(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

RUS 10a Beginning Russian I

Four class hours and one recitation hour per week.

For first-time learners of Russian. This course is an engaging introduction to the Russian language and culture. Students will acquire basic communication skills in Russian by actively speaking, writing, listening, and reading in the language. Learning is enhanced by interactive online learning modules and authentic communicative tasks. Students will also develop a basic understanding of Russian culture and worldview. Active participation is essential. Usually offered every fall.

RUS 20b Beginning Russian II

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. Usually offered every spring.

RUS 29b Russian Language for Russian Speakers
[ dl ]

One additional hour of recitation required.

For students who grew up speaking Russian at home but have received no or minimal formal education in the language. Students will develop or improve their reading skills, acquire the foundations of writing in Russian, and expand their speaking ability through developing attention to linguistic form and dramatically expanding their vocabulary to include complex topics. Learning is enhanced by interactive online learning modules and authentic communicative tasks. Students will also engage in critical thinking about their bilingualism and multiculturalism. Active participation is essential. Usually offered every fall.

RUS 30a Intermediate Russian I
[ dl fl ]

Prerequisite: RUS 10a and RUS 20b or the equivalent. Not intended for Russian-English bilinguals; please contact language program director, Irina Dubinina, with questions about placement. Four class hours and one recitation hour per week.

Students will develop their proficiency in Russian to the intermediate level which will allow them to participate meaningfully in spontaneous spoken or written exchanges and make presentations on a variety of familiar and everyday topics. Students will also continue developing their reading and listening comprehension skills and growing their knowledge of Russian culture. Learning is enhanced by students' participation in a digital story project on a Russian-speaking city of interest. Active participation is essential. Usually offered every fall.

RUS 39b Russian Language for Russian Speakers II
[ fl ]

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. Usually offered every spring.

RUS 40b Gateway to Advanced Topics in Russian Language and Culture
[ fl hum ]

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. Usually offered every spring semester.

RUS 92a Internship

Usually offered every year.

RUS 98a Independent Study

May be taken only with the permission of the adviser to majors and the chair of the department. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every semester.

RUS 98b Independent Study

Yields half-course credit. May be taken only with the permission of the adviser to majors and the chair of the department. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.

Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.

RUS 99a Senior Research

Students should consult the area head of their major.

Usually offered every year.

RUS 99b Senior Thesis

Students should consult the area head of their major.

Usually offered every year.

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

COML/REC 136a All in the Family: Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and the English Novel
[ hum ]

Selected novels and writings of Austen, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Woolf will be read to trace both the evolution of the novel and the meanings, contexts and depictions of the family. The family novel encompasses such larger questions as how we regard the pain of others and how we define community. Usually offered every second year.

RECS 130a The Great 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.

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. May also include some short stories. Usually offered every fourth year.

RECS 134b Literature and Medicine: Chekhov and the Healing Arts
[ hum wi ]

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. Reading both Chekhov and the works of several other modern and contemporary writers who were deeply influenced by him, this course emphasizes the skills of close looking—techniques equally valuable to the writer, the dramatist, and the physician. We read works about children and the nature of childhood, about students, about “the woman question,” about peasants, about religion, about marriage and adultery, as well as two plays: The Seagull and Uncle Vanya (and adaptations of each of them). Students will consider the ebb and flow between Chekhov’s efforts as a dramatist and a story-teller and engage with Chekhov’s most vivid, candid, and intriguing letters about medicine and art. Usually offered every second year.

RECS 135a Russian Short Fictions: Where is Justice in This World?
[ djw hum oc ]

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 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.

RECS 144b Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: Confronting the Novel
[ hum oc wi ]

Where do Tolstoy and Dostoevsky fit in the theory and history of the novel? Students will engage in close readings of two of the greatest novels of all time: War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov. We will explore the genesis of each work, its cultural backdrop and critical responses. Usually offered every third year.

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.

RECS 152a Russian Science Fiction Literature and Film
[ hum ]

Open to all students. Conducted in English. Readings in English.

Examines the Russian science fiction tradition in the context of philosophical, historical, and political developments, with attention to topics such as futurism, science and technology, the perfectibility of humanity, the nature of time, the proximity of the unknown, and otherness. Usually offered every third year.

RECS 154a Vladimir Nabokov: Art and Ethics
[ 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, with special attention to the interplay within them of Nabokov’s philosophy of art and his views on ethics and morality. Usually offered every third year.

RECS/THA 140a Russian Theater: Stanislavsky to Present
[ ca djw hum wi ]

Throughout its history, Russian theatre has tried to communicate truthfully in a mostly repressive society. This course introduces students to the achievements of theatre artists from Stanislavsky through Post-Modernism. We will examine the work of groundbreaking directors like Meyerhold, Vakhtangov, and Lyubimov. We will read and analyze representative works of major modern and contemporary playwrights. The course load consists of readings, discussions, papers and in-class projects. Usually offered every second year.

RUS 105a Russian Language Today: People, Society, State
[ dl fl hum ]

Prerequisite: RUS 39b or RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent as determined by placement examination. Taught in Russian. May be repeated once for credit.

For advanced students of Russian language (non-heritage learners) who strive for advanced-level proficiency in all four modalities (listening, reading, speaking and writing). Explores aspects of contemporary Russian society and culture, including such topics as education, social media, religion, gender relations, environment and others. Usually offered every fourth year.

RUS 106b Advanced Russian Language through Film
[ dl fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: RUS 39b or RUS 40b 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 who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, listening, and writing. Course activities will focus on discussions of contemporary Russian feature films and documentaries. Usually offered every fourth year.

RUS 115b Topics in Russian Culture and Society
[ dl fl hum ]

Prerequisite: Advanced Russian language skills.

For heritage and advanced students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading and writing. Introduces students to issues central to Russian folklore. Through an analysis of chronicles, icons, epic tales, and folktales, discussions will explore the roots of Russian cultural values and beliefs. Students will examine structures and archetypes in folktales and magic tales. Usually offered every fourth year.

RUS 121b Russian-English Translation
[ fl hum ]

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.

RUS 150b Advanced Russian Language through 20th Century Literature
[ dl fl hum oc ]

Prerequisite: RUS 39b or RUS 40b or the equivalent, or instructor permission. Taught in Russian. Course may be repeated for credit with instructor's permission.

A seminar for continuing students of Russian who wish to enhance their proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading and writing. Focusing on the close study of Russian literature in the original Russian and the development of Russian oral and written language skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every second year.

RUS 153a Advanced Russian Language through 19th Century Literature
[ dl fl hum ]

Prerequisite: RUS 39b or RUS 40b with a grade of C- or higher, or the equivalent, or instructor permission. Taught in Russian.

An undergraduate seminar for heritage and advanced students of Russian. Focus on the study of 19th-century Russian literature in the original and development of Russian oral and written skills needed for the close reading and discussion of literature. Usually offered every fourth year.

Russian Studies Core Courses

COML 100a Introduction to Global Literature
[ dl hum oc ]

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.

Russian Studies Related Courses

COML 160a East European Literature and Film: Art and Life in the Throes of History
[ hum ]

All texts, films, and instruction in English. No prerequisites.

Examines major East European films and literary works from the Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, (former) Yugoslavian, Bosnian, and other traditions. With an eye toward the unique historical, political, and ideological currents of the region and its constituent nationalities, we will focus on both artistic expression and engagement with larger issues. Usually offered every second year.

COML 171a Literary Translation in Theory and in Practice
[ hum ]

Prerequisite: Excellent reading knowledge of any language other than English. Students will be asked to demonstrate proficiency before receiving consent to enroll in the course.

Approaching literary translation from several angles at once, this course combines readings in the history and theory of translation with a practical translation workshop. Students will experience first-hand the challenges of literary translation and, with the help of the theoretical readings, reflect on what the process teaches us about linguistic, literary, and cultural difference. Usually offered every second year.

COML/ENG 140b Children's Literature and Constructions of Childhood
[ hum ]

Explores whether children's literature has sought to civilize or to subvert, to moralize or to enchant, forming a bedrock for adult sensibility. Childhood reading reflects the unresolved complexity of the experience of childhood itself as well as larger cultural shifts around the globe in values and beliefs. Usually offered every third year.
Robin Feuer Miller

HIST 147a Russian Empire: Gender, Minorities, and Globalization
[ djw dl oc ss ]

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.

HIST 147b Twentieth-Century Russia: Revolution, Nationality, Global Power
[ dl oc 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.

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.

HUM 1a Tragedy: Love and Death in the Creative Imagination
[ hum ]

Enrollment limited to first-year Humanities Fellows. Satisfies the First-Year Seminar core requirement.

Our seminar concerns elemental experiences, above all love and death. The medium through which we will explore them is tragedy, an ancient literary form closely allied with myth. Consider this remark by philosopher Simone Weil: Nothing is so beautiful and wonderful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy, as the good. No desert is so dreary, monotonous, and boring as evil. This is the truth about authentic good and evil. With fictional good and evil it is the other way around. Fictional good is boring and flat, while fictional evil is varied and intriguing, attractive, profound and full of charm. (S.W., On Science, Necessity, and the Love of God, 160)

Hence, the appeal of the tragic, which directly addresses evil. There will be abundant, and sometimes horrifying evil in the plays, fiction, and poetry we read this term. We begin with Cormac McCarthy’s shocking Blood Meridian, a tragic tale of the American West, much as the Iliad is a tragic tale of ancient Greece. But why belabor the tragic, the mythic? Because in myth and tragedy we find not merely the self-confident moral posturing so common in modern writing but instead an attempt to get at that which underlies morality: good and evil, love and death. They are more fundamental, possibly divine, and therefore the remit of myth and tragedy rather than science and law. Usually offered every year.

POL 133b Politics of Russia and the Post Communist World
[ ss wi ]

Overview of the politics of Russia and the former Soviet world. Topics include the fall and legacy of communism, trends of democracy and dictatorship, European integration, resurgent nationalism, social and economic patterns throughout the former Soviet Bloc, and Putin's rise and influence both within Russia and abroad. Usually offered every year.

POL 167b Russian Foreign Policy
[ oc ss wi ]

Surveys Russian foreign policy in the contemporary world, with particular attention paid to the deep historical context for its attitudes and goals in international relations. Topics include relations with the larger post-communist region, the Muslim world, its ongoing antagonistic relations with America and the West, the rise of disinformation warfare on the internet, in addition to the distinct Russian perspective on geopolitics. Usually offered every year.

Russian Studies Writing Intensive

RECS 130a The Great 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.

RECS 144b Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: Confronting the Novel
[ hum oc wi ]

Where do Tolstoy and Dostoevsky fit in the theory and history of the novel? Students will engage in close readings of two of the greatest novels of all time: War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov. We will explore the genesis of each work, its cultural backdrop and critical responses. Usually offered every third year.

RECS/THA 140a Russian Theater: Stanislavsky to Present
[ ca djw hum wi ]

Throughout its history, Russian theatre has tried to communicate truthfully in a mostly repressive society. This course introduces students to the achievements of theatre artists from Stanislavsky through Post-Modernism. We will examine the work of groundbreaking directors like Meyerhold, Vakhtangov, and Lyubimov. We will read and analyze representative works of major modern and contemporary playwrights. The course load consists of readings, discussions, papers and in-class projects. Usually offered every second year.

Russian Studies Oral Communication