definitely worth it.

This class is wonderful, and should be taken if you have any interest in Russian history or culture. It covers the formation of Russia as a country, all the way to the creation and breakup of the Soviet Union. The homework is minimal and easy. It is ten one page papers (about 100 words each) and a 1000 word paper- for me it was a book review. The reading is not too difficult and often interesting. Professor Clowes is great and clearly super enthusiastic about Russia, so the lectures are engaging and informative. Definitely take this class!

Prof. Clowes is a great professor - helpful and visibly passionate about the material. It's a small class so she learns your name pretty quickly, and she actually organizes a class dinner near the end of the semester in the Garden Room, which was pretty cool since it was my first semester of my first year. As a culture course, a lot of the material involves art, literature, and some music, theatre, and even a film alongside memorizing dates and some events. Her study guides as well as Quizlets on the final/midterm make it easy to get As. Also, I don't know if my writing is really that good or if she/the TA is just an easy grader, but it's not difficult to do well on any of the writings in the class. Length of the readings vary but are generally short. There are some long books but nothing too crazy. ((also ps most of the readings that were actually books are available online, I didn't buy any of the books for the class)). The final project isn't bad at all and she gives an extreme amount of time to finish it. Overall, I would definitely recommend this class to anyone, especially first-years even if you know nothing about Russian culture.

I really enjoyed this class and recommend it to anyone who shows an interest in any aspect of Russia. Professor Clowes was my favorite professor this semester because she's clearly passionate about the content and her quirkiness makes it better. I took this class my first semester in college and I am really grateful I did because I was able to do well which I credit to Professor Clowes and the way she outlines the class. Overall, my experience was positive and this class opened my mind to numerous other classes I can take in relation to Russia.

Clowes is a passionate and interactive professor. She's kind of quirky and she makes you love the course! The workload is varied throughout the semester but nothing took too long and all of the readings were engaging.

Don't take this class unless you REALLY like Russian culture. The course was in the evening for me, and I struggled to stay awake. The professor has no sense of schedule and often allows us to go off topic. The readings are boring. There are 1-page weekly writings. There are 2 tests, and a final paper (along with a five-minute presentation relating to your paper).

I have no clue what she wants in the writings. I've received consistent 45/50s on all of my writings even though she writes "great job!" on the bottom of all of the writings. She doesn't provide any information as to how to improve your writing.

Interesting course. Write a few papers, there isn't too much reading and the professor is really into it. Need to go to class but don't need to pay much attention to get an A