Russian

Advanced Placement: A score of 4 or 5 in a Language exam earns college credit and counts towards the language studies common area requirement. It also allows placement in RUSS 301, Russian Composition & Conversation. Students with AP credit who take a course below the level of RUSS 301 will forfeit the AP credit.

Successful completion of a course at or above the 300 level in the same language as the AP award will satisfy the language studies common area requirement. Students with AP credit in a modern language or literature earn placement in the curriculum but not progress toward the minimum number of courses required by the major. Students who take a course that duplicates the AP award in a language will forfeit the AP credit. Students with AP credit in the literature of a modern language will not be permitted to enroll in a course below the 300 level.

Students who have completed one year or less of high school Russian should enroll in RUSS 101; students who have completed two to four years of high school Russian should enroll in RUSS 201; students who received an AP score of 4 or 5 or who are heritage speakers should consult Russian Program faculty about enrolling in RUSS 301. See the Language Placement Flowchart on the Russian Program’s website for further guidance.

Majors: Students who are considering a Russian major or minor should enroll in the appropriate level language course based on the results of the placement test and/or consultation with Russian program faculty.


RUSS 101
Elementary Russian I
Common Area: Language Studies

The course is aimed at students with little or no previous experience in Russian.  Emphasis is placed on developing the basic aural/oral communication skills as well as reading and writing. Students will be able to read, write, speak, and understand the language in a broad range of everyday situations at the end of the second semester.  Various aspects of Russian life and culture will be introduced through the medium of Russian language.


RUSS 201
Intermediate Russian I
Common Area: Language Studies

This course is designed to activate the students’ spoken Russian. Reading, discussion, and situational activities provide dynamic application for the language. Movement, songs and interaction with real objects allow students to accelerate their learning. The class reviews basic grammar and introduces students to its more complex aspects.  Textbook and workbook are supplemented with multimedia.

 

RUSS 250
Madness in Russian Literature
Common Area: Literature

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 Griboyedov's The Trouble with Reason, Pushkin's Queen of Spades, Gogol's The Diary of a Madman, Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Chekhov's The Black Monk and Ward No 6, Kuzmin's Venetian Madcaps, Nabokov's The Defense, Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and Pelevin's Buddha's Little Fingers.  We will also examine manifestations of fictional insanity in film, opera, and the visual arts.

RUSS 299-F01
Ukranian Literature in War
Common Area: Literature

Ukrainian Literature in War will examine a broad cross-section of 19th, 20th, and 21st century Ukrainian short stories, novels, and poetry that explore complex issues like colonialism, ethnic and religious conflict, gender relations, and the relationship between the Slavic world and the West. Course readings will be supplemented by visual arts, film, music, and theater.

RUSS 299-F02
Russian Propaganda
Common Area: Literature

This course considers the nature, dynamics, and reality of Soviet and Russian propaganda. It focuses on how various media -- literature, film, animation, and the arts -- use various forms of "soft coercion" to shape what kinds of information the public takes in and how.

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