WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14].
Link to some
student web projects on St. Petersburg.
Link to the page:
"From the Initial Search to the Produced Web Page"
Link to a list of
general sites on St. Petersburg
This First-Year Seminar will explore the character, culture and history of
this powerfully magical "gem" of Russian cities. We will trace its growth in
the course of its history. We will find its soul in the literature, art, and
music that took root and flourished there. We will mark its physical
beauty by contemplating its image in paintings, photographs and films. We
will seek to know its heart by meeting real people who call St. Petersburg
home or who forever now feel its lure. Our resource base: books, music,
pictures, films, people, the Internet. This course is taught in ENGLISH!
Our main skills goal for the course is to expand on the work initiated in the fall semester of the First Year Program, enhancing students' skills in writing, speaking and especially research. The defined tasks of the First Year Seminar:
Our additional skills goal is to explore ways in which we can utilize technology in our learning and teaching. (No prior tech skills are required!)
Skills training and help will be available on such topics as: "How to create a web page" "How to create a powerful PowerPoint presentation" "How to use library and web resources" "How to surf the net" "How to write effectively in a variety of styles" "How to analyze a literary text" "How to read a painting" "How to compare fact and fiction" "How to decipher the useful from both documentary and feature films." While the major emphasis will be on improving writing and speaking skills, there will be emphasis too on improving listening and reading skills.
Our main content goal for the course is to explore the mythos of St. Petersburg as described by Solomon Volkov in the preface to his book St. Petersburg: A Cultural History outlined here as The Mythos of St. Petersburg
The assignments and projects for this course will help us meet these goals.
GENERAL INFORMATION. All our assignments and projects are posted on our Blackboard course site http://bb.stlawu.edu. (You have already been enrolled into the St. Petersburg course.) N.B. Our Blackboard site is the definitive place to find all our daily assignments (including any last minute changes: check the "Announcements" section frequently!), links to websites to visit, and detailed instructions for our projects. In addition we will use Blackboard to hold some of our discussions, post our commentaries and critiques, and share our projects.
It may happen that a class may be added, or class time or place may be changed, to fit the schedule of a guest speaker or the constraints of a special program, such as a concert or film. These changes will be announced in class (if possible) and in the "Announcements" section of our Blackboard course site.
COURSE LAYOUT
We will spend the first (approximately) 8 weeks building our background understanding of St. Petersburg, its history and culture, and the leaders and common folk who called Petersburg home. During this time we will be doing a lot of reading and viewing (films, pictures, presentations, etc.). We will also being learning and applying techniques for effective writing, speaking, reading, and viewing. In the last part of the course, the focus will shift to research and development as we work on our two major projects: 1) a research paper (with visual and written components) presented to the class and published as a web page; 2) a PowerPoint presentation on one day's assignment presented to the class during our end of course review sessions and archived on our Blackboard course site. In the last half of the course, our resources also shift to include a number of online and live guest guest speakers with Petersburg connections.
READING AND WEB ASSIGNMENTS. Use our course website to find links to the daily assignments - readings (see the "Required Reading List" below) and web sites to visit. N.B. Sites marked with a "*" are "must see" sites, i.e. explore these sites first.
Also on our course web site you can find some pages devoted to:
In addition, on this course web site (see above) you can find a link to the web projects of previous students who took this FYS course and its prototype (a special topics) course. There is also a link to a page entitled: "From the Initial Search to the Produced Web Page."
There are lots of great web sites on St. Petersburg and the surrounding area. Here is a place to start "surfing": "Welcome to Saint Petersburg" (in Russian with English translations at some spots). With the right plug-ins you can:
(Xerox works available separately; books available in the book store for purchase)
LITERARY WORKS:
A. S. Pushkin. "The Bronze Horseman" [xerox] (poem/tale about Peter-the-Great, the city he created, and the ordinary people who have to fight the destructive forces unleashed by Nature and Peter's willfulness); and his fantastic story "The Queen of Spades" [xerox] (later made into an opera by Tchaikovsky).
N. V. Gogol. Diary of a Madman and Other Stories, NAL, 1970 (paperback). "The Nose," "The Overcoat," "Diary of a Madman" ; also [xerox] excerpts from his story "Nevsky Prospect" (Wild tales of fantastic occurrences in Petersburg).
F. M. Dostoevsky. Notes from Underground, Mass Market Paperback / NAL, 1976 (paperback). "Notes from Underground," "White Nights" (Rather bizarre, yet realistic tales defining Petersburg types); also [xerox] excerpts from Crime and Punishment.
A. Biely. St. Petersburg, Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 1989 (paperback) (Symbolist novel set in the revolutionary period of 1905) [Purchase this edition; another edition is circulating which is about 100pp. longer!].
and the 20th century poets... A. Akhmatova, J. Brodksy, and others [xerox]
...and [xerox] excerpts from other poems and prose works from 19th-20th century Russian literature
HISTORICAL WORKS:
Arthur L. George (with Elena George) St. Petersburg: Russia's Window to the Future; The First Three Centuries. Lanham, New York, Oxford: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2003. (View the author's website, includes links to websites and suggestions for further reading.)
R. Massie. Peter the Great. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986 (paperback). [excerpts] ("Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Peter the Great is a richly textured book which unfurls the tapestry of medieval Russia--that of Peter's birth, and the very different Russia he shaped with his energy, genius and vision. Impetuous and stubborn, generous and cruel, tender and unforgiving, a man of enormous energy and complexity, Peter the Great is brought fully to life. Includes a sixteen-page insert and map." Source: book's advertising.)
R. Massie. Nicholas and Alexandra. New York: Dell, 1985 (paperback). [excerpts] (Biographical account of the last tsar and his family, along with a view of the Russian Revolution of 1917.)(Massie offers a moving, tragic, and unforgettable account of the extraordinary Imperial dynasty of Tsar Nicholas II, his doomed empire, and a revolution that would inexorably change the world forever. 'A larger than life drama.'--Saturday Review. Source: book's advertising.)
Vera Inber. Leningrad Diary [xerox excerpts] (Diary of a writer who lived through the 900 day blockade in Leningrad during WWII.)
...and [xerox] excerpts from other historical works
OTHER:
Knopf Guides. St. Petersburg. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.,
1995 (paperback). (A fantastically rich and colorful tour guide of the Russian city,
including sections on Nature, History and Language, Arts and Traditions,
Architecture, and St. Petersburg in the works of painters and writers.)
RECOMMENDED:
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. (Fifth Edition).
Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002 (paperback). Especially useful is
companion Web site to this handbook. (The Web site includes a link to an update of the MLA system of documenting sources).
S. Volkov. St. Petersburg: A Cultural History. Simon & Schuster, 1997 (paperback). (A book, written by a native of Leningrad / St. Petersburg, which explores the St. Petersburg Mythos in detail.)
Besides the general reading and web assignments, several (non-graded) research tool assignments (using print and web resources; using library resources, etc.) will be given.
Students will be given several oral assignments, such as responding to study questions, leading part of the day's discussion, reporting on their research project (see below).
Discussion Board. Using the Discussion Board of our Blackboard course site, students will be required to post observations/comments (paragraphs of at least 5 intelligent sentences), and to respond intelligently (not just "I agree with so-and-so") to other people's comments and observations. Most times the forums (topics) will be set by the teacher; but students are always free to start their own forums. Students will be required to join in all the discussions with our on line guests as well.
Students will be required to write several short papers/essays and reaction pieces (some during class). One such assignment will be to develop an analysis of a literary work.
E-Journal Writing. Students will keep an active in-class journal which will include answering questions posed in class or giving their reactions to the day's web sites/readings/films or the discussion topic. Students are encouraged to augment this journal at home by adding their own general notes, observations, questions on the readings, web sites, films, discussions, guests, etc. Journals will be collected (via the Drop Box in Blackboard) every 2-3 weeks.
PowerPoint Project. Students will be asked to illustrate one day's assignment using a PowerPoint presentation (10-15 slides) that illustrates and amplifies our reading and web assignments for the day. The project will be presented in class for peer critiquing during weeks 11-12 (as assigned). The revised version is due one week later. The revised version will be posted on our Blackboard course site).
Research Project / Web Project. Students will research a site in St. Petersburg, a person (historical figure, writer, composer, leader, etc.) with strong ties to St. Petersburg, or an historical Petersburg event. Information (written, visual, audio - if appropriate) should be prepared in web format for publication on the course web page. Students should comment on such things as the origins/background of the site/person/event, how the perceptions of the site/person/event changed over time, the significance of the site/person/event for the city, how the site/person/event fits in with the St. Petersburg myth, etc. The project will be worked on in stages; each stage will be graded. The finished project will be posted on our course web page (available worldwide). Project is due the last day of class, Thursday, April 29th.
There will be a midterm and a comprehensive final exam for the course. These exams will include essays, creating a timeline out of given events, and matching descriptions to Petersburg sites, people and events (the matching section includes a visual component). There may also be additional brief quizzes; these mostly will be announced ahead of time.
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 4th, 1:30-4:30
CLASS ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Absences must be cleared with the instructor (ahead of time, if at all possible). For each missed class after 3 unexcused absences, the final classwork portion of the grade will go down .5
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO PREPARE ALL THE DAILY READING AND WEB VIEWING ASSIGNMENTS. Failure to do so will result in a lowering of the final classwork portion of the grade.
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO DO ALL WRITTEN AND ORAL GRADED ASSIGNMENTS. Failure to do so can result in up to .5 deduction from student's numerical final course grade average.
WRITTEN WORK IS TO BE SUBMITTED ON TIME. There will be a .5 penalty deduction for each day an assignment is late. Any unusual circumstances which excuse a student from this penalty must be cleared with the instructor (ahead of time, if at all possible).
STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITIES. Be in class, be prepared, participate, ask questions, offer constructive criticism, be respectful of others, and stay healthy!
TEACHER'S RESPONSIBILITIES. Carry through on her vision of what the course is and where it should go, speak specifically to student questions and concerns, evaluate work promptly, not get bogged down in details and lose sight of what learning is, and stay healthy!
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Last update: 3/12/04