220045 Russian Museums and Museology from the 18th Century to the Present (Übung Sprache Russisch) (S) (SoSe 2026)

In this class, we will practice the Russian language through the history of Russian museums, from the Kunstkamera in Saint Petersburg – the first public museum in Russia, the Hermitage, the State Historical Museum, the Polytechnic Museum, the Victory Museum, and finally to the recently closed the Museum of the GULAG History. We will explore different types of Russian museums, such as art, historical, military-historical, memorial, archaeological and natural history museums, as well as their institutional organization and regional variations. The study of museums allows us to see and better understand the forms of actualization of the past and the contrasting of historical narratives that play a major role in contemporary political discourses.
Each week, we will work with different textual sources, such as short extracts from museological monographs and textbooks, journal articles and media texts about Russian museums. We will also combine these with various audio-visual materials, such as video tours, online guided tours, news reports and interviews with museum workers.
By the end of the course, participants will have gained a general understanding of the different types of Russian museums and experience in reading, watching and discussing materials about them. The course will be taught in English and, if possible, Russian.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at anastasiia.serikova@uni-bielefeld.de .