Внимание!
The Fall 2008 Placement Test for heritage and non-heritage speakers will be held on Friday, September 5, at 1:30-4:30 pm, in Shiffman 219. For more details about the test, please contact Prof. Dubinina at idubinin@brandeis.edu.
Russian at Brandeis
The Russian program at Brandeis offers students unique opportunities for the study of Russian language, culture, and literature. Our courses enable students to acquire intermediate to advanced level of language profiency and a strong background in Russian culture and literature. Our core curriculum features courses in language, culture, and literature open to all students. Literature courses focusing on the classics of the nineteenth century are augmented by seminars on poetry and contemporary authors. Our curriculum also includes courses on film, contemporary culture, and on East European literature.
Brandeis offers a host of extracurricular opportunities for majors, minors, and students interested in Russian language and culture. The Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature also sponsors regular functions for Russian students including film series, lectures, and Russian tea hours featuring Russian language conversation for students of all levels.
Fall 2008 Russian Courses at Brandeis!
Literature Course
Russian Drama: Text and Performance , RECS 148a [ hum ]
Examines the rich tradition of Russian drama and theater, with a special emphasis on tensions between the demands of performance and the written language of the text. Readings include masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including those by Chekhov, Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky, Gorky, Mayakovsky, Erdman, and others.
T,F 12:10 PM - 01:30 PM, Prof. Powelstock
Language Courses
Beginning Russian I, RUS 10a
For students who have had no previous study of Russian. A systematic presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Russian culture, with focus on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
M,W,Th,F 12:10 PM - 01:00 PM, Prof. Dubinina
Intermediate Russian I, RUS 30a [ fl ]
For students with some previous study of Russian. Continuing presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Russian culture. Focus on nuances of grammatical meaning and complex syntactical constructions. Prerequisite: RUS 20b or permission of the instructor.
M,W,Th 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM, Prof. Dubinina
Advanced Language through Literature, RUS 150b [ fl hum ]
Offered in two sections. Bilingual Russian speakers who know how to read and write should sign up for RUS 150b, which focuses on developing correct grammar usage, reading proficiency and writing skills. Advanced students / non-native speakers of Russian should contact Prof. Dubinina and plan to sign up for a group independent study (RUS 98a, time TBA), designed to develop the linguistic and critical skills to analyze literature in Russian; this course will count as 150b toward the minor/major. Works by some of the greatest Russian writers of the 19th and 20th centuries will be studied in both sections. Taught in Russian.
RUS 150b: M,W,Th 01:10 PM - 02:00 PM; RUS 98a: To be arranged, Prof. Dubinina
RUS 98a: Experiential Learning Opportunity
A new group independent study is offered to heritage speakers of Russian who already know how to read and write and to advanced learners of Russian as a foreign language. The course is based on a partnership with the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center which houses many Russian-speaking elders. Students will spend 5 hours per week at the Center serving as companions and/or running projects for the elderly residents. Projects may involve organizing arts activities, performing in concerts, making presentations, among others. Throughout activities, students will work with one or two residents at creating a written biography of this/these person/s. The biography will be presented to the Center's residents at the end of the semester and in a class meeting to fellow students and the professor. Students will be required to keep a journal in which they will make at least 2 new entries per week, and to meet with the instructor in a group or individual setting on a regular basis throughout the semester.
Meeting times and frequency of meetings will be determined at the beginning of the semester. For more information please contact Prof. Dubinina at idubinin@brandeis.edu.
Note: Bilingual speakers who are not proficient readers/writers should plan to take a special course RUS 110a Russian for Russians, offered in Spring 2009 and designed to develop literacy skills in Russian. For more information contact Prof. Dubinina (idubinin@brandeis.edu).
Spring 2009 Courses!
RECS 149b Russian Modernism 1900-1934
RECS 154a The Art of Vladimir Nabokov
RUS 20b Beginning Russian II
RUS 40b Intermediate Russian II
RUS 110a Russian Language for Russian Speakers
See the Bulletin for course descriptions.