Russian and Other Slavic
Languages and Literatures

Departmental Adviser: Howard I. Aronson, F 402, 702-7734
Coordinator of Russian Language Courses: Issa Zauber, F 401, 702-7739
Departmental Secretary: F 406, 702-8033

Program of Study

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers courses in the Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Polish languages and literatures, and in Slavic linguistics and other general Slavic subjects. The department also offers a program leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Russian language and literature. In addition, concentrations in Czech language and literature and in Polish language and literature can be arranged with approval of the department.

Russian Language and Literature. This program is designed to teach students skills in written and spoken Russian, instruct them in Russian literature (and linguistics, as an option), and acquaint them with the main characteristics of Russian history and culture. The program is similar to the concentration in Russian civilization but has a more humanistic emphasis. It is intended for students preparing for graduate work, for those planning a career in government or industry in which knowledge of Russian is useful, and for those whose primary aim is to read the masterpieces of Russian literature in the original or to study Russian linguistics as part of a humanistic education. Within the program there are two concentration options, one with emphasis on literature and the other with emphasis on Russian linguistics.

Program Requirements

Thirteen courses are required for the B.A. in Russian:

1. Second-, third-, and fourth-year Russian (or their equivalents). Under exceptional circumstances, students may petition the Departmental adviser and coordinator of Russian language courses to be excused from the fourth-year Russian requirement.

2a. Students in Russian literature must take four courses in literature including any two of the three parts of Russian 255-256-257 (Introduction to Russian Literature). Russian 299 (B.A. Paper) cannot be counted toward this requirement except by written permission of the Departmental adviser. Russian 297 (Independent Reading and Research) cannot be counted toward the concentration course requirement.

2b. Students in Russian linguistics must take General Slavic 201 (Introduction to Slavic Linguistics), Russian 230 or 231 (Structure of Russian I or II), and two additional courses to be chosen from the fields of Russian literature, Slavic linguistics, and general linguistics. The last two must be approved in writing by the Departmental adviser.

It is recommended that students fulfill their Common Core civilization requirement with a sequence in Russian civilization; they are advised to choose electives from such related fields as general linguistics, history, philosophy, political science, and literature. The department suggests that students planning to do graduate work in a Slavic-related field should take a year of French, German, or a second Slavic language. All students must write an acceptable B.A. paper under faculty supervision.

Summary of Requirements

Grading. Students in the concentration must take letter grades in the thirteen required courses.

Honors Program. To be eligible for the honors program, students must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or better overall, and 3.5 or better in the concentration. Applications to the honors program should be submitted to the Departmental adviser normally not later than the first quarter of the senior year. If accepted, the candidate writes an honors paper under the supervision of a member of the department. Honors students may use the honors paper as a bachelor's paper. If the completed bachelor's paper is judged by the supervisor and a second faculty member to be a distinguished example of original research or criticism, the student is recommended to the College for graduation with special honors.

Advising. Concentrators must obtain the Departmental adviser's approval for their programs of study before registration and should consult periodically with him afterward. Students should consult the Departmental office (F 406, 702-8033) for further information on the undergraduate program. Questions about proficiency examinations and placement in Russian should be directed to Issa Zauber (coordinator of Russian language courses).

Faculty

HOWARD I. ARONSON, Professor, Departments of Linguistics and Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

ANNA LISA CRONE, Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

BILL J. DARDEN, Professor, Departments of Linguistics and Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

MILTON EHRE, Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

VICTOR A. FRIEDMAN, Professor, Departments of Linguistics & Slavic Languages & Literatures; Chairman, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures

NORMAN W. INGHAM, Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College; Center for East European & Russian/Eurasian Studies

JOANNA KUROWSKA-MLYNARCZYK, Lecturer, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures

DAVID POWELSTOCK, Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

SAMUEL SANDLER, Professor Emeritus, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures

MALYNNE STERNSTEIN, Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

FRANTISEK SVEJKOVSKY, Professor Emeritus, Departments of Slavic Languages & Literatures and Comparative Literature, and Committee on Analysis of Ideas & Study of Methods

TAMARA TROJANOWSKA, Assistant Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the College

YURI TSIVIAN, Professor, Departments of Slavic Languages & Literatures and Art History and the College

EDWARD WASIOLEK, Avalon Foundation Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Departments of English Language & Literature, Slavic Languages & Literatures, and Comparative Literature, and the College

ISSA ZAUBER, Senior Lecturer, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures

Courses

Many 300-level courses are open to qualified College students (concentrators and nonconcentrators) with the consent of the instructor. A complete listing of courses offered by the department is given in the graduate Announcements and the quarterly Time Schedules. Please consult the Slavic Department for the latest information regarding course offerings.

Czech and Slovak

201-202-203. Elementary Czech. This course is offered in alternate years. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.

204-205-206. Intermediate Czech. PQ: Czech 203 or consent of instructor. The main emphasis is on giving students proficiency in reading Czech in their particular fields. Conversation practice is included. The program is flexible and may be adjusted according to the needs of the students. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

276/376. Milan Kundera (=Czech 276/376, GS Hum 277/377). This course constitutes a survey of the work of the Franco-Czech author Milan Kundera. The primary readings consist of his novels and short stories, from Laughable Loves to the recent Slowness. In studying Kundera's essays (particularly those in The Art of the Novel and Testaments Betrayed) we examine the relation between his critical thought and his novelistic practice. Such topics as sexism/misogyny, national identity, and political ideology are taken up in our discussions of this controversial novelist and critic. In addition, film adaptations of his work are shown and discussed. Texts in English. M. Sternstein. Autumn.

General Slavic

201/301. Introduction to Slavic Linguistics. A survey of principles of general synchronic and diachronic linguistics as applied to the Slavic languages. H. Aronson. Autumn.

210/310. Comparative Slavic I. PQ: GnSlav 201/301. The prehistory of the phonological system of Common Slavic and the break up of that language into the major early Slavic languages. B. Darden. Spring.

220/320. Old Church Slavonic (=GnSlav 220/320, LngLin 251/351). PQ: Knowledge of another Slavic language or a good knowledge of one or two other old Indo-European languages. The language of the oldest Slavic texts is introduced. The course begins with a brief historical overview of the relationship of Old Church Slavonic to Common Slavic and the other Slavic languages. This is followed by a short outline of Old Church Slavonic inflectional morphology. The remainder of the course is spent in the reading and grammatical analysis of original texts in Cyrillic or Cyrillic transcription of the original Glagolitic. V. Friedman. Winter.

230/330. Language, Power, and Identity in Southeastern Europe (=Anthro 274/374, GnSlav 230/330, Hum 274, Ling 272/372). Language is a key issue in the articulation of ethnicity and the struggle for power in Southeastern Europe. This course familiarizes students with the linguistic histories and structures that have served as bases for the formation of modern Balkan ethnic identities and that are being manipulated to shape current and future events. The course is informed by the instructor's twenty-five years of linguistic research in the Balkans, as well as his experience as an adviser for the United Nations Protection Forces in the Former Yugoslavia and as a consultant to the South Balkan Project of the Council on Foreign Relations. V. Friedman. Autumn.

267/367. Left-Wing Art and Soviet Film Culture of the 1920s (=ArtH 290/390, CMS 247, ComLit 358, GnSlav 267/367). The course considers Soviet "montage cinema" of the 1920s in the context of coeval aesthetic projects in other arts. How did Eisenstein's theory and practice of "intellectual cinema" connect to Fernand Leger and Vladimir Tatlin? What did Meyerhold's "biomechanics" mean for filmmakers? Among other figures and issues, we address Dziga Vertov and Constructivism, German Expressionism and Aleksandr Dovzhenko, and Formalist poetics and FEKS directors. Film screenings are six hours a week in addition to scheduled class time. Y. Tsivian. Winter.

273/373. The Slavic Vampire (=GnSlav 273/373, GS Hum 278/378). This course constitutes a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of the vampire myth in the Slavic and East-European world. The vampire is traced from its primeval origins through its many incarnations, ending with an assessment of its status in contemporary popular culture. In addition to readings of literary examples of vampirism, the course makes use of Jan Perkowski's treatise on the Slavic vampire, The Darkling, and supplements this survey with visual art and films, as well as readings from popular culture theory. Texts in English. M. Sternstein. Autumn.

Polish

201-202-203. Elementary Polish I, II, III. This course sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. Students are introduced to the grammatical and phonetic basis of the language and are taught to read appropriate texts. Attention is also given to pronunciation and conversation. J. K.-Mlynarczyk. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

204-205-206. Second-Year Polish I, II, III. PQ: Polish 203 or equivalent. Students write in Polish and read selected important texts of Polish literature. Attention is also given to problems of Polish syntax and to improving students' spoken Polish. Work is adjusted to each student's level of preparation. J. K.-Mlynarczyk. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

254/354. Polish Modernist Novel (=GS Hum 296/396). PQ: Open to advanced college students. Zeromski, Reymont, Berent. Texts in English. S. Sandler. Spring.

261/361. Concepts of Polish Romanticism (=GS Hum 282/382, Polish 261/361). This course introduces the major dramatic and poetic works of Polish Romantics: Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki, Zygmunt Krasinski, and Cyprian Kamil Norwid. It focuses on three issues that are fundamental to Polish Romanticism: (1) the notion of nature and its relation to man and history, (2) the notion of history (Polish historiosophy and Romantic Messianism), and (3) the new concept of nationhood. In addition to the nineteenth-century literary works, we discuss some twentieth-century responses to them. Texts in English. S. Sandler. Winter.

Russian

Language

101-102-103. First-Year Russian I, II, III. This sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. This course introduces basic grammar and practice in the elements of spoken and written modern Russian. All four aspects of language skill (reading, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking) are included. The course is designed to introduce students to using Russian both as a means of communication and as a tool for reading and research. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

104-105-106. Russian through Pushkin I, II, III. This sequence fulfills the Common Core foreign language requirement. An experimental linguistic and literary approach to first-year Russian in which classic Russian poetic texts, such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman are used to teach first-year grammar. Oral and reading skills are equally emphasized. Activization drills meet twice a week. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

201-202-203. Second-Year Russian I, II, III. PQ: Russ 103 or 106, or consent of instructor. This course continues Russ 101-102-103; it includes review and amplification of grammar, practice in reading, elementary composition, and speaking and comprehension. Systematic study of word formation and other strategies are taught to help free students from excessive dependence on the dictionary and develop confidence in reading rather than translating. Readings are selected to help provide historical and cultural background. Conversational practice in small groups with a native speaker is held during two of the five class hours a week. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

204-205-206. Third-Year Russian I, II, III. PQ: Russ 212 or 203, or equivalent. This course has three major objectives: (1) a thorough study of Russian syntax; (2) vocabulary building based on a study of Russian roots, prefixes, and suffixes; and (3) improvement of reading and communication skills. Classes conducted in Russian. Conversational practice with a native speaker is held two hours a week. I. Zauber. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

207-208-209. Fourth-Year Russian I, II, III. PQ: Russ 206 or equivalent. This course treats difficult grammar problems, as well as questions of syntax and stylistics. It includes extensive readings representative of different periods of Russian literature and various literary styles. These texts are discussed in class and analyzed by the students in written compositions. Vocabulary building and oral expression are also emphasized. Classes conducted in Russian. Conversation practice is held twice a week. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

210-211-212. Russian through Literary Readings: Second Year I, II, III. PQ: Russ 103 or 106. A continuation of Russian through Pushkin. Second-year grammar, and oral and reading skills are strengthened through intensive reading of important poetic and prose texts from the Russian classics. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

301-302-303. Advanced Russian I, II, III. PQ: Russ 209 and consent of instructor. I. Zauber. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Literature and Linguistics

220/320. History of Russian I: Phonology. PQ: GnSlav 201/301 and 220/320. The description of the sound system of Old East Slavic and its development into modern Russian. Texts in English and Russian. B. Darden. Spring.

230/330. Structure of Russian I: Phonology. PQ: GnSlav 201/301. This course covers the phonetics, phonemics, and morphophonemics of modern Russian. Texts in English and Russian. B. Darden. Winter.

244. Russian Culture. This course takes a detailed look at aspects of 20th century Russian culture from the fin de siecle to the end of the millenium. Specific focus will be on non-literary aspects of culture not normally covered in other courses--visual arts, dance, theatre, architecture, music, film and contemporary manifestations of culture. There will be weekly screenings. Use of the internet will be encouraged. Texts in English. P. DeMartino, J. Nachtigal. Spring.

255/355. Introduction to Russian Literature I: From the Beginnings to 1850. This course is a survey of Russian literature from the Igor Tale to the middle of the nineteenth century. Major figures covered are Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Goncharov, and Turgenev. Texts in English. A. L. Crone. Autumn.

256/356. Introduction to Russian Literature II: 1850 to 1900 (=Hum 240, Russ 256/356). This is a survey covering the second half of the nineteenth century. Major figures studied are Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Leskov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, and Chekhov. Representative works are read for their literary value and against their historical, cultural, and intellectual background. Texts in English. Class discussion is encouraged. M. Ehre. Winter.

257/357. Introduction to Russian Literature III: Twentieth-Century Russian Literature. Course topics include Symbolism, the avant-garde of the 1920s, socialist realism, contemporary trends, and émigré literature. We read works by Sologub, Bely, Mayakovsky, Pasternak, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Solzhenitsyn, Nabokov, and others. Students may read in English or Russian. Staff. Spring.

262/362. Pushkin. PQ: Three years of Russian or equivalent. This course studies Pushkin's lyrics, narrative poetry (including Evgenij Onegin), and prose. This year the emphasis is on narrative poetry. Texts in Russian. M. Ehre. Spring.

271/371. Gogol. This course studies Gogol in relation to his age and major trends of Russian literature. There is a class discussion of individual works. Texts in English. M. Ehre. Autumn.

276/376. Tolstoy (=Hum 276, Russ 276/376). This course is a close reading of selected works by Tolstoy seen as artistic wholes and in the development of his ideological and moral views. The central text this year is War and Peace. Texts in English. N. Ingham. Spring.

297. Independent Reading and Research. PQ: Consent of instructor and Departmental adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

299. B.A. Paper. PQ: Consent of instructor and Departmental adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Open to concentrators in Russian and other Slavic languages with fourth-year standing. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

South Slavic

280/380. Balkan Modernism in European Context. This course is a comparative survey of the reflexes of European Modernism in the twentieth-century literature of Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, and Romania. We explore the complex culture and history of the Balkans from the vantage point of the best modernist texts created in the region. Sample literary and cinematic texts are drawn from Cavafy's poems, novels by Andric and Kadare, short stories by Kié read in conjunction with the oeuvre of his "father" Borges, and the newest films of award-winning directors Kusturica and Angelopoulus. Texts in English. V. Izmirlieva. Winter.