RLST 398: Doukhobor Religion and Culture

University of Saskatchewan, Department of Religion and Culture

Prerequisites: 18 cu university credits Meeting Hrs: Mondays only, 5.00-7.30; Arts 108, September 5- December 4, 2013 Instructor: Veronika Makarova (Head, Department of Religion and Culture; Linguistics program Chair) Contact information: Office: 911 Arts Building. Contact phone: 306-966-5641, e-mail: [email protected] Consultation: the instructor is available for consultation weekly during office hours (Wednesday, 12.30-1.30pm; Friday 2.30-3.30). If you need a consultation outside of office hours, please make an appointment by e-mail.

Calendar description This course provides an overview of the history, beliefs, music, language and the way of life of Canadian Doukhobors (Spirit Wrestlers). The course introduces the early history of the Doukhobor religion, the settlement of Doukhobors in Saskatchewan and BC, and the subsequent development of Doukhobor communities in the 20th-21st century Canada. The dynamics of conflict between Doukhobors and Canadian state are explained via the challenges of multiculturalism. The course examines Doukhobor beliefs, religious practice and the way of life; surveys Doukhobor crafts and arts and explores the unique genres of Doukhobor choral music. The course provides a sociolinguistic analysis of ancestral language maintenance in the Doukhobor communities in Canada. Attention is given to the role of women in the Doukhobor communities and the descriptions of women in Doukhobor spiritual texts.

Course Syllabus Learning objectives of the course The course is aimed at enhancing the students’ knowledge of Saskatchewan and Canadian culture as well as their understanding of the concept of multiculturalism and at building respect of ethnic minorities. The specific goals of the course include:  introducing the learners to the history and culture of a Canadian minority community (Doukhobors);  introducing the learners to alternative lifestyles (vegetarianism, abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, communal way of life);  demonstrating to learners a conflict between an ethnic minority and a nation-state and the gradual resolution of this conflict;  broadening the learners’ knowledge of Canadian folk arts, crafts and music;  developing the learners’ understanding of the interactions between language, society and state; raising awareness of the importance of maintaining minority languages and cultures;  examining the role of women among Canadian Doukhobors.

Course text and additional readings: Textbook: Tarasoff, Koozma. 1982. Plakun Trava: The Doukhobors. Grand Forks: Mir Publication Society. CD-Rom CD-ROM, ISBN 1-896031-10-2, $20 (in the bookstore)

Other required readings (please, find on Internet the items with URLs, others will be provided by the instructor on the course website):

1. Makarova, V. 2012. The Linguistic means of representing women in the Doukhobor Russian psalms. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, Vol 2 (n8), pp 814-833 http://www.davidpublishing.org/journals_info.asp?jId=1071

2. Makarova, V. 2012. Saskatchewan Doukhobor Russian: a Disappearing language. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, Vol 2, N 2, pp 1-7. http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=22781

3. Makarova V. 2012b. The use of Russian in contemporary Doukhobor prayer service. In: “Current issues in philology and methods of teaching foreign languages: Proceedings of the International theoretical and applied research conference (1 February – 29th February, 2012)”, Novosibirsk: Novosibirsk Pedagogical University. pp 96- 103. http://wire.getdt.ru/docs/24/index-46384.html

4. Mealing, F. Mark. Doukhobor Psalms: Adornment to the soul. http://doukhobor-museum.org/wp-content/uploads/Doukhobor-Psalms-Mealing.pdf

Additional (non-required) readings for your papers:

1. Doukhobor archives in the Canadian Museum of Civilization (provides excellent links to papers and resources) http://www.civilization.ca/research-and-collections/research/resources-for- scholars/bibliographies/a-guide-to-the-doukhobor-archives/

2. Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ : http://www.usccdoukhobors.org/

3. Kalmakoff, J. Doukhobor Genealogy website: http://www.doukhobor.org/

4. Androsoff, R. Thoughts on the future of the Doukhobors in Canada http://ryanandrosoff.ca/?p=24

5. Betke, C. (1974). The Mounted police and the Doukhobors in Saskatchewan, 1899-1909. Saskatchewan History, 27, 1-14. http://www.doukhobor.org/Betke.htm

6. Inikova, S. A. (1999). Doukhobor incantations through the centuries. Ottawa, Toronto: Legas.

7. Klymasz, Robert B. 'Tracking the "living book": Doukhobor song in Canada since 1899,' Canadian Folk Music Journal, vol 21, 1993.

8. Mealing, F. Mark. 1989. On Doukhobor Psalms. Canadian Literature 120: 117-32. http://cinema2.arts.ubc.ca/units/canlit/pdfs/articles/canlit120- Doukhobor%28Mealing%29.pdf

9. Rak, J. (2001). Doukhobor autobiography as witness narrative. Biography, 24, 226-241. doi:10.1353/bio.2001.0020

10. Stupnikoff, S. G. (1992). Historical saga of the Doukhobor faith, 1750- 1990s. Saskatoon: Apex Graphics.

11. Peacock, Kenneth. (1966). Twenty ethnic songs from Western Canada. Ottawa: Roger Duhamel.

12. Wilkin, K. (1977). William Perehudoff. Art International, 21, 16.

Procedures for dealing with late assignments and missed tests/examinations

 Late assignment (project paper) will be accepted for 2 weeks after the due date with the penalty of 1.5% (from 100% ) for every missed day.  Writing a missed test can be arranged within 2 weeks from the due date upon providing a document supporting the validity of the reasons for absence (medical certificate, a note from the sports coach, etc.)  If the final examination is missed for a valid reason, university guidelines for deferred examinations apply.

Attendance expectations University of Saskatchewan attendance policies apply

Location of rules and guidelines for both academic dishonesty and appeal procedures: College and University rules and guidelines for academic dishonesty and appeal apply. See: http://www.usask.ca/integrity for details.

Weekly Schedule

Weeks 1-2. Early History of the Doukhobors in Russia. The move to Canada. Readings: Plakun Trava, Chapters 1-4* //*Textbook chapters are very short and contain multiple illustrations, thus 8 chapters cover 80 pages, of which over ½ are illustrations//

Weeks 3-5. Early settlements in Saskatchewan, survival struggle, the first marches of protest and clashes with the government. The confiscation of the Doukhobor lands by the

government, the move to BC. Communal Doukhobors, the Sons of Freedom (Svobodniki) in BC and the Independents in Saskatchewan. Doukhobor forms of protest against the government. Peter Verigin, his role as a political and religious leader, his assassination and interpretations of the assassination. The rise and fall of the Canadian Doukhobor empire (Doukhoboria). Readings: Plakun Trava, Chapters 5-16.

Week 6. Doukhobor beliefs. Doukhobor pacifism and WWI and WWII, post WWII pacifistic efforts of the Doukhobors. Other aspects of the Doukhobor beliefs: the Holy Spirit, the Live/Living Book of the Doukhobors, reincarnation (or not), the vegetarianism and Doukhobor cuisine. Reading: Plakun Trava, Chapters 17, Ch 20

Test 1 (material covered in weeks 1-6) Monday, October 21.

Week 7. Past and present religious practice. – Is this a religion, or a way of life? Doukhobor prayer homes, languages of the religious practice. Religion as a factor in language maintenance. Reading: Makarova V. 2012. The use of Russian in contemporary Doukhobor prayer service.

Week 8. Doukhobor Russian language – specific features, the role of the Russian language in the religious practice and culture. Maintenance of the Russian language in the contemporary Doukhobor community. Reading: Makarova, V. 2012. Saskatchewan Doukhobor Russian: a Disappearing language. Schaarschmidt, 2012.

Week 9-10. Doukhobor arts and crafts. Doukhobor music. Classification of the genres of Doukhobor choral singing. The theories of Doukhobor psalm origins. Doukhobor hymns. Doukhobor Russian folk songs. Attempts to maintain the psalm-singing tradition: Doukhobor psalm project. Reading: Mealing, 1989.

Week 11. The role of women in the Doukhobor community; the descriptions of women in Doukhobor spiritual texts. Outstanding Doukhobor leaders: Lukeria Kalmakova, Anna Markova, Anastasia Holubova (Natalia Golubova). Review of the material. Summary: is there future for the Doukhobor religion and culture in Canada? Questions and Answers session. Reading: Makarova, V. 2012. The Linguistic means of representing women in the Doukhobor Russian psalms.

Test 2. Materials covered in weeks 7-10. Monday, December 2.

Student evaluation:  Test 1 (will include multiple choice – 50%, and short answers– 50%) -- 20 %  Test 2 (as above) – 20%  Course paper – 20%  Final examination – 40%. The final examination will consist of multiple choice (50%) and short answers (50%)

Course paper requirements: Due date: November 25, Monday. Late papers will be accepted (with penalties as indicated above) until December 9. No papers will be accepted after December 9th. Papers can be accepted either in hard copy or by e-mail sent to the instructor.

Course paper is expected to be about 10-20 printed double spaced pages including the references list in the end (letter size paper, 1” margin on all sides, Font size 12 Times New Roman). The subject of the paper is selected from the topics covered in the course. The paper can be either the student’s essay on the subject that should incorporate 3-5 additional readings, or results of an observation of a public Doukhobor event* incorporating 1-3 additional readings in the introduction or interpretation of the observation. //* Students will be informed by the instructor of any public Doukhobor events open for visitations during the term in which the course is offered.//

Sample structure of a course paper:

Title page (your name, student number, title of your Project Paper). Notice, the title page is not included into the total page count

Introduction (what is the topic you are covering, why you selected it, summarize what the textbook and required readings inform you about, provide appropriate citations (Author, year, page number)

For essays: The new information Summarize what new information you learnt on the topic from additional readings. Do not just throw summaries on paper, make it a coherent narrative including citations and text references as necessary (author, year, page number: Smith, 2013: 34)

For observation reports: Observation report and its interpretation Provide a description of the public Doukhobor event you observed followed by your interpretation of this event in the light of the materials covered in the course.

Conclusion: Summarize the most important points and the impact of your readings/observations on your understanding and knowledge of the Doukhobor and Canadian culture.

References: Provide the list of cited literature (bibliography) in APA format. For referencing guidelines, ref http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/apa.php