Courses

Promotes active communicative skills along with the basics of Russian grammar. By course end, read, write, understand, and speak Russian in a broad range of everyday situations. Various aspects of Russian culture and life are introduced through the medium of language. Five class hours weekly and language lab practice. One and one-quarter units each semester.

Promotes active communicative skills along with the basics of Russian grammar. By course end, read, write, understand, and speak Russian in a broad range of everyday situations. Various aspects of Russian culture and life are introduced through the medium of language. Five class hours weekly and language lab practice. One and one-quarter units each semester.

Description: The collapse of the USSR in 1991 ended decades of literary censorship and spelled the death of the Socialist Realist genre in former Soviet countries. These events lead to a new literary renaissance, a publication explosion and, in many countries, the emergence of a new authoritarianism and regime of censorship and literary repression. In this course, we will explore thirty years of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian novels, shorts stories, and poetry in a variety of genres including literary, historical, and science fiction within their historical and cultural context, focusing on how these works grapple with the difficult legacy of the past, the demise of the Soviet utopian dream, and the uncertain future. Authors will include Vladimir Sorokin, Victor Pelevin, Svetlana Alexievich, Andrey Kurkov, Yuri Andrukhovych, Valzhyna Mort, Tatiana Tolstaya, and others. We will supplement readings with historical and cultural presentations and films.

Designed to activate students' spoken Russian, a wide variety of in-class activities allow students to practice Russian needed for most everyday situations. Textbook and workbook are supplemented with audio and videotapes. Conducted in Russian.

Designed to activate students' spoken Russian, a wide variety of in-class activities allow students to practice Russian needed for most everyday situations. Textbook and workbook are supplemented with audio and videotapes. Conducted in Russian.

From current events in post-Soviet Russia to classic Russian literature, Madness is an ubiquitous element of the Russian experience. We will cover a broad range of works-from medieval to post-Soviet masterpieces-to investigate the evolution of madness in Russian culture. The protagonists of the novels, plays, and short stories we will explore range from holy fools to everyday madmen to chronically troubled spirits. The reading will include Griboyedov's The Trouble with Reason, Pushkin's Queen of Spades, Gogol's The Diary of a Madman, Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Chekhov's The Black Monk and Ward No 6, Kuzmin's Venetian Madcaps, Nabokov's The Defense, Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and Pelevin's Buddha's Little Fingers. We will also examine manifestations of fictional insanity in film, opera, and the visual arts.

This course treats the representation of desire in great works of the Western literary tradition. We will examine the transformation of this great literary theme over the ages and in various literary genres. The readings will include Euripides' Hippolytus, Dante's La Vita Nuova, The Don Juan stories of Tirso de Molina, Bryon and Pushkin, Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Nabokov's Lolita. Conducted in English. One unit.

This class takes students on a multidimensional journey through 300 years of Soviet and Russian fantasy and science fiction literature. Drawing on a broad range of media including film and visual art, we will explore the roots of the genre in Russia; the influence of Western science fiction and fantasy on its development; the role of the Russian Revolution, religious philosophy, Communist utopianism, technology, and space travel on its 20th century evolution; the role of the genre in Soviet social engineering; and new ideas that have emerged in the genre since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the role of science fiction and fantasy in both upholding and challenging contemporary Russian imperialism and militarism. We will examine the key questions of the genre, including: the human beings place in the universe; the existence of life beyond Planet Earth; mortality and its transcendence; the presence or absence of a deity; the difficulty of social progress; the role of science and technology in shaping human interaction; the ethics of scientific and technological advancement and the role of the state therein; the evolution of concepts of gender, sexual relations, marriage, and reproduction in utopian and futuristic societies; and many more.

This course considers Siberia narrative as a distinct tradition (rather than a motif or sub-genre of Russian literature). Of primary importance to this distinction is a world view that regards nature as intrinsically sacred (a characterization that challenges characterizations of Siberia as a frozen wasteland or vast prison camp). While this perception of the earth as iconic is expressed in various ways from ancient oral tales of indigenous Siberian peoples to twenty-first century novels, important shared aspects of the relationship between the Siberian landscape and the people who inhabit it define, shape, and unite the tradition. In it, for example, we repeatedly see the perception of the natural world as an intentional (if not sentient) creator, whose immanence is experienced in the profound yet revelatory silence of Siberias steppe, taiga, and tundra. At its core, the Siberian narrative tradition describes the perception and experience of Siberia as a transcendent and sacred space which, I believe, may answer the following questions: What makes Siberian space sacred? What does it mean to be Siberian? What does Siberia mean to Russia?Readings, films, and discussions in this course focus on the idea of the sacred that grows out of human relationships of the various peoples of Siberia, non-indigenous natives, and other less willing residents of Siberia with its landmass and natural world. You will learn about the geology, ecology, and human history of Siberia and the belief systems and environmental philosophy that grows out of lived experience there. You explore expression and perceptions of the sacred in the following ways: narrative traditions of indigenous Siberian peoples; the rise of Russian monasticism/colonialism in Siberia starting in the sixteenth century and the development of hesychastic prayer practice in Russian Orthodoxy; the dueling views of Siberia from the nineteenth century as both a miraculous land (heaven) and a land of exile (hell); the representation of Siberia as a magical realm of creative and spiritual transformation and transcendence, which includes the discovery of Siberian shamanism by twentieth-century Russian Avant-garde; the birth of the ecology movement in twentieth-century Siberia in part a response to Soviet-era misperceptions and misuses of the environment and natural resources -- and the role of native Siberian narrative and its ecological values. Topics on nineteenth- and twentieth-century narrative include consideration of narratives about the tsarist and Soviet prison that challenge the idea of the sacred in Siberian space. Invited lectures will combine current trends in Siberian narrative and reconsider the future role of Siberia as it relates to global warming, natural resources, and the political and economic policies of the Russian Federation.

The Orthodox icon in Russia is a distinctive art form, a theological text, and an object of veneration. In this course, you will learn about the controversial history of icons, their 10th century introduction into Kievan Rus, and the development of native Russian icon types. You will study the icon painters Andrei Rublev, Theophanes the Greek, Dionisius, Daniil Chornyi, and Simon Ushakov and learn about the materials used to create icons, the precision of the icons composition (prorisi, podlinniki), and the meaning of its colors, its symbols, and its text. You will learn about many of the most important icon types, their narratives (skazanie) of the miraculous, and the idea of their presence. You will consider the relationship between icons and those who venerate them and how in this relationship we see the modern Russian cultural and national identity take shape. By the end of the course, you will be able to understand the meaning of icons historically, aesthetically, and theologically. You will also be able to begin analyzing icons as works of art and faith.

Read Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldoni, and Ibsen and analyze their influence on such Russian playwrights as Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, Blok, Evreinov, and others. Special attention will be paid to Stanislavsky's acting system - a Hollywood favorite - and Meyerhold's experimentation on the Russian modern stage. Conducted in English. One unit.

This course examines the development of Russian cinema from its silent pre-Revolutionary stage up to the Post-Soviet blockbusters. It focuses on the artistic and technical achievements of Russian filmmaking and their contribution to practical and theoretical aspects of western cinema. We will discuss the distinction between Russian cinema as an ideological tool of a totalitarian state, and western cinema as an entertainment industry. Screenings will include a variety of cinematic genres and styles such as Eisenstein's legendary The Battleship Potemkin (1925) and the Oscar-winning films Moscow Does not Believe in Tears (1979) and Burnt by the Sun (1994). Conducted in English.

This course explores the ritual origins and subsequent uses and functions of the folk, literary, and contemporary fairytale. Its methods include anthropological, psychological, archetypal, structural, feminist, and spiritual readings of the world's most important tales. The course is both theoretical and practical. It aims not only to help students understand the various functions and methods of treating fairytale, but also to give them the tools to work with the genre themselves. The course also discusses historical problems of the study and classification of the fairytale. The cross-cultural approach of the course is designed to familiarize students with non-Western tales that challenge their assumptions about cultural boundaries and question the notion of what it means to be civilized. Conducted in English. One unit.

This course considers the "Rabbles, Rebels, and Martyrs" of Russia's Golden Age of literature. During the 19th century, the Emancipation of the serfs, the Great Reforms, revolutionary activity and continued westernization changed Russian society dramatically. Perhaps it was these attempts at liberalization that produced the great works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Read the classic works of Russia's Golden Age: The Bronze Horseman, Hero of Our Time, The Overcoat, Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina. Conducted in English. One unit.

A survey of the major works, authors and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will discuss the function of literature in the Russian society over the last one hundred years, from the modernist pre-revolutionary era to the present. We will focus on novels, short stories and poetry written during the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War, Stalinism, the era of stagnation, and after the fall of communism. The reading will include such diverse writers as Checkhov, Blok, Zamyatin, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Akhmatova, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Pelevin and others. Conducted in English. One unit.

In addition to pure propaganda, the Soviet doctrine of Socialist Realism also produced a rich tradition of art and literature that expressed the ideal of the "New Soviet Person." While introducing students to the wealth of Socialist Realist art and ways to interpret its hidden meanings and messages, this course traces the evolution of the "positive hero" in Soviet literature and art. We consider the meaning of Socialist Realism as a way to practice and understand art. We also discuss the merits and the dangers inherent in the relationship between this kind of literature and Soviet society, one that allowed a nation on its knees to rebuild and modernize as well as one that silenced countless authors. Students are also asked to discern how, in satirical or subversive works, the tenets of Socialist Realism are subverted and their values questioned and why, in today's Russia, there is a growing nostalgia (and market) for Socialist Realist art. Conducted in English. One unit.

This course examines major literary works of the Stalinist era as the artistic expression of the history of twentieth century art, its writers and poets, and their relationship to the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin. The course teaches students how to discern symbolic systems that encode the works, often as a form of protest. It also considers the ethical issues at the heart of the works that concern such resistance and it risks and the role that art plays in such discussions. This course presents the social, political and cultural history of the Stalin-era Soviet Union (1922-1953) through primary and secondary historical sources, literature, arts, film (documentary and interpretive), and music. It attempts to piece together the history of stalinism, while asking students to consider the moral complexities of the time and it relevance to Russia as well as to other modern day nations. Students grapple with multiple voices that compete to own the history of Stalin, including that of Stalin himself. Conducted in English. One unit.

The medieval era in present day Ukraine and Russia began with the founding of Kiev and, some say, ended only with Peter the Great in the late 17th century. Throughout those centuries, the Mongol invasion, the establishment of Christianity, the intrigues of its leaders and the development of a national consciousness produced stunning works of art, architecture, music, literature, and letters. This course explores these great works of art and literature within the context of the medieval period in Ukraine and Russia from the tenth century to the death of Ivan the Terrible. We read selections from the Primary Chronicles, lives of saints and holy fools, the letters of Ivan the Terrible, and Russias great epics. We will also focus on the historical, political and spiritual role of the Orthodox icon. We also consider how the medieval age as a political topic in opera and films such as Andrei Rublev, Mongol and 1612. Finally, we consider how modern writers, artists, and leaders including Stalin and Putin as well as have used medieval imagery for their own purposes. Because of the war in Ukraine the geographical capital of Kievan Rus we will also follow how the earlier conflict between the western and eastern parts of the county and Russias current invasion can be understood through the prism of once shared medieval art and culture.

Ukrainian Literature in War will examine a broad cross-section of 19th, 20th, and 21st century Ukrainian short stories, novels, and poetry that explore complex issues like colonialism, ethnic and religious conflict, gender relations, and the relationship between the Slavic world and the West. Course readings will be supplemented by visual arts, film, music, and theater.

This course considers the nature, dynamics, and reality of Soviet and Russian propaganda. It focuses on how various media -- literature, film, animation, and the arts -- use various forms of "soft coercion" to shape what kinds of information the public takes in and how.

Westerners often associate Russia with the onion domes of its Orthodox churches. But did you know that this form of Christianity is just one of Russia's four officially recognized faiths? The others are Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. In this course, you'll learn how Russia's four faiths or "professions," along with a variety of other popular religious practices like shamanism and animism, have influenced the country's culture, politics, literature, art, and architecture from medieval times to the present. On this foundation, we'll pay particularly close attention to the Putin administration and the power of pro-Kremlin religious institutions, organizations, and people and the dissidents, artists, and social movements that resist them. Texts include works of fiction, journalism, film, visual art, music, and other media.

What is the true nature of reality? Are Earthlings alone in the universe? How are individuals and societies impacted by technological advancements? What should be the limits of surveillance? Is it possible for human beings to transcend illness, aging, death, or embodiment as a whole? Can humanity evolve beyond traits like selfishness, greed, and desire in order to achieve greater social harmony? Do supernatural powers and beings really exist, and can humans communicate with them? How can different sentient species coexist and thrive? All of these questions are at the center of the science fiction and fantasy novellas, short stories, and films that we will read and watch in this interdisciplinary, discussion-centered course. With a special focus on the globally influential science fiction and fantasy literature of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe, we will examine the cultural history of these overlapping genres, the questions they ask about humanity and existence, their contributions to technological progress and its discontents, their predictive tendencies, and the implications of their massive global popularity.

Continued development of oral and written language skills and cultural competency through the use of Russian literature, film, songs, and art.

Walter Benjamin once wrote that [i]t is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language which is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work. By doing so, Benjamin frames translation as a complex relationship between two languages that requires deep thought on issues that range from finding the right word to the notion that there is a common sacred language that translation strives to express. In this course, you will explore various major philosophies and theories of translating from Russia and the West both from one language to the other and within a language itself. Topics will include the role and responsibilities of the translator, the meaning of the original text, the history of translation theories, theories and polemics of literary translation, translation as a literary art and tool of protest, strategies in specialized translations, and the importance of context in translation. You will also learn strategies of translation, as you continue to develop your Russian language skills by encountering a variety of advanced texts and implementing the kinds of strategies that make the process of translation an exciting way of exploring the complexities of two languages at once.

An analysis of literary works and documentary material with the aim of probing Russian cultural traditions of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. All discussions, readings and course work in Russian. One unit.

This is a mixed-level course appropriate for students with advanced Russian language abilities from coursework, study abroad or native heritage. The course approaches a chosen theme from various media and focuses on both oral and written literacy. Student interest determines the theme(s) of study and the course is then titled accordingly. This course may be taken more than once.

The correct pronunciation of Russian is difficult for non-natives speakers, especially Northern American speakers of English. This course teaches Russian pronunciation through a study of phonetics and phonemics. Topics include the following: the correct mouth position, learning the system of phonetic transcription, targeted topics (e.g., hard and soft sounds, voicing and devoicing, regressive assimilation, and the study of individual phonemes). Students work with two texts (Unlocking Russian Pronunciation by Kimberly DiMattia and Sound. Rhythm. Intonation by I. V. Odintsova) along with extensive online sources.