This course examines relationships between Russia and the United States in contemporary and historical perspective. The course draws on perspectives and insights drawn from the social sciences, history, literature, and film studies to address rising tensions between these two key powers. The course addresses topics such as the social, political, and economic conditions that led to the rise of authoritarian figures in Russia and the United States; Soviet active measures and contemporary information warfare; changes in the international system and the rise of global Russia; approaches to state legitimacy; how law works in each country; and processes of racialization and their relationship to policing techniques in both national contexts. The course asks what Americans and Russians can learn from one another, analyzing struggles the peoples of the United States and Russia have in common, from legacies of unfree labor and atomic culture to protecting public lands and creating equitable access to health care.