Faculty Course: The Soviet Myth in Contemporary Russian Culture

The course provides basic knowledge of how the Soviet past is presented in contemporary Russian culture. The course focuses on the period of 2012-2022 before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.   The course focuses on the following phenomena and concepts:  - the role of the State and other actors in the promotion of the Soviet myth, - the role of nostalgia in the post-Soviet period, - myth as a tool for maintaining norms and organizing reality, - censorship, propaganda and other forms of discursive control. The course consists of two parts: Part 1: Myth I (seminars), 5 hp Discussion of different topics related to the Soviet myth. Part 2: Myth II (oral presentation and a final written assignment), 2,5 hp Based on the topics discussed in part 1, the student conducts an analysis of a phenomenon of contemporary Russian culture and presents it orally and/or in writing.