What you
must do in this unit
- Read the
textbook chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.
- Check the remarks by
Professor Blois and Professor Evans on the development of the early Muscovite state.
- Study the Questions to Consider
and the Key Terms for the Unit.
- Post (or respond) your thoughts/ideas about this Unit's reading and assignment in the Blackboard online discussion forum. Do not post your assignment there.
What you can do in this unit
- Read the notes by Professor Hammond on the "Mongol Influence on Russia,"
a very good summary of the pros and cons of the debate over whether the
Mongols were "good" or "bad" for Russia. (*.pdf file)
- Read the notes on the Mongol Invasion of Hungary in the thirteenth century. These were done by Maria Grof-Tisza, a student in HIS 111.
- Read chapter 6, chapter 7, chapter 8 and chapter 9 from Mary Platt Parmele (1843-1911) A Short History of Russia (1907, 4th edition). These are short chapters, and this is optional reading.
Some videos that you can watch for this unit
Extra Credit Options
- For 50 points maximum extra credit, watch Andrei
Rublev and write a one-page paper explaining Rublev's place in medieval Russia.
- For 50 points maximum extra credit, watch Aleksandr
Nevskii
and write a one-page paper making historical connection between 1938
with 1242. Also add some comments about the art of the film.
- For 50 points maximum extra credit, read
David Nicolle, et al, Kalka River 1223: Genghiz Khan's Mongols Invade Russia (2002)
and write a one-page paper that answers the question, What factors contributed to the Russian defeat by the Mongol forces?
- One of the most famous, surviving pieces of medieval
Russian literature is the Song of Prince Igor (various titles); this
is also available in a version, excellently translated by Vladimir Nabokov (You can also
have a look at the Old Russian original). Finally, I want also to
mention Aleksandr Borodin's opera, Prince Igor.
The opera was not completed by Borodin before his death, but his
friends Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Aleksandr Glazunov finished it; it
was first performed in 1890. For 25 points maximum extra credit, read
"The Song of Prince Igor" and write a paragraph explaining how the "Song" adds to our understanding of early Russian history.
- For 25 points maximum extra credit, check
The Mongols in World History website and
write a paragraph that answers the question, What factors allowed the Mongols to construct such a large empire?
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