REST 150: Russian Propaganda (Fall '25)

Students in this interdisciplinary course consider how contemporary Russian pop culture—from Pussy Riot to Putin memes—engages with state ideology. Coursework is grounded in the post-Soviet era, yet also looks at how Russia's current pop cultural attitudes to "facts" and ideology relate to the artistic and political practices of the Soviet past. Course materials include films, literature, visual art, performance art, and internet memes, as well as official state sources of mass information, from the Kremlin website to press releases. Finally, students consider the relationship between these developments in Russia and in US political discourse, through conversations surrounding "fake news," deep fake, and troll farms.