RUSSIA’S role in today’s world is of vital importance and our courses reflect the need and interest in a broad knowledge of the country and its people. In addition to all levels of language study, the Russian Program offers a wide array of literature and culture courses in different centuries (early Russia, 19th century, 20th century, contemporary Russia), genres (drama, poetry, prose, film), and geographical focus (Kievan Rus, European Russia, Siberia).
Russian 101, 102 — Elementary Russian 1, 2
Annually
Promotes active communicative skills along with the basics of Russian grammar. By course end, read, write, understand, and speak Russian in a broad range of everyday situations. Various aspects of Russian culture and life are introduced through the medium of language. Five class hours weekly and language lab practice. One and one-quarter units each semester.
Russian 201, 202 — Intermediate Russian 1, 2
Annually
Designed to activate students’ spoken Russian, a wide variety of in-class activities allow students to practice Russian needed for most everyday situations. Textbook and workbook are supplemented with audio and videotapes. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 102 or the equivalent. Five class hours weekly. One and one-quarter units each semester.
Russian 250 — Madness in Russian Literature
Every third year
From current events in post-Soviet Russia to classic Russian literature, Madness is an ubiquitous element of the Russian experience. We will cover a broad range of works-from medieval to post-Soviet masterpieces-to investigate the evolution of madness in Russian culture. The protagonists of the novels, plays, and short stories we will explore range from holy fools to everyday madmen to chronically troubled spirits. The reading will include Griboedov’s The Trouble with Reason, Pushkin’s Queen of Spades, Gogal’s The Diary of a Madman, Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, Checkhov’s The Black Monk and Ward No 6, Kuzmin’s Venitian Madcaps, Nabokov’s The Defense, Bulgakov’s The Master and Mararita, and Pelevin’s Buddha’s Little Finger. We will also examine manifestations of fictional insanity in film, opera, and the visual arts. One unit.
Russian 251 — Russian Tales of Desire
Every third year
This course treats the representation of desire in great works of the Western literary tradition. We will examine the transformation of this great literary theme over the ages and in various literary genres. The readings will include Euripides’s Hyppolitus, Dante’s La Vita Nuova, The Don Juan stories of Tirso de Molina, Byron and Pushkin, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary,Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Nabokov’s Lolita. Conduncted in English. One unit.
Russian 253 — Fire and Ice: Siberia in Fiction
Every third year
A consideration of Siberia as a native land, an adopted land, and a land of exile. Students start with Siberian folktales and the study of such native traditions as shamanism. Next, the course examines Siberia through Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and Shalamov as a land of both freedom and imprisonment. Finally, students read Rasputin, Astafiev, and Shukshin, whose work is devoted to the preservation of Siberia as a natural world and a culture. Narrative and documentary films complement the reading selections. Conduncted in English. One unit.
Fire & Ice: Siberia in Fiction
Russian 255, 256 — Russian Short Story 1, 2
Every third year
This course offers an opportunity to get acquainted with the most outstanding Russian writers and to read their masterpieces in the genre of the short stories. The first semester begins in the 18th century with Karamzin and continues through Chekhov. The second semester starts with Chekhov and brings students up to the present. Authors include Pushkin, Turgenev, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Babel and Zosh- chenko. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature.
Russian 257 — Russian Drama and the West
Every third year
Read Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldini, and Ibsen and analyze their influence on such Russian playwrights as Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, Blok, Evreinov, and others. Special attention will be paid to Stanislavky's acting system--a Hollywood favorite--and Meyerhold's experimentation on the Russian modern stage. Conducted in English. One unit
Russian 258 — Russian Cinema
Every third year
This course examines the development of Russian cinema from its silent pre-revolutionary stage up to the Post-Soviet blockbusters. It focuses on the artistic and technical achievements of Russian filmmaking and their contribution to practical and theoretical aspects of western cinema. We will discuss the distinction between Russian cinema as an ideological tool of a totalitarian state, and western cinema as an entertainment industry. Screenings will include a variety of cinematic genres and styles such as Eisenstein’s legendary The Battleship Potemkin (1925) and the Oscar-winning films Moscow Does not Believe in Tears (1979) and Burnt by the Sun (1994). Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Arts.
Russian 259 — Fairy Tale: Russia and the World
Every third year
This course explores the ritual origins and subsequent uses and functions of the folk, literary, and contemporary fairytale. Its methods include anthropological, psychological, archetypal, structural, feminist, and spiritual readings of the world’s most important tales. The course is both theoretical and practical. It aims not only to help students understand the various functions and methods of treating fairytale, but also to give them the tools to work with the genre themselves. The course also discusses historical problems of the study and classification of the fairytale. The cross-cultural approach of the course is designed to familiarize students with non-Western tales that challenge their assumptions about cultural boundaries and question the notion of what it means to be civilized. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature or Cross-Cultural.
Fairytale: Russia & the World
Russian 260 — 19th-Century Russian Literature
Every third year
This course considers the "Rabbles, Rebels, and Martyrs”of Russia’s Golden Age of literature. During the 19th century, the Emancipation of the serfs, the Great Reforms, revolutionary activity and continued west- ernization changed Russian society dramatically. Perhaps it was these attempts at liberalization that pro- duced the great works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Read the classic works of Russia’s Golden Age: The Bronze Horseman, Hero of Our Time, The Overcoat, Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature.
Nineteenth Century Russian Literature: Rebels, Rabble and Martyrs
Russian 261 — 20th- and 21st-Century Russian Literature
Every third year
A survey of the major works, authors and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will discuss the function of literature in the Russian society over the last one hundred years, from the modernist pre-revo- lutionary era to the present. We will focus on novels, short stories and poetry written during the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War, Stalinism, the era of stagnation, and after the fall of communism. The reading will include such diverse writers as Checkhov, Blok, Zamyatin, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Akhmatova, Pastemak, Solzhenitsyn, Pelevin and others. Conducted in English. One unit.
20th Century Russian Literature:Writing Revolution
Russian 262 — Russian Revolution and the Arts
Every third year
This course will focus on the artistic rebellion during the period from 1890 and 1930 against nineteenth-century realist canons in literature, music, and visual and performing arts. We will explore the wild ex- perimentation of Russian modernist artists during this revolutionary era, which had a powerful impact on the artistic imagination worldwide. Reading will include plays, novels and poetry by Chekhov, Zamiatin, Majakovsky, Blok, Akhmatova, Bulgakov and others. We will analyze the innovative painting techniques of Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall and the World of Art group, explore Stravinsky and Rakhmaninov’s com- positions, consider innovations in acting and dancing techniques, and learn about Eisenstein’s montage that revolutionized western cinema. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature or Arts.
Russian 263 — Soviet Art and Literature
Every third year
In addition to pure propaganda, the Soviet doctrine of Socialist Realism also produced a rich tradition of art and literature that expressed the ideal of the “New Soviet Person.” While introducing students to the wealth of Socialist Realist art and ways to interpret its hidden meanings and messages, this course traces the evolution of the “positive hero” in Soviet literature and art. We consider the meaning of Socialist Realism as a way to practice and understand art. We also discuss the merits and the dangers inherent in the relation- ship between this kind of literature and Soviet society, one that allowed a nation on its knees to rebuild and modernize as well as one that silenced countless authors. Students are also asked to discern how, in satirical or subversive works, the tenets of Socialist Realism are subverted and their values questioned and why, in today’s Russia, there is a growing nostalgia (and market) for Socialist Realist art. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature or Arts.
Russian 264 — Writing Under Stalin
Every third year
This course examines major literary works of the Stalinist era as the artistic expression of the history of twentieth century art, its writers and poets, and their relationship to the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin. The course teaches students how to discern symbolic systems that encode the works, often as a form of protest. It also considers the ethical issues at the heart of the works that concern such resistance and it risks and the role that art plays in such discussions. This course presents the social, political and cultural history of the Stalin-era Soviet Union (1922-1953) through primary and secondary historical sources, literature, arts, film (documentary and interpretive), and music. It attempts to piece together the history of stalinism, while asking students to consider the moral complexities of the time and it relevance to Russia as well as to other modern day nations. Students grapple with multiple voices that compete to “own” the history of Stalin, including that of Stalin himself. Conducted in English. One unit. Common Area: Literature.
Russian 299, 399, 499 — Special Topics in Russian Literature
Annually
A special course offered either semester on a single author or theme which has included religious imagery, women in Russian literature, the poetry of Anna Akhmatova, the short works of Bulgakov and Gorky, and courses on Russian poetry and the short story. Conducted in English or Russian. One unit.
Russian 301 — Russian Composition and Conversation 1
Fall
Continued development of oral and written language skills and cultural competency through the use of Russian literature, film, songs, and art. Prerequisite: Russian 202 or the equivalent. Three class hours weekly include writing laboratory with native speaker. One unit.
Russian 303 — Advanced Studies in Russian Culture
Spring
An analysis of literary works and documentary material with the aim of probing Russian cultural traditions of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. All discussions, readings and course work in Russian. One unit.
Russian 391, 392 — Advanced Russian Tutorial
Annually
This is a mixed-level course appropriate for students with advanced Russian language abilities from course- work, study abroad or native heritage. The course approaches a chosen theme from various media and fo- cuses on both oral and written literacy. Student interest determines the theme(s) of study and the course is then titled accordingly. This course may be taken more than once. One unit each semester.