2000-01 Bulletin Entry for:


Russian and East European Studies


Objectives


Russian and East European studies is an interdisciplinary program for students concentrating in other departments of the University. The purpose of the program is to allow students with an interest in Russia and the nations of Eastern Europe to acquire knowledge and to develop skills in addition to those gained in other concentrations. The program combines and integrates courses from a number of departments and requires students to participate in an interdisciplinary seminar or program of independent study that results in a formal research project. Students must elect the program in addition to their regular concentrations; transcripts will indicate that they have completed the requirements of the program.


How to Become a Program Member


Interested students who have no background in Russian or any other East European language are advised to begin language training (with RUS 10a) in their first year. Appropriate placement of those with some knowledge of Russian can be arranged by consultation with Professor Swensen of the Germanic and Slavic languages department. Progress toward the program certificate will also be facilitated by early enrollment (usually in the sophomore year) in HIST 147a (Imperial Russia).


Committee


Andrew Swensen, Chair

(German and Slavic Languages)

Steven Burg

(Politics)

ChaeRan Freeze

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Gregory Freeze

(History)

Robin Feuer Miller

(German and Slavic Languages)

Antony Polonsky

(Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)


Requirements for the Program


A. Students must complete the following courses: HIST 147a (Imperial Russia), HIST 147b (Twentieth-Century Russia), and four semesters of Russian language.

B. Completion of one advanced course dealing with Russia, the former Soviet Union, or Eastern Europe in three of the four disciplines participating in the program (history, literature, politics, economics). Note that HIST 147a and 147b fulfill the history requirement. See list below.

C. Participation in the senior interdisciplinary seminar, REES 97a and b, when offered or completion of one semester of independent study, REES 98a or 98b, under the direction of one or more members of the program faculty. The seminar will investigate a single problem that benefits from interdisciplinary analysis. Seminar topics vary from year to year.


Courses of Instruction


REES 97a and b Senior Seminar

For students completing Russian and East European Studies Program. Signature of the program chair required.

Seminar on topics determined by student interests. Requires research using Russian or other East European language materials.

Usually offered every year.

Staff

REES 98a Independent Study

Signature of the instructor and the program chair required.

Usually offered every year.

Staff

REES 98b Independent Study

Signature of the instructor and the program chair required.

Usually offered every year.

Staff


Elective Courses

The following courses approved for the program are not all given in any one year, so the Course Schedule for each semester should be consulted.

ECON 25b

Transition and Institutional Economics

ECON 32b

Comparative Economic Systems

NEJS 167b

A History of the Jews in Warsaw, Lodz, Vilna, and Odessa

NEJS 168a

History and Culture of the Jews in East-Central Europe to 1914

NEJS 168b

History and Culture of the Jews in East-Central Europe, 1914 to the Present

POL 129a

East European Politics

POL 213b

Graduate Seminar: Selected Topics in Comparative Politics

RECS 130a

Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature

RECS 134b

Chekhov

RECS 137a

The Heroine in Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature

RECS 143b

History of Russian and Soviet Film

RECS 146a

Dostoevsky

RECS 147b

Tolstoy

RUS 148b

A Survey of Twentieth-Century Russian Theater: Chekhov to the Present

RECS 149b

Twentieth-Century Russian Literature, Art, Film, and Theater

RUS 150b

Russian Prose: Undergraduate Seminar

RUS 153a

Russian Poetry: Undergraduate Seminar

RECS 154a

Nabokov