Download Formative essay topics 2016/17 File

Utopian Visions: The Soviet Experience through the Arts
Jan Plamper & Simon Huxtable
Essay (formative)
Deadline: Thursday, 12 January by 1pm
Essay Topics
NB: Self-designed topics are most welcome. The only condition is that you consult with Simon in
advance.
1. How does history help us to read artistic sources? Discuss with reference to two or more works.
2. How do artistic sources help us understand history? Discuss with reference to two or more works.
3. Discuss in depth the historical significance of one avant-garde work of art (from any branch of the
arts, from poetry to the visual arts and music).
4. Discuss in depth the historical significance of one Socialist Realist work of art (from any branch of
the arts, from poetry to the visual arts and music).
5. Discuss in depth the historical context of one avant-garde work of art (from any branch of the arts,
from poetry to the visual arts and music) including how this work of art was made, and how that
might affect our interpretation of the work.
6. Discuss in depth the historical context of one Socialist Realist work of art (from any branch of the
arts, from poetry to the visual arts and music) including how this work of art was made, and how that
might affect our interpretation of the work.
7. How did Soviet writers and poets seek to represent and bring into being the society of the future?
8. Describe and explain the technique of montage in film and its historical and artistic significance.
9. Was Soviet visual culture of the 1920s characterised by the desire to translate art into life?
10. Was socialist realism a political ideology, an artistic movement, a state of mind, or all of the above?
11. To what extent can socialist realism be characterised as a "disaster of middlebrow taste" (Evgeny
Dobrenko)?
12. How 'new' was the revolutionary culture of the early Soviet era?
13. Describe the artistic manifestations of the Stalin cult and their evolution over time.
14. Explain where the Stalin cult came from and how it is best interpreted.
15. To what extent was Shostakovich a ‘Soviet’ composer? Explain with reference to his relationship
with Soviet power, especially Stalin.
16. What might go into a biography along the lines of The life and work of X for a key figure in Soviet
culture? Explain your decisions.