Courses

Four students seated at a table in a classroom
Title slide with drawbridge in background that reads: Russian for Beginners

Welcome, Russian 10 Beginners!

Title slide with drawbridge in background that reads: Courses for Heritage Speakers

Welcome, Russian 29!

To view the complete descriptions of the courses that satisfy the requirements for the Russian Studies major or minor, please visit the University Bulletin.

For course times, locations, and additional details, please visit the Schedule of Classes on the University Registrar's website.

Spring 2023 Courses

Offered in English

RECS 134B: Writer, Dramatist, Physician: Chekhov and the Healing Arts

Course description image with bronze stature holding a scale.Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor Robin Feuer Miller

Open to all students. Conducted in English. Most students will choose to read the works in English translation, but students who know Russian may do the readings in Russian.

Explores Chekhov as a fiction writer, a dramatist, and a devoted physician. Many of his artistic works, including a number where doctors figure as primary characters, read as case studies of particular diseases, mental illnesses, and conditions induced by poverty. Chekhov practiced the healing arts in all aspects of his professional and creative life, as well as in his courageous efforts on the remote penal-colony island of Sakhalin and in his dangerous public work during a terrible cholera epidemic. This course will emphasize the skills of close looking—techniques equally valuable to the writer, the dramatist, and the physician. We will read works about children and the nature of childhood, about students, about “the woman question,” about peasants, about religion, about marriage and adultery. We will also read two plays: The Seagull and Uncle Vanya. Students will consider the ebb and flow between Chekhov’s efforts as a dramatist and a story-teller.  We will engage with some of Chekhov’s most vivid, candid, and intriguing letters about medicine and art. Usually offered every second year.

RUS 121B: Russian-English Translation

Course description poster with image of an astronautSpring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor David Powelstock

Prerequisite: RUS 30a or demonstrated equivalent proficiency.

Students will acquire practical skills for dealing with the particular challenges of Russian-English translation. Students will also improve their reading comprehension; vocabulary; understanding of advanced Russian grammar topics; and awareness of cultural differences necessary for translating effectively. Usually offered every second year.

Offered in Russian

RUS 20B: Beginning Russian II

Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor Irina Dubinina

Prerequisite: RUS 10a with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Four class hours and one recitation hour per week.

For students with some previous study of Russian. Continuing development of proficiency across all four skills with the goal of reaching the Intermediate-Low level (ACTFL scale). Student-centered classes emphasize conversation and structural accuracy. Students will complete the learning of the grammatical architecture of the language and expand their vocabulary.

RUS 40B: Gateway to Advanced Topics in Russian Language and Culture

Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor Valeriya Kozlovskaya

Prerequisite: RUS 30a with a grade of C- or higher or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Four class hours and one recitation hour per week.

Focuses on expanding the range of contexts for language use and pushing for a greater ease and structural accuracy of language production. Further refining of grammar and vocabulary within the context of Russian culture. Authentic texts and films are used for creating context for reviewing and expanding grammar, syntax and vocabulary knowledge.

RUS 39A: Russian Language for Russian Speakers II

Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor Irina Dubinina

Prerequisite: RUS 29b or permission of the instructor.

Students the (re)acquisition of the Russian linguistic system focusing on the conceptual understanding of the language structure. A comprehensive instruction aims to enhance students' ability to express the intended meaning correctly and appropriately.

Crosslisted Courses

COML 100A: Introduction to Global Literature

Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor David Powelstock

HIST 147B: Twentieth-Century Russia: Revolution, Nationality, Global Power

Spring 2023 mode: Instruction for this course will be offered in-person.

Professor Gregory Freeze