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Syllabus:

Ukraine between East and West, 7.5 credits

Swedish name: Ukraina mellan öst och väst
This syllabus is valid: 2024-03-04 and until further notice
Course code: 1HI089
Credit points: 7.5
Education level: Second cycle
Main Field of Study and progress level: History: Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
Grading scale: Pass with distinction, Pass, Fail
Responsible department: Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies
Established by: Faculty director of studies, Faculty of arts, 2024-03-08

Contents

The course deals with the development of Ukraine as a region and nation between East and West. The aim is primarily to provide a historical-political background to the war between Russia and Ukraine that started in February 2022. The focus is on the historical development after the First World War. The course includes themes on the use of history, methodological nationalism and general historiographical perspectives.  

Expected learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding: 

  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of the history of Ukraine, with an emphasis on the post-World War I period. 
  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of the historical forces that have characterised and shaped the history of Ukraine. 
  • Demonstrate basic understanding of the concepts of methodological nationalism and teleology. 

Skills and Abilities: 

  • Be able to problematise Ukraine's position as a region and/or nation between West and East and the consequences of this in different periods of history. 
  • Be able to use the concept of methodological nationalism and teleology in analysing the historiography of Ukraine. 

Judgment and Approach: 

  • Be able to evaluate and take a critical approach to historiography that tries to use history for political reasons in different ways. 
  • Be able to discuss and relate to different historical-moral aspects of Ukraine's history. 

 

Required Knowledge

History 90 credits or History of Ideas 90 credits, or a Bachelor's degree regardless of subject (180 credits), or equivalent. English 6/level 2 and (if the course is given in Swedish) Swedish for basic eligibility for university studies.

Form of instruction

The course is taught in English or Swedish (depending on the students' language skills) and consists of lectures, seminars, group exercises and individual work. In cases where participation in lectures or exercises is compulsory, i.e. of an examination nature, this is specifically stated in the timetable. In case of absence from compulsory sessions, supplementary information is provided by the teacher. 

Technical requirements when the course is conducted as an online course:  

  • A secure and good internet connection 
  • A computer (Mac/PC).  
  • Webcam and microphone 

 

Examination modes

The course is continuously examined through participation in mandatory seminars and individual homework assignments. The course contains of two modules. Literature studies and Historical analysis. Seminars within the modules are classified with grades Pass or Fail. Individual homework assignments are graded with Pass with distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U). To pass the course (min. grade Pass), all mandatory parts must have received the grade Pass. To receive a Pass with distinction (VG) on the course, the total grade on both modules must be VG.

Students who have passed may not undergo further examination for higher grades. For those students who have not been approved at the regular examination opportunity, a re-examination is arranged within two months after the ordinary examination opportunity, and another within one year, so-called collection examination.  

A student who does not fully meet the objectives for an examination but is close to the limit for a passing grade can, at the decision of the examiner, be given the opportunity to supplement to achieve the examination task's criteria for a passing grade. Completion of the examination must be individually adapted based on the goal(s) not achieved by the student and must take place within two weeks after the students have been notified of the examination results but before the next examination opportunity. It is only permitted to supplement an unapproved result to a passed one, supplementing for a higher grade is not permitted.

Deviations from the syllabus' examination form can be made for a student who has a decision on pedagogical support due to a disability. Individual adaptation of the examination form must be considered based on the student's needs. The examination form is adapted within the framework of the syllabus' expected study results. At the request of the student, the course teacher in consultation, in consultation with the examiner, shall promptly decide on an adapted form of examination. The decision must then be notified to the student.  

Other regulations

In granting a university degree, this course may not be combined with any other course that has a similar content. In case of uncertainty, the student should consult the Director of Studies at the Department of Conceptual and Social Studies at Umeå University.  

In the event that the syllabus expires or undergoes major changes, students are guaranteed at least three exams (including regular exams) according to the regulations in the syllabus on which the student was originally registered for a period of a maximum of two years from the previous syllabus expires or the course has been discontinued.  

Literature

The Ukrainians : the story of how a people became a nation
Wilson Andrew
New edition. : New Haven : Yale University Press : 2022 : xvii, 434 pages, 28 unnumbered pages of plates :

ISBN: 9780300269406
LIBRIS ID: s93q43cvq02gd4zb
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Ukraine and Russia : from civilized divorce to uncivil war
D'Anieri Paul J.
Second edition. : Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press : 2023 : xiv, 372 pages :
ISBN: 9781009315548
LIBRIS ID: gx8n77xrdtn4xhcm
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Porten till Europa : Ukrainas historia
Plokhy Serhii, Sjöwall Trodden Katarina
Första upplagan : Stockholm : Bokförlaget Stolpe : 2024 : 501 sidor :
ISBN: 9789189696105
LIBRIS ID: 5nnxmzh337n8vrrc
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

"Slava Ukraini!" : strategy and the spirit of Ukrainian resistance, 2014-2023
Käihkö Ilmari
Helsinki : Helsinki University Press : 2023 : xi, 323 sivua :
LIBRIS ID: cwdqq5lk9q8h3nqn
ISBN: 9789523690943
Search the University Library catalogue

The Russo-Ukrainian war
Plokhy Serhii
[London] : Penguin Books : 2023 : xxii, 380 sidor :
LIBRIS ID: 9smhnrnl73kmvn2x
ISBN: 9781802061789
Search the University Library catalogue

Occupation : Russian rule in south-eastern Ukraine
Lewis David
London : Hurst & Company : 2025 : xvi, 384 pages :
LIBRIS ID: 2mhqlvxw0fccbwcl
ISBN: 9781911723080
ISBN: 1911723081
Search the University Library catalogue

Reordering of meaningful worlds : memory of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in post-Soviet Ukraine
Yurchuk Yuliya
Stockholm : Department of History, Stockholm University : 2014 : 295 s. :

LIBRIS ID: 17363170
ISBN: 9789176490211
ISBN: 9789187843129
Search the University Library catalogue

Additional on-line material and source texts will be added. Reading instructions will be given when the course begins

The Ukrainians : the story of how a people became a nation
Wilson Andrew
New edition. : New Haven : Yale University Press : 2022 : xvii, 434 pages, 28 unnumbered pages of plates :

ISBN: 9780300269406
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Ukraine and Russia : from civilized divorce to uncivil war
D'Anieri Paul J.
Second edition. : Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press : 2023 : xiv, 372 pages :
ISBN: 9781009315548
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Porten till Europa : Ukrainas historia
Plokhy Serhii, Sjöwall Trodden Katarina
Första upplagan : Stockholm : Bokförlaget Stolpe : 2024 : 501 sidor :
ISBN: 9789189696105
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Additional on-line material and source texts will be added. Reading instructions will be given when the course begins