Welcome to Twentieth-Century Russian History at Virginia Tech for Fall 2014. This site (aka “The Motherblog for the Motherland”) is the gateway to a hybrid course in which students author original research posts on topics of their choosing, using print materials, sources available on the open web, and databases provided by the Virginia Tech Library. An editorial team comprised of the instructor and three alumnae of last year’s course curate the posts from individual researchers into a Weekly Digest that appears on Wednesday afternoons. An overview of the current issue and guidelines for the upcoming digest are provided in “Motherblog Central” (on the left sidebar). The editors award posts of exceptional quality a “Red Star” categorization and the most compelling of the Red Star posts are featured in the slider. Posts that garner significant comment or warrant further discussion are placed in the “Comrades’ Corner.” The class also confers a “Students’ Choice” award weekly and this post is featured in the grey sticky area at the center of the site.
Because students choose their own topics, the site represents the diversity of students’ interests and the Soviet experience. Everything from war, revolution, and famine to changing gender roles, literary life and prison tattoos has a space here. You are welcome click around and encouraged to contribute to the many interesting discussions taking place in the comment section.
Course Documents:
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