Courses

The Slavic Department offers a range of courses in Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and English. Please take a look at our current course offerings along with a list of other recent and upcoming courses. To sign up for our courses, go to the Course Catalog, and search for Russian, Polish, or Ukrainian.

Jump to current courses in Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Literature & Culture


Current Slavic Department Courses

(Fall 2024)


Literature & Culture

Every semester we offer a selection of courses on the literature and culture of the region taught in both Russian and English. Most of our literature & culture courses meet the HALC or Diversity Global core requirements.

RUSS 1115: Russia A-Z I

Profs. Lioudmila Fedorova, Bradley Gorski, George Mihaychuk, Jill Neuendorf, Svetlana Grenier & Olga Meerson
Thursday 2:00–2:50 PM
Course Taught in English

This one-credit course is a survey of major topics in Russian culture from its beginnings to the present. It acquaints students with fields of inquiry in Russian language, literature, linguistics and culture and provides the necessary background for further study. It is intended as an introductory course for interested students with little or no background in these subject areas. The course is team-taught by members of the Department of Slavic Languages. In the final three classes of the semester, professors will report on their individual research. All lectures and readings are in English. (1 credit)

RUSS 4441: Tolstoy: War, Truth & Love

Prof. George Mihaychuk
MW 5:00–6:15 PM
Course Taught in English

In this course, we will consider the intricacies of the literary process by which characters and readers are led to the truths that Tolstoy unapologetically offers. And we shall have to consider how one can reconcile his championing clarity and simplicity with the complexity of his literary texts and his views on life. We will examine these issues in several works: an early story from the Sebastopol Tales, his great novel War and Peace, “Khadji Murat,” “The Death of Ivan Ilich,” his play The Power of Darkness, and his booklet What is Art?  (3 credits; HALC)

RUSS 4467: Pushkin: Paradoxes of Freedom

Prof. Svetlana Grenier
Tu/Th 5:00–6:15 PM
Course Taught in Russian

Students will read and analyze a selection of lyrics, two narrative poems (verse tales: The Gypsies and The Bronze Horseman), one or two of Little Tragedies (verse drama), and one or two of The Tales of Belkin (stories in prose). We will consider Pushkin’s work in the context of European Romanticism and Realism. This is an upper-level Russian course, taught primarily in Russian. (3 credits; HALC)

RUSS 4472: The Russian Short Story

Prof. Olga Meerson
MW 3:30–4:45 PM
Course Taught in English

This course introduces stories by major Russian writers starting with Karamzin, then sampling the 19th Century Classics—ranging from Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Leskov, and, bridging into the 20th century, Chekhov. In the 20th Century, it comprises authors ranging from Kharms, Platonov, Bulgakov, and Zoshchenko, through Nabokov and then, the Post-Soviet Pelevin and Sorokin, thus bridging into the 21st century and issues of burning relevance today, both poetic and political.  (3 credits)


Polish


Russian


Ukrainian


Past and Future Slavic Department Courses

The Slavic Department offers a wide range of courses on an occasional and rotating basis. Browse the following categories to get a sense of what courses we have offered in the past and what we will offer again sometime soon.


Our Polish program offers a full sequence of courses for students at any level. Many of our Polish students begin with some knowledge of Polish, but others start from scratch. The program is designed to bring students to professional proficiency from wherever they begin.

  • PLSH 1001: Beginning Polish I (3 credits)
  • PLSH 1002: Beginning Polish II (3 credits)
  • PLSH 1501: Intermediate Polish I (3 credits)
  • PLSH 1502: Intermediate Polish II (3 credits)
  • PLSH 2001: Advanced Polish (3 credits)
  • PLSH 4942: Professional Polish I (3 credits)
  • PLSH 4943: Professional Polish II (3 credits)

Our rigorous, comprehensive Russian program starts off with two years of intensive Russian (6 credit courses that meet for 6 hours per week) followed by an array of 3-credit courses that can be combined with study abroad and other opportunities. Students who complete at least three years of Russian will be well-prepared to pass the SFS proficiency exam.

  • RUSS 1011: First-Level Russian I (6 credits)
  • RUSS 1012: First-Level Russian II (6 credits)
  • RUSS 1511: Second-Level Russian I (6 credits)
  • RUSS 1512: Second-Level Russian II (6 credits)
  • RUSS 3001: Third-Level Russian I (3 credits)
  • RUSS 3002: Russia(n) in Context I (3 credits, offered every fall)
  • RUSS 3003: Russia(n) in Context II (3 credits, offered every spring)
  • RUSS 4005: Fourth-Level Russian (3 credits)
  • RUSS 4006: Russian Through Culture (3 credits)
  • RUSS 4097: Professional Russian I (3 credits)
  • RUSS 4098: Professional Russian II (3 credits)

Our Ukrainian program offers a full sequence of courses for students at any level. The first two years of Ukrainian are offered as 3-credit courses. Students wishing to pursue their Ukrainian studies further will be offered a 3-credit tutorial with one of our Ukrainian specialists.

  • UKRN 1001: Beginning Ukrainian I (3 credits)
  • UKRN 1102: Beginning Ukrainian II (3 credits)
  • UKRN 2001: Intermediate Ukrainian I (3 credits)
  • UKRN 3308: Intermediate Ukrainian II (3 credits)
  • UKRN 4944: Tutorial: Advanced Ukrainian (3 credits)

Our department offers a sequence of two 1-credit courses every year as an introduction to the discipline. These courses are team-taught by all the tenure-line faculty in the department. They are a great way to get to know everyone and discover what you might want to explore further. They are:

  • RUSS 1115: Russia A-Z I (1 credit, offered every fall)
  • RUSS 1116: Russia A-Z II (1 credit, offered every spring)

We also offer a range of courses on the literature and culture of the region on an occasional basis. Each semester we offer 3-4 courses, some taught in Russian, some in English. Most of the courses meet the HALC and Diversity Global core requirements. The following courses have been offered in recent semesters and may be offered again soon:

  • RUSS 4352: Woman with a Movie Camera (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4358: The Russian Internet (3 credits, taught in Russian)
  • RUSS 4381: Russian and East European Film (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4383: Radical Art in Russia & East Europe (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4384: The Russian Roots of Terrorism (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4385: Nabokov: Style & Scandal (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4389: (Post-)Colonial / (Post-)Socialist: Voices from the Soviet Periphery (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4391: The Art of Protest (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4411: Russian Literature Fights Xenophobia (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4422: Love, Sex & Modernism (3 credits, taught in Russian)
  • RUSS 4441: Tolstoy: War, Truth & Love (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4452: Ukraine in the Russian Empire (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4453: Post-Soviet Identity in Literature & Film (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4461: Pushkin: Eugene Onegin (3 credits, taught in Russian)
  • RUSS 4463: Dostoevsky (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4467: Pushkin: Paradoxes of Freedom (3 credits, taught in Russian)
  • RUSS 4472: The Russian Short Story (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4473: Heroines & Anti-Heroes in Russian Literature (3 credits, taught in English)
  • RUSS 4483: The Grammar of Poetry (3 credits, taught in Russian)