Course descriptions
Russian 1000
(Elementary Russian Language
I): For beginners. Introduction to the fundamentals of Russian
grammar with particular attention paid to mastering the alphabet,
pronunciation, simple intonation patterns, acquisition of a basic
vocabulary, grammar and communication on the elementary level.
Russian 1001
(Elementary Russian Language II):
Continuation of Russian 1000; prerequisite Russian 1000, or
permission of the department, or one year of high school
Russian.
Russian 2010
(Intermediate Russian Language I): Continuation of the study of
basic grammar, reading and oral Russian completed in first year
Russian courses; introduction to reading Russian texts;
prerequisite Russian 1001, two years of high school Russian or
permission of the department.
Russian 2011
(Intermediate Russian Language II): Continuation of Russian 2010;
prerequisite Russian 2010 or permission of the department.
Russian 2510
(Russian Composition and Oral Ability I): Usually offered through
the Russian Summer Program in St. Petersburg; the goal of this
course is to expand the student’s vocabulary and the
development of conversational skills; alternative and experimental
methodologies are applied to increase vocabulary.
Russian 2511
(Russian Composition and Oral
Ability II): Usually offered through the Russian Summer Program in
St. Petersburg; continuation of Russian 2510 with more advanced
vocabularly building, conversation and compositions.
Russian 2600
(XIX Century Russian Literature):
A general survey of the evolution of the Russian novel in the
nineteenth century including a study of the historical and cultural
background in relation to the development of great works by A.S.
Pushkin, N.Gogol’, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Lev
Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. All Lectures are in English; this is an
official Research Writing Course.
Russian 2601
(XX Century Russian
Literature): The legacy of the XIX century tradition and a survey
of the greatest novels of the XX century including works by
E.Zamiatin, M. Bulgakov, Boris Pasternak, A.Solzhenitsyn and V.
Pelevin. All Lectures are in English; this is an official Research
Writing Course.
Russian 2900
(History of Russian Culture
I): A chronological study of the evolution of Russian culture and
intellectual history from pre-Christian ancient Rus until
approximately 1917. Texts and readings emphasize the confrontation
between autocracy and dissent. Lectures are supplemented with
slides and videos on Russian art, music and film. No prerequisite;
all lectures are in English and this is a Research Writing
Course.
Russian 2901
(History of Russian Culture
II): A study of the evolution of Russian culture in the XX century,
the USSR and post-Soviet period. Lectures are supplemented by
examples of Russian art, music and film. No prerequisite and all
lectures are in English and this is a Research Writing
Course.
Russian 3000 Cross-listed with E3840
(The Literature of the Cold War I): An introduction to the
literature of the Cold War Period from the superpower divide. This
course provides an overview of the intellectual, ideological,
political and social atmosphere that influenced the Soviet process
of creation. A general survey of the literary evolution of the
period and special attention is accorded to impoartant writers,
themes and problems, such as dissidence, emigration, literature of
conscience, the isolated protagonist, the political subtext,
nationalism and xenophobia. Authors disccussed include: Andrei
Platonov, Boris Pasternak, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Vladimir
Nabokov, Sergei Davlatov, Joseph Brodsky, Victor Pelevin and Boris
Akunin.
Russian 3001 Cross-listed with E3841
(The Literature of the Cold War II): This course will introduce
students to American Literature produced on or about the Cold War.
Students will be expected to study the Cold War not only as an
international issue, but as one that directly informed a domestic
American culture between the 1950s-1980s. The range of novels will
thus examine the Cold War in light of foreign relations, internal
disturbances and controversies, and, more importantly, ascertain
the ways in which the Cold War generated its own aesthetic
imperatives.
Russian 3003
(History of Russian Film: Russia on Reels): A survey of Russia and
Soviet cinematography against the contemporary cultural and
historical context, the contributions of the greatest Russian
directors of the XX and XXI centuries, the depiction of Russia and
the USSR in western film. Taught entirely in English.
Russian 3004 Cross-listed with WS3004
(Images of Women in Russian Culture): This course examines the
evolution of the feminine essence of Russian culture, the
traditional models of Russian womanhood in society and in Russian
literature, both as writers and fictional characters. Particular
attention is focussed on the role of women in the vanguard of the
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 which conditioned their liberation and
situation during the Soviet period. Contemporary issues concerning
the situation of Russian women are addressed. All readings and
lectures are in English.
Russian 3005 Cross-listed with G3005 and
H3005
(Aspects of the the German Intellectual
Influence on Russia): This course examines the fluidity of ideas
across geo-political borders, languages and cultures, by exploring
how the German cultural discourse was received and reinterpreted by
Russians in their literary, artistic and cultural dialogue. Ideas
about the Romantic Hero become conflated with theories involving
the Will, the Nietzschean Superman and the Proletarian
Revolutionary, personified and embodied in what some scholars
characterize as political/cultural Gods (Lenin/Stalin/Hitler).
Russian 3007
(Revolutions in Russian Culture): St. Petersburg, Petrograd,
Leningrad - A study of the relationship between revolution, and the
evolution of culture and intellectual history in the city of St.
Petersburg; usually offered through the Russian Summer Program in
St. Petersburg.
Russian 3010
(Advanced Russian Language I): An advanced study of Russian
grammar, literary texts and practice with spoken Russian
Russian 3011
(Advanced Russian Language II): A continuation of Russian 3010;
strongly recommended for students interested in graduate studies in
Russian.
Russian 3910
(Post Perestroika Russia, 1900-Present): Contemporary issues and
culture examines the momentous changes (artistic, political,
cultural economic ) and sense of rediscovery sweeping the former
Soviet union and present-day Russia. Usually offered through the
Russian Summer Program in St. Petersburg.
Russian 4001
(Research Essay Course): This can be chosen by students working on
a major specialization in Russian who have shown superior ability
and interest and who have completed an appropriate number of
Russian courses to undertake individual research. Occasionally this
course is offered through the Russian Summer Program in St.
Petersburg. By permission of the departmental coordinator.
Russian 4005
(Critical Theories on Life-Writing: Russian Memoir Literature):
Russian memoir literature has its roots in medieval Russia
(Saints’ Lives), although interest in the personalized human
experience began to blossom in Russia in the 19th century. At the
beginning of the 20th century many writers wanted to capture a time
or period that was quickly fading with the disruption of social
norms caused by the 1917 Revolutions. These events caused an
outpouring of various types of Life-Writing and eventually led to a
literary genre designation in Russian that is more highly developed
than in many other national literatures. This course examines the
critical theory of memoir literature and looks at it as a
developing literary genre.
Russian 4800
(Selected Topics): Selected topics in advanced Russian language:
word formation, basic stylistic features, advanced grammar,
translation and analysis of various texts.
Russian 4801
(Selected Topics): A continuation of Russian 4800; stylistic
nuances, translation and analysis of various texts; aspects of the
history of the Russian language are also included.
Russian 4100
(XIX Century Russian Literature / St. Petersburg Literature): An
examination of major and minor writers from the XVIII to the XXI
centuries whose works depict or are related to the Tsarskoe Selo,
St. Petersburg and Leningrad. Usually offered through the Russian
Summer Program in St. Petersburg.
Russian 4101
(XIX Century Short Fiction): Short works (stories, memoirs and
novellas) by major Russian male and female writers (many of which
concern St. Petersburg) are studied. Their legacy for the XX and
XXI centuries is exemplified in selections by Russia’s most
modern writers. Usually offered through the Russian Summer Program
in St. Petersburg.
Russian 4200
(XIX - XX Century Russian Literature): A study of leading writers
of the Silver Age and first half of the XX century; a study of the
main concepts and developments of the Soviet context as they effect
literature in the first decades of the XX century.
Russian 4201
(XX /XXI Century Russian Literature): A continuation of 4200; a
study of the main concepts and developments in Soviet and Russian
literature in the second half of the XX century, the post-Stalinist
liberation, literature of the Gulag, the rediscovery of the Russian
literary tradition and modern Russian writers.
