Ties That Bind and Ties That Sever: Russia and Ukraine (Mercer)

This class will take place October 4 and 11, 10:00a.m.-Noon, at Mercer Community Center, with Michael Hittle.

Please note that this class is offered in TWO locations. Click here for the Hurley class, which will take place October 18 and 25.

Click here for supplementary reading materials.

This course has two objectives. First, to provide an overview of the tangled relationship between the peoples of Muscovy and Russia, on the one hand, and the peoples of the geographic area known as Ukraine, on the other. In pursuit of this objective, the course will survey major political events, leading personalities, and defining cultural developments that have shaped the main contours of the relationship between these two peoples over the course of more than 1000 years.

The second objective will be to observe the ways in which history itself, as recorded and interpreted from the days of monastic chroniclers to the age of secular historians, has played an active role in creating notions of national identity that are so central to this complex interaction of peoples. 

This course will be a mixture of lecture and discussion of some readings-with an emphasis on the former. 

After a brief introduction to the geography of the area in question, the first session will trace the political activities of the main political entities that have sought to control all or part of Ukraine and identify the cultural imprints these powers left on the institutions and peoples of Ukraine. The second session will focus on the place of Ukraine within imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union. It will conclude by taking a look at a provocative interpretation that places the Russian-Ukrainian question within a broader context of 21st century international relations. 

Requirements: The instructor will provide readings for the students—some online, others to be handed out. Primary source readings will be emphasized.

Instructor: Michael Hittle, PhD

Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 892-3982 or (715) 476-2881.

Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.