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The Russian Area Studies program is designed to give students knowledge of the Russian language, to help students better understand Russian culture and the situation in the former Soviet Union, and to prepare students for continued study at the graduate level. The geopolitical location and vast size of this area ensure that it will continue to play a critically important role in the world.
Russia is a natural subject for a multidisciplinary approach. The struggle to improve conditions of life in that country has constituted a common project engaging social, political, economic, and religious thinkers, historians, philosophers, writers, and artists. No one area, approach, or way of knowing has developed in isolation from the others.
The Russian area studies program offers two tracks for a major (one disciplinary and one interdisciplinary), and two tracks for a minor (one disciplinary and one interdisciplinary). The interdisciplinary track involves a concentration in Russian History and Society, while the disciplinary track involves a concentration in Russian Language for the minor and Russian Language and Culture for the major. (Note that a student may not satisfy the graduation requirements for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary within the field of Russian Area Studies.) Only courses for which the student has received a grade of C- or better will be counted toward either of the majors or minors. A term abroad in one of the Colleges' programs is strongly recommended for either major. Indeed, registration in Russian language courses after RUS 202 generally requires students to have completed an intensive language study program, defined as a summer or semester-long program in the U.S. or Russia. (If in the U.S., this must be a program explicitly designed to offer an intensive language experience, typically incorporating a language pledge and regular interaction with native speakers and other learners in the target language outside of formal classes.)
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR IN RUSSIAN HISTORY AND SOCIETY
Interdisciplinary, 11 courses
Restrictions: At least two courses must be at the 300-level or above. No more than one course can come from the contextual courses category. Students are encouraged to take at least three years of language study.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR IN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
disciplinary, 11 courses
Restrictions: No course from the list of "Contextual Courses" will count towards the major. Students pursuing the disciplinary major should plan to spend at least one semester studying abroad in Russia.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR IN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE
disciplinary, 6 courses
Six (6) Russian language courses starting with RUS 102.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR IN RUSSIAN AREA STUDIES
Interdisciplinary, 6 courses
Restrictions: Two courses must be in the social sciences. No courses from the list of contextual courses may count toward the minor.
CROSS-LISTED COURSES
Humanities Electives
BIDS 298 The Ballets Russes (offered alternate years)
ENG 360 20th-Century Central European Fiction
HIST 263 The Russian Land: 1000 to 2000
HIST 367 Women and the Russian State (offered occasionally)
RUSE 112 Introduction to Russian Literature—the 20th Century
RUSE 137 Vampires: From Vlad to Buffy
RUSE 203 Russian Prison Literature
RUSE 204 Russian Film
RUSE 237 Russian Folklore
RUSE 238 Spies, Reds, & Poets
RUSE 350 Survey of 19th-Century Russian Literature
RUSE 351 Survey of 20th-Century Russian Literature
MUS 150 In a Russian Voice (offered occasionally)
Social Sciences Electives
BIDS 120 Russia and the Environment
ECON 146 The Russian Economy
HIST 260 19th-Century Russian Modernity through Literature
HIST 261 20th-Century Eurasia
HIST 394 Russia and Central Asia
HIST 396 History and the Fate of Socialism
POL 257 Russia and China Unraveled
Contextual Courses
Cannot count for either of the minors or for the Language and Culture major; maximum of one can count for the History and Society major.
ECON 233 Comparative Economic Systems and Institutions
ECON 236 Introduction to Radical Political Economy
ECON 240 International Trade
ECON 344 Economic Development and Planning
HIST 238 World Wars in Global Perspective
HIST 276 The Age of Dictators
POL 140 Introduction to Comparative Politics
POL 245 Europe East and West
POL 379 Radical Thought Left and Right
SOC 300 Classical Sociological Theory
COURSES TAUGHT IN RUSSIAN (RUS)
101, 102 Introductory Russian I and II An introduction to the Russian language designed particularly to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students work with dialogues and grammatical patterns, using audio/video tapes and computers.
105 Beginning Russian in Review This course offers qualified students the opportunity to complete the elementary sequence of language acquisition in one semester rather than two. Students learn the fundamentals of the Russian language (speaking, listening, writing, and reading). Instruction and practice rely heavily on technological tools such as CD-ROMs, computerized drilling exercises, and interactive Web activities. Weekly laboratory is mandatory.
201, 202 Intermediate Russian I and II The aim of these courses is to develop further the basic language skills acquired in the introductory courses. An intensive study of grammatical structures with a continued emphasis on oral and written skills, they include supplementary reading with vocabulary useful for everyday situations and creative writing based on course material. Audio/video tapes and computers are used.
310, 311 Selected Topics: Russian Literature and Culture Advanced Russian language and culture courses for students who have completed at least two full years of language study and are preparing to study abroad in Russia. These courses offer topics from a broad range of choices, including literary texts, poetry, film and avant-garde writers and incorporate written and oral reports, grammar review, and weekly journals. These courses are designed for students who have performed exceptionally well in RUS 202 or the equivalent, such as an intensive summer program. Meets concurrently with RUS 410/411. Permission only.
410, 411 Selected Topics: Russian Literature and Culture Highly advanced Russian language and culture courses for students who have already achieved the fourth level of language study. These courses offer topics from a broad range of choices, including literary texts, poetry, film and avant-garde writers. These courses incorporate written and oral reports and weekly journals.
450 Independent Study
495 Honors
COURSES TAUGHT IN ENGLISH (RUSE)
137 Vampires: From Vlad to Buffy This course examines the vampire from its historical roots in the legend of Vlad Tepes to the American commercialization and popularization of the vampire in media such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Students discuss the qualities of the folkloric vampire and its role in traditional culture, how the folkloric vampire has evolved over time and across cultural borders, and why the vampire is such a pervasive cultural icon. The approach is interdisciplinary, using folktales, short stories, legends, novels, films, television shows, and analytical studies. All materials are read in English. (Galloway, offered annually)
203 Russian Prison Literature The Soviet system of prisons and labor camps operated for much of the 20th century. Under dictator Josef Stalin, millions of the country's own citizens were imprisoned on false charges for years, worked to death in Siberian mines, or executed outright. The perpetrators of these crimes have never been brought to justice. In this course students read from the literature that arose in response to this tragedy: works by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Varlam Shalamov, Lidia Ginzburg, and Georgii Vladimov. The course is open to all students regardless of level, and all readings will be in English translation. (Galloway, Spring)
204 Russian Film This course is an introduction to the most important trends, directors, and films in Russian cinema from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Students are exposed to a wide range of movies, including early silent films, experimental films of the 1920s and early 1930s, socialist realist films, films on World War II and Soviet life, and films from contemporary Russia. All readings are in English and all films shown with English subtitles. Due to the rich heritage of Russian cinema, this course does not claim to be an exhaustive treatment of all the great Russian films, but rather aims to acquaint students with the overall contours of Russian filmmaking. (Welsh, Spring)
237 Russian Folklore In this course, students survey the wealth of Russian and Slavic folk tales, epic songs, legends, riddles and other elements of the oral tradition, as well as the later literatures these genres inspired. Students examine characters such as the Firebird, Baba-Yaga the witch, Koshchei the Deathless, and Ilya Muromets. Materials are not restricted to the printed word and include art and music arising from the Russian folk tradition. There are no prerequisites and no knowledge of Russian language or culture is presumed. (Galloway, Spring, alternate years)
238 Spies, Reds, and Poets Throughout their history, Russians have left their homeland because of war, political and religious persecution, and unbearable censorship. In the 20th century, this problem intensified to create three distinct "waves" of Russian émigrés, many of whom settled in the United States. Students will analyze stereotypes such as the gangster, the capitalist, the spy, and the femme fatale while considering the more subtle representations created by writers who have experienced the other culture first-hand. The course is open to all students, regardless of level. (Welsh, Fall)
350 Survey of 19th‑Century Russian Literature (In translation) Nineteenth century Russian writers recorded "the 'body and pressure of time'" and mapped the human heart, exploring relationships between men and women, sexuality, issues of good and evil, and the alienated individual's search for meaning in the modern world. In brilliant, yet deliberately accessible work, prose writers recorded the conflict and struggle of their distinctively Russian cultural tradition, with its own understanding of ideas about religion, freedom, and the self, and its own attitudes toward culture, historical, and social order. Open to students of all levels. (Offered occasionally)
351 Survey of 20th‑Century Russian Literature (In translation) In the 20th century, Russia's "other voices" continued to express the souls and spirit of individual men and women, but now under the profound impact of historical events from revolution and world wars through glasnost and perestroika. Witnessing and experiencing great suffering, these heroic writers could neither remain silent under censorship nor write the socialist realist propaganda dictated by the Soviet government. Open to students of all levels. (Offered alternate years)
