RUS 491: Key Ideas in Russian Thought. Every Fall I offer this one-credit survey of the important ideas in Russian thought and culture that are not covered in our other courses. We start with the Chronicle stories of the founding of Rus’ and proceed through events such as the conversion of Rus’ in 988, the Mongol Yoke, the Schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, Peter the Great, serfdom, the Westernizer / Slavophile debate, and key artists and composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Click here for my most recent syllabus.