Legacies of Empire & Sov Union · Russian Eurasian E. European
Skills: how to read on a variety of topics in a timely fashion. New perspectives of how people work in my field of study.
The history of Soviet studies and its evolution into area studies of the former Soviet Union
Great course. The varied weekly thematic was superb and kept one energized and interested in the class.
Not really sure. It was a refresher on general Soviet history. I may have sharpened my writing skills, but also not sure.
I learned a lot about legacies-based approaches to Eurasian studies, as well as a good deal about the current debates in academia regarding decolonization, decentering, and the study of post-communist countries.
I got an overview of the state area studies.
I learned a great deal about the different approaches to studying the Soviet Union and its legacies.
I learned a lot in this course, Professor Cooley was a phenomenal professor and I learned a lot from him not just about Soviet Legacy but about Harriman Institute in general.
Frequent guest lectures, while interesting take away from discussion and instruction time. If people do not have a working knowledge of contemporary Russian politics or the history of the Soviet Union - the subject matter may be difficult to grasp, especially in some of the more theory-based topics like "decolonization"
how to think about thinking, analytical frameworks with which to view Soviet and post-Soviet issues