University Bulletin (2010-2011)

RUS 10a Beginning Russian I
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. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 20b Beginning Russian II
Prerequisite: RUS 10a with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination.
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, and practice of the four language skills. Special attention to reading and writing skills, as well as guided conversation. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 30a Intermediate Russian I
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: RUS 20b with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination.
For students with some previous study of Russian (RUS 10a and RUS 20b). Refining of grammatical knowledge and expansion of vocabulary within the context of Russian culture. Focus on communicative competence in Russian and special attention to reading and writing skills. Usually offered every fall.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 40b Intermediate Russian II
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: RUS 30a with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination.
Further refining of grammar and vocabulary within the context of Russian culture. Focus on comminicative competence in Russian and special attention to reading and writing skills. Usually offered every spring semester.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 50b Russian Language for Russian Speakers
[ fl hum wi ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took RUS 110a in prior years. Qualifies as a prerequisite for courses in advanced language and literature studies (RUS 105a, 106b, 150b, 153a), but RUS 50b itself cannot be counted toward the major or minor requirements.
Designed to meet the needs of Russian language speakers who have had little or no formal training in their native language and who want to develop their reading and writing skills. A systematic introduction of the rules of orthography, morphology and syntax with emphasis on correct spelling of word endings. All grammar is presented in context: readings range from short works of prose fiction to articles from the contemporary Russian press. Usually offered every spring.
Staff

RUS 98a Independent Study
May be taken only with the permission of the adviser to majors and the chair of the department.
Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

RUS 98b Independent Study
May be taken only with the permission of the adviser to majors and the chair of the department.
Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff

RUS 99a Senior Research
Students should consult the area head of their major.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

RUS 99b Senior Thesis
Students should consult the area head of their major.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

RUS 105a Russia Today: Advanced Language Skills through Contemporary Culture
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: RUS 40b or 50b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian.
For advanced and heritage students of Russian language who wish to expand their vocabulary and refine their grammar and communicative skills. Explores aspects of contemporary Russian society and culture. Focus on linguistic and cultural analysis of various types of texts: from contemporary prose to the Russian press (including the Internet), selected films, and pop culture artifacts. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 106b Advanced Russian Language through Film
[ fl hum oc ]
Prerequisite: RUS 40b or 50b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Conducted in Russian.
For advanced and heritage students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in writing, oral comprehension, speaking and understanding of Russian/Soviet culture. Class discussions focus on the discussions of Russian society as it is portrayed in Russian/Soviet film; writing assignments emphasize these discussions and complex syntax and grammar rules. Background readings about the films related to relevant aspects of Russian society and language are also be assigned. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 150b Advanced Russian Language through Literature (in Russian)
[ fl hum oc ]
Prerequisite: RUS 40b or 50b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Conducted in Russian. Course my be repeated for credit with instructor's permission.
A seminar for intermediate to advanced students of Russian, focusing on the close study of Russian literature in the original Russian and the development of Russian oral and writted language skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Topics vary from year to year but may include 20th-century prose, folklore, contemporary prose, or studying and performing a play. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Dubinina

RUS 153a Russian Poetry and Prose in Russian: Undergraduate Seminar
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: RUS 40b or RUS 110a or permission of the instructor. Taught in Russian.
An undergraduate seminar focusing on the advanced study of Russian literataure in the original Russian and development of Russian oral and written language skills needed to analyze and discuss poetry. Includes a selection of the very best Russian poetry and prose of the nineteenth century. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

RECS 130a The Russian Novel
[ hum wi ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
A comprehensive survey of the major writers and themes of the nineteenth century including Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and others. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

RECS 131a The Twentieth-Century Russian Novel
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
An introduction to the major novels of the modernist, Soviet, and post-Soviet eras, including the emigration, such as those by Sologub, Bely, Olesha, Bulgakov, Pasternak, Nabokov, Solzhenitsyn, Erofeev, and Pelevin. Also includes some short stories. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Powelstock

RECS 134b Chekhov
[ hum wi ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Offers a detailed investigation of the evolution of Chekhov's art, emphasizing the thematic and structural aspects of Chekhov's works. Attention paid to methods of characterization, use of detail, narrative technique, and the roles into which he casts his audience. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

RECS 135a The Short Story in Russia
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Focuses on the great tradition of the short story as practiced by Russian and Russian Jewish writers and the connection and divisions among them. This genre invites extreme stylistic and narrative experimentation ranging from the comic to the tragic, as well as being a vehicle for striking expressions of complex social, philosophical, and religious themes. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

RECS 137a Women in Russian Literature
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Examines questions of female representation and identity and of female authorship. Readings include portrayals of women by men and women authors. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

RECS 146a Dostoevsky: Gods and Monsters
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
A comprehensive survey of Dostoevsky's life and works, with special emphasis on the major novels. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

RECS 147b Tolstoy: Freedom, Chance, and Necessity
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Studies the major short stories and novels of Leo Tolstoy against the backdrop of nineteenth-century history and with reference to twentieth-century critical theory. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

RECS 148a Russian Drama: Text and Performance
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
Examines the rich tradition of Russian drama and theater. Readings include masterpieces of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including those by Chekhov, Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky, Mayakovsky, Erdman, and others. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

RECS 149b Russian Modernism in: Culture and Arts
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Students may choose to do readings either in English translation or in Russian.
An interdisciplinary immersion in the period, emphasizing the connections between historical and artistic trends and employing prominent theories of culture. Focuses on major figures, works, and events in film, literature, the performing and visual arts, and political, philosophical, and religious thought. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Powelstock

RECS 150a Russian and Soviet Cinema
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Readings in English.
Examines the Russian/Soviet cinematic tradition from the silent era to today, with special attention to cultural context and visual elements. Film masterpieces directed by Bauer, Eisenstein, Vertov, Parajanov, Tarkovsky, Mikhalkov, and others. Weekly screenings. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

RECS 154a The Art of Vladimir Nabokov
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English. Readings in English.
A concentrated study of Vladimir Nabokov, the most noted Russian author living in emigration and one of the most influential novelists of the twentieth century. Focuses on the major Russian- and English-language novels. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

COML 100a Comparing Literatures: Theory and Practice
[ hum wi ]
Core course for COML major and minor.
What is common and what is different in literatures of different cultures and times? How do literary ideas move from one culture to another? In this course students read theoretical texts, as well as literary works from around the world. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Powelstock

ECS 100a European Cultural Studies Proseminar: Modernism
[ hum wi ]
Explores the interrelationship of literature, music, painting, philosophy, and other arts in the era of high modernism. Works by Artaud, Baudelaire, Benjamin, Mann, Mahler, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Kandinsky, Schiele, Beckett, Brecht, Adorno, Sartre, Heidegger, and others. Usually offered every fall semester.
Mr. Dowden

COML 160a Contemporary East European Literature
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English.
Examines works of major East European (Polish, Czech, Russian, and other) authors in the historical context of late Communist and post-Communist experience. Special attention to reading for artistic qualities and engagement of historical and political problems. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Powelstock

COML 185a Dickens and Dostoevsky
[ hum ]
Considers such issues as narrative, literary realism, and the manipulation of the grotesque and the sublime in representative works of Dickens and Dostoevsky. Because Dostoevsky was an avid reader of Dickens, class addresses questions of influence, particularly with regard to their shared thematic interests. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Miller

FA 118b Drawing upon Literature
[ ca hum ]
Prerequisite: A studio art course taught at Brandeis. Studio fee: $75 per semester.
An interdisciplinary team-taught course bringing together the practice of studio art and the study of literature. Students use Russian fiction and poetry (and some critical theory) as source material for the creation of visual images: drawings in various media, watercolors, prints, and photographs. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Lichtman and Ms. Miller

HIST 147a Imperial Russia
[ ss wi ]
Examines the processes and problems of modernization--state development, economic growth, social change, cultural achievements, and emergence of revolutionary and terrorist movements. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze

HIST 147b Twentieth-Century Russia
[ ss ]
Russian history from the 1905 revolution to the present day, with particular emphasis on the Revolution of 1917, Stalinism, culture, and the decline and fall of the USSR. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Freeze

HIST 148a Religion and Society in Modern Russia
[ ss ]
Examines the role of religion, institutional and popular, in the social, political, and cultural development of Russia from the eighteenth century to the present. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Freeze

HIST 148b Central Asia in Modern Times
[ nw ss ]
Surveys the modern history of Central Asia, emphasizing the twentieth century and contemporary history; it gives particular attention to the processes of colonialization and modernization and their impact on the traditional social order and Islamic religious life. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Freeze

HIST 181b Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
[ ss ]
From Marx's first major book in 1845 to the French upheavals of 1968, the history of left-wing politics and ideas. The struggles between Marxist orthodoxy and anarchist-inspired, left Marxist alternatives. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Hulliung

HUM 125a Topics in the Humanities
[ hum ]
An interdisciplinary seminar on a topic of major significance in the humanities; the course content and instructor vary from year to year; may be repeated for credit, with instructor's permission. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

MUS 53a Music for the Ballet
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Focuses on a series of masterpieces in the ballet repertoire from the romantic era to around 1970. Emphasizes ballet schools and styles, including the music of composers such as Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel, Prokofiev, Copland, Chopin, and Schumann, and choreographers such as Bournonville, Petipa, Ivanov, Nijinsky, Balanchine, and Graham. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Chafe

NEJS 136b History and Culture of the Jews in East-Central Europe, 1914 to the Present
[ hum ]
An examination of the history of the Jews in the countries of East-Central Europe (Poland, the Soviet Union and its successor states, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, and Czechoslovakia) from the outbreak of World War I until the present day. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Polonsky

NEJS 137b A History of the Jews in Warsaw, Lodz, Vilna, and Odessa
[ hum ss ]
Examines the history of the four largest Jewish communities in the Russian Empire from the earliest settlement through the Holocaust to the present, comparing internal organization, different political and cultural allegiances, and relations with the majority population. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Polonsky

NEJS 141a Russian Jews in the Twentieth Century
[ hum ]
Examines Russian Jewish history from 1917 to the present. Focuses on the tsarist legacy, Russian Revolution, the creation of a new socialist society, development of Yiddish culture, the "Great Turn" under Stalin, Holocaust, post war Judaism, anti-Semitism, emigration, and current events. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Freeze

NEJS 142a Modern History of East European Jewry
[ hum ]
A comprehensive survey of the history (economic, sociopolitical, and religious) of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe from the middle of the eighteenth century until World War II, with emphasis placed on the Jews of Poland and Russia. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Polonsky

POL 129a East European Politics
[ ss ]
Politics and society in the post-Communist states of Eastern Europe, drawing general lessons about the relationships among social modernization, nationalism, and democratic transition. Usually offered every fourth year.
Mr. Burg