Gender and sexual politics in USSR and contemporary Russia - Einzelansicht

‘There is no sex in USSR’ is a broadly cited cliche phrase from the perestroika era that has often been used in post-Soviet Russia as an explanation about attitude toward sexuality during Soviet times. It is worth mentioning that this phrase has been cut, omitting an important clarifying point – ‘...on television’. Soviet newspapers or TV did not aim to provide any information about sexual culture. The Central Committee, composed mainly of older males, saw sexual passion as a form of destruction of Soviet ideology (Tuller, 1996). They tried to prevent any public discussion of it. Sexuality was directly connected with shame and morality; both worked as blockers for any attempt to initiate an open conversation or sex education program among adolescents. Situation was similar in the USSR’s predecessor, the Russian Empire. There has also been increased censorship of conversation about sexual culture in contemporary Russia, since the passing of the 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law and the recent recognition of the LBTQI+ community as an extremist organization. However, even under such conditions, discourse about gender and sexuality in Russia has found multiple outlets throughout the centuries – in private conversations, publications of books, or the use of the Aesopian or even direct language in mainstream productions.

What did ordinary Soviet and Russian people think about sex? Where did they get information about sex? How have official sexuality and gender regulations affected everyday life? Has sexuality really been hidden, or has it always been an essential part of the Russophone culture?

This seminar will be directed at graduate and undergraduate students and will pursue 3 objectives:

1. To expand the knowledge about the genealogy of Russian sexuality, based on variety of sources, ranging from official documents and personal documents to small literary forms, such as stories written by Soviet women.
2. To analyze and challenge connections between Western gender and sexual critical approaches and the history of Soviet sexual culture.
3. To develop skills in gender studies methodology and post-structural textual analysis, practice them throughout the course, and apply them in an in-class presentation.

As a final assignment, students will be asked to gather in small groups and create their own project (web-site, TG or IG-channel, advertising integration or campaign etc.) for the broad audience or present an analysis of the existing cases in popular culture by using various methodological instruments. A case study should include the following parts:

1. Description of the project or analyzed case
2. Description of methodological instruments that the student used to create the project or for case analyses.
3. Analyses or detailed explanation of the project or analyzed case

Course readings will include critical overview of key texts on gender and sexuality in Soviet history. We will focus on different regimes of knowledge about gender and sexuality – legal, cultural, everyday life, etc. In this way, the course will focus on the complexity and diversity, in which sexuality and gender are constructed.

3 ECTS (for appropriate modules): 15-minute presentation on a case study

StudiumPlus (Modul Ba-SK-P-1)
Variante I: 3 ECTS 15-minute presentation on a case study
Variante II: 6 ECTS 15-page course paper on a chosen topic