Russian Courses

114j    Russia's Transition Economy     In St. Petersburg, Russia. Daily class lectures and planned site visits introduce students to the Soviet centralized economy and its evolution since the 1950s. Topics include militarization, industrialization, collectivization, budgets and taxation, inflation and currency reforms, banks, investment, the new Russian entrepreneur, stock markets, the oligarchs, and "natural" monopolies. Cultural program included; residence is with a Russian family. Conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required. Nongraded. Estimated cost in 2009: $2,500. Required meetings on campus in November and December. Early registration required. Three credit hours.    INSTRUCTOR

115j    Russian Ethnography     In St. Petersburg, Russia. Class lectures and discussions, field trips to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography and to the Russian Ethnographical Museum, and day excursions outside the city introduce students to many of the Russian Federation's minority ethnic groups, including the indigenous peoples of Siberia, Russia's northern peoples, Jews, Cossacks, and others. Lectures will contrast tsarist policy to Soviet ethnic policy of the 20th century. Cultural program included; residence is with a Russian family. Conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required. Nongraded. Estimated cost in 2009: $2,500. Required meetings on campus in November and December. Early registration required. Three credit hours.    INSTRUCTOR

125f, 126s    Elementary Russian I    The structure of the Russian language, spoken Russian, listening comprehension, and reading and writing of basic Russian. In addition to the textbook, multimedia materials in the Language Resource Center aid in understanding both the language and culture of Russia. Prerequisite: Russian 125 is prerequisite for 126. Four credit hours.    MCCARTHY

125Jj    Elementary Russian I     The structure of the Russian language, spoken Russian, listening comprehension, and reading and writing of basic Russian. In addition to the textbook, multimedia materials in the Language Resource Center aid in understanding both the language and culture of Russia. Offered in St. Petersburg. Estimated cost in 2009: $2,500. Required meetings on campus in November and December. Early registration required. Three credit hours.    INSTRUCTOR

127f, 128s    Intermediate Russian    Increased emphasis on reading and writing skills; continued use of multimedia aids in improving oral and listening skills. Prerequisite: Russian 126; Russian 127 is prerequisite for 128. Four credit hours.    DE SHERBININ

135fs    Conversation Group    An informal weekly small-group meeting appropriate for second-year students concurrently enrolled in Russian 127 or 128. Topics for discussion include autobiography, education, leisure time activities, travel, stores, and films. Conducted entirely in Russian. May be repeated for credit. Nongraded. One credit hour.    VASILYEVA

174j    Chekhov and the Short Story     Study of the American and British short story as it was influenced by the Russian master of the short story, Anton Chekhov. Readings include Chekhov's early humorous stories and his mature works, essays on the short story, and selected stories by Raymond Carver, Bernard Malamud, Katherine Mansfield, Alice Munro, Joyce Carol Oates, Eudora Welty, Virginia Woolf, Richard Wright, and others. Conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required. Three credit hours.  L.    DE SHERBININ

231f    Topics in 19th-Century Russian Literature    Topics change each year. In Fall 2008: "Tolstoy or Dostoevsky?" Selected masterpieces of Russia's greatest writers that focus on the predicament of the individual and the family within the confines of the larger society. Compare and contrast the literary styles and conclusions of two writers and attempt to answer the question: Who is Russia's greatest writer? Emphasis on improved writing and oral skills. First-year students are welcome. Conducted in English. Four credit hours.  L.    MCCARTHY

232s    The Russian Revolution and Stalinism in Literature    From 1917 to 1991 the world's most prolonged attempt at building a socialist utopia took place in the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). While the Revolution of 1917 was initially greeted with enthusiasm by writers and intellectuals, it eventually demanded of them ideological fealty. Readings in Russian modernism look at innovations in style and genre that defied the official demands of Socialist Realism. Texts include prose, drama, poetry, literature of the Stalinist labor camps, and film screenings. Conducted in English. First-year students are welcome. Four credit hours.  L.    DE SHERBININ

[237]    19th-Century Russian Literature    An introduction to some of the world's most influential authors--Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov--and study of selected works by Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, and Turgenev. Conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required. Four credit hours.  L.    

[238]    The Search for Utopia: 20th-Century Russian Literature     An examination of socialist realists' vision of utopia, including selected works of Gorky, Sholokhov, and others, in comparison to the prophecies of modernist writers such as Bulgakov, Zamiaatin, Olesha, Pasternak, and others. Careful attention to the writing process in a series of brief student essays. Conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required. Four credit hours.  L.    

[271]    Human Rights in World Literature    Selected readings of memoirs, poetry, short stories, and novels from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America explore the ways that writers preserve a record of human cruelty and endurance. Writings by witnesses to, and victims of, some of the 20th century's most repressive political systems are studied in an investigation of how fiction disseminates information, facilitates survival, and insists upon remembrance. Four credit hours.  L, I.    

325f, 326s    Conversation and Composition    Reading and analysis of literary and historical texts from the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics change each year. Grammar review and continued practice in oral and written expression. Multimedia materials supplement the readings. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 128; Russian 325 is prerequisite for 326. Four credit hours.    MCCARTHY

335fs    Conversation Group    An informal weekly small-group meeting for intermediate/advanced conversation practice in Russian. Topics include contemporary film, current social and political issues, and reflections on cultural differences between the United States and Russia. Conducted entirely in Russian. May be repeated for credit. Nongraded. Prerequisite: Russian 127 or equivalent. One credit hour.    VASILYEVA

[346]    20th-Century Russian Poetry    Weekly one-hour meetings focus on poems by one of the major 20th-century Russian poets, including Blok, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Pasternak, Mandelshtam, and Brodsky. Readings in Russian; discussion in English. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Russian 127. One credit hour.    

[425]    The Russian Short Story     Readings, which change every year, lectures, and discussions of selected 19th- and 20th-century stories. In fall 2007, "Madness in Russian Literature." Exploration of themes related to insanity in works by Pushkin, Chekhov, Garshin, Zinaida Gippius, and others: the Romantic mad genius, authority and insanity, philosophical and political understandings of madness, and feminism and madness. Conducted entirely in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 325. Four credit hours.  L.    

[426]    The 19th-Century Russian Novel    A seminar that analyzes one major Russian novel of the 19th century. In spring 2008, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Additional readings and discussion of the life and times of Tolstoy and the social and historical context of the novel. Conducted entirely in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 425 or 427. Four credit hours.  L.    

427f    The Short Story and Russian Culture    On post-Soviet Russia, devoted to short texts that reflect political, social, and cultural changes since the end of the Soviet Union, in 1991. Texts include short stories, essays, newspaper articles, television shows, and film. Work on advanced grammar. Conducted entirely in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 325. Four credit hours.  L.    DE SHERBININ

428s    The 20th-Century Russian Novel     A seminar that analyzes one major Russian novel of the 20th century. In spring 2009, Boris Pasternak's Doktor Zhivago. Additional readings and film excerpts highlight the novel's literary and historical context and the life and times of the author. Conducted entirely in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 425 or 427. Four credit hours.  L.    MCCARTHY

491f, 492s    Independent Study    Individual projects in areas where the student has demonstrated the interest and competence necessary for independent work. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. One to four credit hours.    FACULTY