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Russian and East European History

Convenor: Donald J. Raleigh

Program Description

UNC's graduate program in Russian and Soviet history offers broad training in modern Russian history of the Imperial and Soviet eras. In addition to a two-semester sequence of courses in modern European history, students majoring in the field also take specialized reading colloquia on Imperial and Soviet history taught by Professors Louise McReynolds and Donald J. Raleigh respectively, and research seminars taught by them and other Europeanists. Professors McReynolds and Raleigh likewise teach specialized courses on Russia’s Eurasian Empire, the Russian Revolution, nineteenth-century culture and identity, the Soviet Union since 1929, women in Russian history, and a variety of topical courses. Graduate students specializing in the field must take a directed reading course on medieval and Muscovite history as well. They have the option of broadening the Russian history major to include East Europe by enrolling in the field colloquium taught by Professor Chad Bryant. Alternatively, they can declare East European history their minor field by completing two courses in the area.

Those interested in pursuing graduate work in East European history may do so within the Russian/Soviet or West European orbit. Professor Bryant offers graduate colloquia on East and Central European history. He and Professor Raleigh also teach a colloquium that introduces History Department students to both Russian and East European history, and which serves as a capstone course for students enrolled in the university's interdisciplinary MA program in Russian and East European studies administered by the UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies.

The Russian and East European History graduate program cooperates closely with the federally-funded UNC-Duke Joint Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies and with Duke University's Department of History. This cooperation expands the course offerings available to UNC students, who may enroll in classes at Duke taught by Russianists Martin Miller and Anna Krylova. The joint UNC-Duke center also provides fellowship support for advanced language training, maximizes the impact of spending for library purchases thanks to a cooperative purchasing program, and boasts a lively program of speakers and related initiatives. UNC participates in several programs at Russian and East European universities, and is developing a strategic partnership with the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) in Moscow.

All of the students who completed the Ph.D. since 1995 or who are now writing their dissertations have won prestigious national dissertation research and/or writing fellowships funded by organizations such as Fulbright-Hayes, ACTR, IREX, and the SSRC. Recent recipients of the Ph.D. have accepted teaching appointments at the University of Iowa, California State University-Chico, Loyola University (Chicago), University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Clayton State University, Texas A&M, College of the Holy Cross, Arhus University (Denmark), and Rocky Mountain College.

Click here for information about Comprehensive Exams in Russian and Eastern European History.

Faculty

Chad Bryant	Associate Professor	UC-Berkley	Twentieth-century East European history
Louise McReynolds	Professor	Chicago	Imperial Russia, Popular Culture, and Cultural Studies; Russian history, Medieval and Imperial, intellectual history, gender history
Donald J. Raleigh	Jay Richard Judson D.P.	Indiana	Twentieth-century Russian and Soviet history