Slavic Studies

 

Professor:  Eckert; Senior Lecturer:  Despalatovic; Associate Professor Lanoux, chair

 

The Major in Slavic Studies

 

The major consists of ten courses beyond the elementary and intermediate Russian language sequence (Russian 101, 102 and 201, 202); it is designed to give students a solid foundation in Russian language, literature, history, and culture with additional offerings in linguistics, art history, film, theater, gender studies, environmental studies, and government.  All students will meet with the Department Chair upon declaring a major to design an individual program of study.  Normally students will take first- and second-year Russian (Russian 101, 102 and 201, 202), Slavic Studies 105, the literature survey sequence (Slavic Studies 165, 166), the Russian history sequence (Slavic Studies 247, 264), and one course in linguistics (Slavic Studies 110, 273, or 371) as core courses for the major.  Juniors are encouraged to study abroad during the second semester, preferably in combination with a summer internship, CISLA internship, or domestic intensive language program.  Students who do not complete an honors study must enroll in a senior seminar and complete a senior integrative project.

                The Russian language program is designed to prepare students to communicate freely with native speakers of Russian, and to give them appropriate background knowledge for a wide range of careers or graduate study (in such fields as education, literature, linguistics, history, journalism, law, business, foreign service, and environmental studies).  Language courses are conducted in Russian beginning with the first-year sequence, and establish a solid grammatical base and broad range of communicative skills by the end of the second year.  Third-year Russian concentrates on contemporary Russian life through news media and film, and prepares students for study abroad.  The Department encourages students to study abroad in approved programs in Moscow, St. Petersburg, or Vladimir administered by the American Councils of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), Middlebury College, or the O’Neill National Theater Institute.  Generally, two to three courses taken at Russian universities may be counted towards the major.

                The Department also promotes learning outside of the classroom:  students attend the Russian language table in Knowlton, rehearsals of the Slavic Chorus, trips to cultural events in neighboring cities, Russian teas, and lectures by visiting faculty and alumni.

                Czech, Croatian, and Polish languages may be taken on an individual study basis.  In exceptional cases, majors may substitute Czech, Croatian, or Polish languages for Russian as their primary Slavic language, with their program of study being adjusted accordingly.

 

The Minor in Slavic Studies

 

The minor consists of the two-year language sequence (Russian 101, 102; 201, 202), “Introduction to Slavic Studies” (Slavic Studies 105), and at least three additional Slavic Studies courses.

 

In Russian

 

RUSSIAN  101, 102  INTENSIVE ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN  An introduction to Russian language and culture.  Students will master the basic structures of Russian grammar and be able to converse with native speakers by the end of the second semester.  Video iPods with Russian curricular materials (language drills, songs, podcasts, music videos, animated films, and lectures) are provided to help students improve pronunciation and gain knowledge of contemporary Russian culture.  Open to students with little or no knowledge of Russian.  Six credit hours each semester.

Course 101 is a prerequisite for 102.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  A. Lanoux and L. Ulianova

 

RUSSIAN  201, 202  INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN  Study of Russian language, culture, and current events with an emphasis on Russian grammar, cartoons, newscasts, and the Russian internet.  Students will improve speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills throughout the semester.  All students will teach Russian once a week to fourth- and fifth-grade students at the Regional Multicultural Magnet School (RMMS) in downtown New London as part of a community learning partnership with RMMS.

                Prerequisite:  Two or three years of Russian at entrance, or Courses 101 and 102.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  Staff

 

RUSSIAN  303  ADVANCED RUSSIAN-russia today  Students learn about contemporary Russia by analyzing and discussing Russian news, televised newscasts, and contemporary Russian literature and culture.  The course emphasizes the development of conversational and writing strategies across a range of styles with attention to grammatical usage and structures.  Russian 303 prepares students for study in Russia in the subsequent semester.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  L. Ulianova

 

RUSSIAN  307  advanced RUSSIAN - FILM  Advancement of listening comprehension and conversational skills by viewing and discussing popular Russian films and cinematic classics.  Emphasis on contemporary culture and student participation with frequent written assignments.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  A. Lanoux

 

RUSSIAN  310  CONVERSATIONAL RUSSIAN  Students attend bi-weekly meetings to improve oral proficiency and listening comprehension.  Topics may include contemporary Russian culture, literature, political history, cultural traditions, stylistics, and linguistic conventions.  Two credit hours.  This course may be repeated for credit.  This course cannot be used to fulfill the Foreign Language General Education Requirement.

                Open to students of Russian at all levels beyond first-year Russian.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  Staff

 

RUSSIAN  493, 494  SENIOR SEMINAR  This seminar includes analysis of literary and cinematic texts designed to promote advanced proficiency in Russian.  Topics vary from year to year, but may include Russian poetry, drama, film, gender issues, emigration, or post-Soviet society.  Frequent written assignments and oral presentations.  This course may be repeated for credit once.

                Open to seniors and to students with intermediate-high proficiency in Russian, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  A. Lanoux

 

Texts in Original Contexts (TOC) and Foreign Language across the Curriculum (FLAC)

 

RUSSIAN  273f  THE STORY OF LANGUAGE  This optional section of Linguistics/Slavic Studies 273 will meet for an additional hour each week to discuss supplemental texts in Russian.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  Students electing Course 273f must concurrently register for Linguistics/German Studies/Slavic Studies 273.  E. Eckert

 

RUSSIAN  371f  SOCIOLINGUISTICS  This optional section of Linguistics/Slavic Studies 371 will meet for an additional hour each week to discuss supplemental readings in Russian.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  Students electing Russian 371f must concurrently register for Linguistics/Slavic Studies 371.  Staff

 

RUSSIAN  482f  TOLSTOY AND DOSTOEVSKY  This optional section of Slavic Studies 493A, 494A will meet for an additional hour each week to discuss supplemental texts in Russian.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  Students electing Russian 482f must concurrently register for Slavic Studies 493A, 494A.  Staff

 

RUSSIAN  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY  Independent work with a selected faculty member.  Course may be taken for either two or four credits.  The two-credit option requires the student to commit to four to five hours of independent work per week.  The four-credit option requires the student to commit to eight to ten hours of independent work per week.

 

RUSSIAN  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

RUSSIAN  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

In Croatian

 

CROATIAN  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY  Independent work with a selected faculty member.  Course may be taken for either two or four credits.  The two-credit option requires the student to commit to four to five hours of independent work per week.  The four-credit option requires the student to commit to eight to ten hours of independent work per week.

 

CROATIAN  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

CROATIAN  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

In Czech

 

CZECH  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY  Independent work with a selected faculty member.  Course may be taken for either two or four credits.  The two-credit option requires the student to commit to four to five hours of independent work per week.  The four-credit option requires the student to commit to eight to ten hours of independent work per week.

 

CZECH  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

CZECH  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

In Polish

 

POLISH  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY  Independent work with a selected faculty member.  Course may be taken for either two or four credits.  The two-credit option requires the student to commit to four to five hours of independent work per week.  The four-credit option requires the student to commit to eight to ten hours of independent work per week.

 

POLISH  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

POLISH  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

In English

 

Courses in English may include a one credit Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC) section or two credit Texts in Original Contexts (TOC) section in Russian.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  105  INTRODUCTION TO SLAVIC STUDIES  Introduction to the major geographical regions, peoples, language groups, and historical events that have defined the Slavic world:  pagans, myths, saints, tsars, insurrections, empires, revolutions, communists. 

Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 7.  M. Despalatovic, E. Eckert, A. Lanoux

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  110  LINGUISTICS:  INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE AND MIND  This is the same course as German Studies/Hispanic Studies/Linguistics 110.  Refer to the Linguistics listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  165  MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE:  THE “SOUL” OF RUSSIA  Development of the national literary canon from Pushkin to Tolstoy.

Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  166  RUSSIAN LITERATURE:  THE “SOUL” IN REVOLT  Russian literature and its European context from Dostoevsky to Tolstaya.

Enrollment limited to 40 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  M. Despalatovic

 

Slavic Studies  230  Gender in Communist and Post-communist SocietieS  Examination of social policies, cultural artifacts, and gender politics in communist China and the Soviet Union.  Topics include revolutionary movements, state feminism, labor and marriage laws, reproductive rights, and post-communist legacies.  Comparative analysis of historical documents, literary texts, political posters, visual art, and film.  This is the same course as East Asian Studies/Gender and Women's Studies 230.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructors.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  A. Dooling and A. Lanoux

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  247  THE USSR:  1917 TO THE PRESENT  This is the same course as History 247.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  248  EARLY CHRISTIAN AND BYZANTINE ART:  FROM CONSTANTINE THE GREAT TO MEHMET THE CONQUEROR  This is the same course as Art History 248.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  251  ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM AND ITS POLITICAL IMPACT AROUND THE GLOBE  This is the same course as Environmental Studies/Government 251.  Refer to the Government listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  256  THE INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF RUSSIA  A study of the origins and development of cultural identity and national ideology in Russia:  from “Moscow the third Rome” to the intensely ambivalent view of the West; from Caesarism of the Czars to the Caesarism of the Commissars; from great art to annihilating politics.  This is the same course as History 246.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 7.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  263  CHEKHOV AND RUSSIAN THEATER  A study of the origins and development of Chekhov's dramaturgy and of the theater of his time.  Theoretical postulates of Stanislavsky, Vakhtangov, and Meyerhold will also be examined.  This is the same course as Theater 263.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  264  THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, 1700-1920s  This is the same course as History 264.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  270  THE PHILOSOPHICAL NOVEL  Prose in the age of anxiety:  melancholy contemplations of the limits of reason in the era of brutal ideologies.  Works by T. Mann, J. Roth, F. Kafka, M. Krleza, W. Gombrowicz, M. Kundera, and M. Bulgakov.

                Prerequisite:  Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  273  THE STORY OF LANGUAGE  This is the same course as German Studies/Linguistics 273.  Refer to the Linguistics listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  288  THEORY OF FILM  A study in the films of Eisenstein (Potemkin), Renoir (Grand Illusion), Wertmuller (Seven Beauties), Bunuel (The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie), Wajda (Man of Iron), Tarkovsky (Rublyov), and of selected problems in the aesthetics of film:  narration, montage, the illusion of space and time.  This is the same course as Film Studies 288.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  307  HISTORY OF RUSSIAN AND SOVIET FILM  A survey of the radically innovative cinema of Russia and the former Soviet Union.  Emphasis on theory and practice of Eisenstein, Pudovkin, and Tarkovsky and on the genres of science fiction, documentary, melodrama, autobiography, action, and war films.  Films are in Russian with English subtitles.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  C. Colbath

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  309  SEMINAR IN LITERARY TRANSLATION  Students develop translation skills and study translation practices for poetry and prose.  Workshop format with regular translation practice from a foreign language into English.

                Open to juniors and seniors with advanced knowledge of a foreign language, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  M. Despalatovic

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  371  SOCIOLINGUISTICS  This is the same course as German Studies/Linguistics 371.  Refer to the Linguistics listing for a course description.

 

Slavic Studies  447  Islam in Russia:  Sources, Approaches, Debates  This is the same course as History 447.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  493, 494  ADVANCED STUDY SEMINARS  The topics are subject to annual change, although some may be repeated in alternate years.  There will normally be one seminar each year.

                Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors; and to freshmen with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment in each seminar limited to 16 students.

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  493A, 494A  TOLSTOY AND DOSTOEVSKY  A critical examination of the major works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky with attention to their contributions to world literature as both artists and thinkers.  Slavic Studies 493A, 494A may include an optional section that will meet for an additional hour each week to discuss supplemental readings in Russian.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  A. Lanoux

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

SLAVIC STUDIES  497-498  HONORS STUDY