2014-2015 Catalog

BCSN 10100-10200-10300. Elementary Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian I-II-III.

The major objective of the course is to build a solid foundation in the basic grammatical patterns of written and spoken Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, while simultaneously introducing both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. This course is complemented with cultural and historical media from the Balkans and is designed for students with a wide range of interests. Screenings of movies and other audio-visual materials are held in addition to scheduled class time. Knowledge of a Slavic language and background in linguistics not required.

BCSN 20100-20200-20300. Intermediate Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian I-II-III.

The first quarter is devoted to an overview of grammar, with emphasis on verbal morphology and syntax, through the reading of a series of literary texts in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets. The second and third quarters are devoted to further developing active mastery of Bosian/Croatian/Serbian through continued readings, grammar drills, compositions, and conversational practice. Study of word formation, nominal and adjectival morphology, and syntax are emphasized. Screenings of movies and other audio-visual materials are held in addition to scheduled class time.

BCSN 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

CZEC 10100-10200-10300. Elementary Czech I-II-III.

This course is an introduction to the basic grammar of Czech with attention given to all four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as well as exposure to Czech culture. Winter and Spring Quarters include work with Czech film and literature. Students gain some familiarity with the major differences between literary and spoken Czech as they learn to use the language both as a means of communication and as a tool for reading and research.

CZEC 20100-20200-20300. Second-Year Czech I-II-III.

The main goal of this course is to enable students to read Czech proficiently in their particular fields. Conversation practice is included. The program is flexible and may be adjusted according to the needs of the students.

CZEC 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

CZEC 29900. BA Paper. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open to fourth-year students who are majoring in Slavic Languages and Literatures with consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course must be taken for a quality grade.

EEUR 20900. Structure of Albanian. 100 Units.

This is a rare opportunity to get a functional grasp of one of the least-studied national languages of Europe. Albanian is of relevance for Indo-Europeanists, Balkanists, Classicists, Islamicists, and any social scientist with an interest in Southeastern Europe. In addition to being the majority language in Albania and Kosovo, it is spoken by compact populations in all their neighboring countries, as well as by old enclaves in Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, and Ukraine, and by more recent émigré groups in Western Europe, North America, and Australia. The course focuses on giving students an understanding of the grammatical structure of Albanian as well as sufficient reading knowledge for the independent development of the ability to pursue research.

Instructor(s): Victor Friedman     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): EEUR 30900,LGLN 29700,LGLN 39700

EEUR 21000. Romani Language and Linguistics. 100 Units.

This is a beginning course on the language of the Roms (Gypsies) that is based on the Arli dialect currently in official use in the Republic of Macedonia, with attention also given to dialects of Europe and the United States. An introduction to Romani linguistic history is followed by an outline of Romani grammar based on Macedonian Arli, which serves as the basis of comparison with other dialects. We then read authentic texts and discuss questions of grammar, standardization, and Romani language in society.

Instructor(s): V. Friedman     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): LGLN 27800,ANTH 27700,ANTH 47900,EEUR 31000,LGLN 37800

EEUR 21100-21200-21300. Elementary Modern Armenian I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence utilizes the most advanced computer technology and audio-visual aids enabling the students to master a core vocabulary, the alphabet and basic grammatical structures and to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency in modern formal and spoken Armenian (one of the oldest Indo-European languages). A considerable amount of historical-political and social-cultural issues about Armenia are skillfully built into the course for students who have intention to conduct research in Armenian Studies or to pursue work in Armenia.

EEUR 23400. Introduction to the Musical Folklore of Central Asia. 100 Units.

This course explores the musical traditions of the peoples of Central Asia, both in terms of historical development and cultural significance. Topics include the music of the epic tradition, the use of music for healing, instrumental genres, and Central Asian folk and classical traditions. Basic field methods for ethnomusicology are also covered. Extensive use is made of recordings of musical performances and of live performances in the area.

Instructor(s): K. Arik     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of Arabic and/or Islamic studies helpful but not required
Equivalent Course(s): NEHC 30765,ANTH 25905,EEUR 33400,MUSI 23503,MUSI 33503,NEHC 20765

EEUR 29301. East European Horror Cinema. 100 Units.

Eastern Europe has menaced the "enlightened" West for centuries. It remains to this day a valuable source for negotiating the West’s phantasies. One need only look at the rich and varied story of the vampire through popular culture from the 18th-century revenant to the 21st-century sex symbol and family man to confirm this fascination. Eastern Europe (and I use this term here to conform to popular discourse) is the West’s necessary construct to enforce the ideation of its own health and weal. In this course contemporary horror film produced both within and without Eastern Europe—and at times in partnership with the “West”—but all with the East as haunt, landscape, and affect are discussed with the West’s and East’s anxieties (social, political, artistic) in mind. Films include Eli Roth’s Hostel franchise, Julie Delpy’s The Countess, Timur Bekmambetov’s Night Watch and Day Watch, Pavel Ruminov’s Dead Daughters, Nacho Cerdà’s The Abandoned, György Palfi’s Taxidermia, and the highly controversial A Serbian Film directed by Srđan Spasojević. Readings range from work on defining the horror genre to philosophies of anxiety to critical interrogations of specific films. This class contains films with scenes that ought to be disturbing.

Instructor(s): Malynne Sternstein     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of an East European or Central European Slavic language
Equivalent Course(s): EEUR 39301,CMST 25521,CMST 35521

SLAV 20100. Introduction to Slavic Linguistics. 100 Units.

The main goal of this course is to familiarize students with the essential facts of the Slavic linguistic history and with the most characteristic features of the modern Slavic languages. In order to understand the development of Proto-Slavic into the existing Slavic languages and dialects, we focus on a set of basic phenomena. The course is specifically concerned with making students aware of factors that led to the breakup of the Slavic unity and the emergence of the individual languages. Drawing on the historical development, we touch upon such salient typological characteristics of the modern languages such as the rich set of morphophonemic alternations, aspect, free word order, and agreement.

Instructor(s): Y. Gorbachov     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): This course is typically offered in alternate years.
Equivalent Course(s): LING 26400,LING 36400,SLAV 30100

SLAV 20600. Contact Linguistics. 100 Units.

This seminar focuses on current research in contact linguistics in a global perspective, including but not limited to the impact of languages of wider communication (e.g. English, Russian) in contact with other languages. Topics to be covered include the following: language/dialect contact, convergence and language shift resulting in attrition and language endangerment and loss. Other contact-induced linguistic changes and processes to be considered include borrowing, code-switching, code-shifting, diglossia, loss of linguistic restrictions and grammatical permeability, and the impact of language contact in the emergence and/or historical development of languages.

Instructor(s): Victor Friedman and Lenore Grenoble     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): LING 20001 or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): LING 26310,SLAV 30600,LING 36310

SLAV 23000. Language/Power/Identity in South East Europe. 100 Units.

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 thirty years of linguistic research in the Balkans as well as his experience as an adviser for the United Nations Protection Forces in Former Yugoslavia and as a consultant to the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Crisis Group, and other organizations. Course content may vary in response to ongoing current events.

Instructor(s): V. Friedman     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 27400,ANTH 37400,HUMA 27400,LING 27200,LING 37200,SLAV 33000

SLAV 23510. Their Brothers' Rights: Western and Eastern Jews in the Long Nineteenth Century. 100 Units.

The course deals with interventions by “Western” Jewries on behalf of Jewish communities in the “East,” especially imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire, between the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) and the eve of the First World War. The course will follow two axes of interpretation: first, the global conditions established through international relations, focusing on the principle of the balance of power and accompanied by conferences and congresses; second, from the mid-nineteenth century onward, the transformation from intercession by notables to a kind of nongovernmental Jewish diplomacy undertaken by organizations promoting education, welfare, and civil equality.

Instructor(s): D. Diner     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 23515,GRMN 23510,JWSC 26310

SLAV 24411. The Interrupted Word: Photographs in Contemporary Central European Literature of Witness. 100 Units.

Occasionally dismissed as a postmodern gimmick, the insertion of photographs into literary texts is nonetheless a conspicuous fact of contemporary prose, and particularly of literature of witness. How do these embedded photographs function? Do they buttress the veracity of testimony? Or, do they mark out an inadequacy, even a failure, of language? Do they support the narrative, or undermine it? In this course, we will focus on the literary legacy of three historical moments of witness—Germany after World War II, Yugoslav Successor States after the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, and Post-Soviet Poland—to ground a theoretical analysis of the function of photographs in texts. We will begin by tracing the history of critical thought on photography, from Benjamin through the seminal works of Sontag and Barthes and finally to the contemporary theories put forth by W. J. T. Mitchell and Slavoj Žižek. As the four novels which will serve as touchstones for our theoretical inquiry (by W. G. Sebald, Dubravka Ugrešić, Aleksandar Hemon, and Paveł Huelle) were all composed at both a temporal and spatial remove from their historical referent, we will also engage the discourses of post-memory and exilic literature.

Instructor(s): K. Tucker     Terms Offered: Spring

SLAV 26500. Human Rights in Russia and Eurasia. 100 Units.

This course focuses on the political economy of human rights in Russia and Eurasia. We will study how international norms have been “imported” by post-Soviet states. How have regional politics and cultures shaped how rights norms are understood and how they are protected in practice? Why do many post-Soviet countries fail to protect the rights of their citizens? Using knowledge of the history, political culture, and social practices of the region, we will work to identify those rights issues with the most potential for positive change and those more likely to remain enduring problems.

Instructor(s): A. Janco     Terms Offered: Not offered in 2014-2015
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 29312,HIST 39313,SLAV 36500,HMRT 26500

SLAV 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SLAV 29900. BA Paper. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open to fourth-year students who are majoring in Slavic Languages and Literatures with consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course must be taken for a quality grade.

GEOR 22100-22200-22300. Elementary Georgian I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence covers basic Modern Georgian grammar and includes writing, reading, listening, and speaking activities. We'll be referring to Howard Aronson's textbook (Georgian: A Reading Grammar) and supplementing with additional authentic texts, audio, and video materials that will be provided in class. The University of Chicago is the only university in the United States to regularly offer Georgian! Take advantage of this rare opportunity to study a unique and fascinating language!

GEOR 22400-22500-22600. Intermediate Georgian I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence builds speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills based on the knowledge developed during Elementary Georgian. In addition, more complicated grammatical topics are discussed and practiced through a variety of activities and exercises that integrate multimedia materials with traditional translation work.

POLI 10100-10200-10300. Elementary Polish I-II-III.

This course teaches students to speak, read, and write in Polish, as well as familiarizes them with Polish culture. It employs the most up-to-date techniques of language teaching (e.g., communicative and accelerated learning, and learning based on students’ native language skills), as well as multileveled target-language exposure.

POLI 20100-20200-20300. Second-Year Polish I-II-III.

This course includes instruction in grammar, writing, and translation, as well as watching selected Polish movies. Selected readings are drawn from the course textbook, and students also read Polish short stories and press articles. In addition, the independent reading of students is emphasized and reinforced by class discussions. Work is adjusted to each student’s level of preparation.

POLI 20500-20600-20700. Advanced Polish I-II-III.

Students in this course discuss selected readings (primarily short stories chosen by the instructor) in Polish during the week. The level of work is adjusted to each student’s level of preparation. All work in Polish.

POLI 22400. From Post-War to Post-Wall: A History of Polish Film. 100 Units.

This course will explore post-World War II film from Poland—approaching the works both as examples of the cinematic art in the region and as a lens through which to view developments and transformations in East European culture. We will view ten films by most renowned directors from Poland. The course will assess what the end of World War II, joining the Eastern Bloc, the fall of communism, and finally the entry into post-Soviet Europe have meant for the film culture and the Polish national film tradition. We will also consider how Eastern European cinematic discourse is undergoing—or should undergo—revision, viewing it as an increasingly transnational phenomenon, rather than the example of a national film industry. The films will be viewed in the original language with English subtitles.

Instructor(s): Kinga Kosmala     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 24400,CMST 34400,POLI 32400

POLI 22410. “Lady Jane” in Warsaw: Communism Brought Down by Rock ’n’ Roll. 100 Units.

Rock and punk music played a significant role in subverting the power of the Soviet system among the youth cultures of the Eastern bloc countries. These two types of music became extremely interesting artistic and subversive cultural realms during the Cold War in Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, the USSR, and other countries of the Bloc. “The Plastic People of the Universe” from Czechoslovakia, “Maanam” and “Perfect” from Poland, “Time Machine” from the USSR, among others, accompanied and unified the younger generations in searching for their identity in the reality of the totally controlling and ominous communist state. Music became an integral part of young people’s lives and actively participated in the crucial social change of 1989—the fall of the communist system. Massive popularity of Western rock and punk music behind the Iron Curtain along with the music created by artists from the Eastern Bloc will be explored in detail in this course.

Instructor(s): Kinga Kosmala     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): POLI 32410

POLI 24100-24200-24300. Polish Through Literary Readings I-II-III.

An advanced language course emphasizing spoken and written Polish. Readings include original Polish prose and poetry as well as nonfiction. Intensive grammar review and vocabulary building. For students who have taken Third Year Polish and for native or heritage speakers who want to read Polish literature in the original. Readings and discussions in Polish.

POLI 25301. Gombrowicz: The Writer as Philosopher. 100 Units.

In this course, we dwell on Witold Gombrowicz the philosopher, exploring the components of his authorial style and concepts that substantiate his claim to both the literary and the philosophical spheres. Entangled in an ongoing battle with basic philosophical tenets and, indeed, with existence itself, this erudite Polish author is a prime example of a 20th century modernist whose philosophical novels explode with uncanny laughter. In contrast to many of his contemporaries, who established their reputations as writers/philosophers, Gombrowicz applied distinctly literary models to the same questions that they explored. We investigate these models in depth, as we focus on Gombrowicz’s novels, philosophical lectures, and some of his autobiographical writings. With an insight from recent criticism of these primary texts, we seek answers to the more general question: What makes this author a philosopher?

Instructor(s): Bozena Shallcross     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): All readings in English.
Equivalent Course(s): POLI 35301,ISHU 29405,FNDL 26903

POLI 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

POLI 29900. BA Paper. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser. Open only to fourth-year students who are majoring in Slavic Languages and Literature.
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course must be taken for a quality grade.

RUSS 10100-10200-10300. First-Year Russian I-II-III.

This course introduces modern Russian to students who would like to speak Russian or to use the language for reading and research. All four major communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) are stressed. Students are also introduced to Russian culture through readings, videos, and class discussions. This yearlong course prepares students for the College Language Competency Exam, for continued study of Russian in second-year courses, and for study or travel abroad in Russian-speaking countries. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 10400-10500-10600. Russian through Pushkin I-II-III.

This literary and linguistic approach to Russian allows students to learn the language by engaging classic Russian poetic texts (e.g., Pushkin’s The Bronze Horseman), as well as excerpts from Eugene Onegin and selections from Pushkin’s shorter poems and prose works. Although the focus is on reading Russian, all four major communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) are stressed, preparing students for the College Language Competency Exam and for continued study of Russian in second-year courses. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 20100-20200-20300. Second-Year Russian I-II-III.

This course continues RUSS 10100-10200-10300; 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. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 20400-20500-20600. Russian through Literary Readings: Second Year I-II-III.

This course is a continuation of Russian through Pushkin. Second-year grammar, as well as oral and reading skills, are strengthened through intensive reading of important poetic and prose texts from the Russian classics. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 20702-20802-20902. Third-Year Russian through Culture I-II-III.

This course, which is intended for third-year students of Russian, covers various aspects of Russian grammar in context and emphasizes the four communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) in a culturally authentic context. Excerpts from popular Soviet/Russian films and clips from Russian television news reports are shown and discussed in class. Classes conducted in Russian; some aspects of grammar explained in English. Drill practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 21002-21102-21202. Fourth-Year Russian through Short Story I-II-III.

This course treats some difficult issues of grammar, syntax, and stylistics through reading and discussing contemporary Russian short stories. This kind of reading exposes students to contemporary Russian culture, society, and language. Vocabulary building is also emphasized. Classes conducted in Russian. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 21302-21402-21502. Advanced Russian through Media I-II-III.

This course, which is designed for fifth-year students of Russian, covers various aspects of Russian stylistics and discourse grammar in context. It emphasizes the four communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) in culturally authentic context. Clips from Russian/Soviet films and television news reports are shown and discussed in class. Classes conducted in Russian. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 21600. Russian for Heritage Learners. 100 Units.

This course examines the major aspects of Russian grammar and stylistics essential for heritage learners. Students engage in close readings and discussions of short stories by classic and contemporary Russian authors (e.g., Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Platonov, Bulgakov, Erofeev, Tolstaya), with special emphasis on their linguistic and stylistic differences. All work in Russian.

Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Ability to speak Russian fluently required; formal training in Russian not required

RUSS 22302. War and Peace. 100 Units.

A close reading of Tolstoy's great novel, with attention to theoretical approaches to be found in the large critical apparatus devoted to the novel.

Instructor(s): W. Nickell     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 22301,CMLT 32301,ENGL 28912,ENGL 32302,FNDL 27103,HIST 23704,RUSS 32302

RUSS 25100-25200. Introduction to Russian Civilization I-II.

This two-quarter sequence, which meets the general education requirement in civilization studies, provides an interdisciplinary introduction to Russian civilization. The first quarter covers the ninth century to the 1870s; the second quarter continues on through the post-Soviet period. Working closely with a variety of primary sources—from oral legends to film and music, from political treatises to literary masterpieces—we will track the evolution of Russian civilization over the centuries and through radically different political regimes. Topics to be discussed include the influence of Byzantine, Mongol-Tataric, and Western culture in Russian civilization; forces of change and continuity in political, intellectual and cultural life; the relationship between center and periphery; systems of social and political legitimization; and symbols and practices of collective identity.

RUSS 25500. Russian Literature from Classicism to Romanticism. 100 Units.

This course offers a survey of the main literary movements, schools, and genres during the period from the 1760s to the 1830s. We will explore the main works of Russian new-classical, pre-romantic, and romantic authors, including Mikhail Lomonossov, Gavriil Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin, Nikolai Novikov, Anns Labzina, Nikolai Karamzin, Aleksandr Radischev, Vassilii Pushkin, Denis Davydov, Vassilii Zhukovskii, Alexandr Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, and Vladimir Odoevskii. Most texts are available in Russian as well as in translation. However, students are encouraged to read all texts in Russian.

Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Two years of Russian language
Equivalent Course(s): RUSS 35500

RUSS 25502. The Russian Novel. 100 Units.

The course will focus on three of the greatest philosophical crime novels in modern literature: Gogol’s Dead Souls, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and Bely’s Peterburg. Together they chart the course of development of the Russian novel, engaging literature’s essential questions, but also its “accursed” ones, as the Russians say—the ones that can never be answered, but provoke the most worthy of sort of debate.

Instructor(s): W. Nickell     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): RUSS 35502

RUSS 25600. Realism in Russia. 100 Units.

From the 1830s to the 1890s, most Russian prose writers and playwrights were either engaged in the European-wide cultural movement known as "realistic school" which set for itself the task of engaging with social processes from the standpoint of political ideologies. The ultimate goal of this course is to distill more precise meanings of "realism," "critical realism,"and "naturalism" in nineteenth-century Russian through analysis of works by Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Aleksandr Ostrovsky, Goncharov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, and Kuprin. Texts in English and the original. Optional Russian-intensive section offered.

Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): RUSS 35600

RUSS 26208. Literatures of Russian and African-American Soul. 100 Units.

Readings in the literatures of slavery and emancipation in relation to cultural paradigms of soul, with particular attention to the ways that Russian peasant and African-American cultures have been mined as sources of purity and vitality.

Instructor(s): William Nickell     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): RUSS 36208

RUSS 27300. Imaginary Worlds: The Fantastic and Magic Realism in Russia and Southeastern Europe. 100 Units.

In this course, we ask what constitutes the fantastic and magic realism as literary genres while reading some of the most interesting writings to have come out of Russia and Southeastern Europe. We consider how these narrative modes conjure alternative realities and how they conceptualize the human self.  We also think about the political power of these alternative realities in their historical contexts: from subversive to escapist, from giving voice to the disempowered to supportive of nationalist imaginaries.

Instructor(s): A. Ilieva     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): SOSL 37700,CMLT 27701,CMLT 37701,RUSS 37300,SOSL 27700

RUSS 29600. Pale Fire. 100 Units.

This course is an intensive reading of Pale Fire by Nabokov.

Instructor(s): Malynne Sternstein     Terms Offered: Winter

RUSS 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

RUSS 29900. BA Paper. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open to fourth-year students who are majoring in Slavic Languages and Literature with consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course must be taken for a quality grade.

SOSL 21700. Structure of Macedonian. 100 Units.

An introduction to the standard language of the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonian is often described as the most Balkan of the Balkan languages. The course begins with a brief introduction to Macedonian linguistic history followed by an outline of Macedonian grammar and readings of authentic texts. There is also discussion of questions of grammar, standardization, and Macedonian language in society. Issues of Balkan and Slavic linguistics are also touched upon.

Instructor(s): V. Friedman     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Knowledge of another Slavic or Balkan language is not required.
Equivalent Course(s): SOSL 31700,LGLN 24300,LGLN 34300

SOSL 26610. The Brighter Side of the Balkans. 100 Units.

Laughter is universal but its causes are culturally determined. A joke in one culture can be a shaggy dog story in another. The figure of the trickster occurs in many places and times and under many guises. Stereotypes can be revelatory about those who deploy them. At the same time, humor can be both an outlet and a danger. There is a special word in Russian for those sentenced to prison for telling political jokes. This course focuses on Balkan humor, which, like the Balkans themselves, is located in a space where "Western Europe," "Eastern Europe," "Central Europe," "The Mediterranean", "The Levant," and the "Near/Middle East" intersect in various ways (linguistically and culturally), compete for dominance or resist domination, and ultimately create a unique—albeit fuzzily bounded—subject of study.
In this course, we examine the poetics of laughter in the Balkans. In order to do so, we introduce humor as both cultural and transnational. We unpack the multiple layers of cultural meaning in the logic of “Balkan humor.” We also examine the functions and mechanisms of laughter, both in terms of cultural specificity and general practice and theories of humor. Thus, the study of Balkan humor will help us elucidate the “Balkan” and the “World,” and will provide insight not only into cultural mores and social relations, but into the very notion of “funny.” Our own laughter in class will be the best measure of our success—both cultural and intellectual.

Instructor(s): V. Friedman, A. Ilieva     Terms Offered: Spring

SOSL 26800. Balkan Folklore. 100 Units.

Instructor(s): A. Ilieva     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): ANTH 25908,ANTH 35908,CMLT 23301,CMLT 33301,NEHC 20568,NEHC 30568,SOSL 36800

SOSL 27200-27300. Returning the Gaze: The Balkans and Western Europe; The Burden of History: A Nation and Its Lost Paradise.

The Other Within the Self: Identity in Balkan Literature and Film. This two-course sequence examines discursive practices in a number of literary and cinematic works from the South East corner of Europe through which identities in the region become defined by two distinct others: the “barbaric, demonic” Ottoman and the “civilized” Western European.

SOSL 27601. Poetics of Gender in the Balkans: Wounded Men, Sworn Virgins, Eternal Mothers. 100 Units.

Through some of the best literary and cinematic works from Southeastern Europe, we will consider the questions of socialization into gendered modes of being—the demands, comforts, pleasures, and frustrations that individuals experience while trying to embody and negotiate social categories. We will examine how masculinity and femininity are constituted in the traditional family model, the socialist paradigm, and during post-socialist transitions. We will also contemplate how gender categories are experienced through other forms of identity—the national and socialist especially—as well as how gender is used to symbolize and animate these other identities. The course assumes no prior knowledge of the history of Southeastern Europe, literature, or gender theory. All readings in English translation.

Instructor(s): Angelina Ilieva     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): SOSL 37601,CMLT 23902,CMLT 33902,GNSE 27607

SOSL 27700. Imaginary Worlds: The Fantastic and Magic Realism in Russia and Southeastern Europe. 100 Units.

In this course, we ask what constitutes the fantastic and magic realism as literary genres while reading some of the most interesting writings to have come out of Russia and Southeastern Europe. We consider how these narrative modes conjure alternative realities and how they conceptualize the human self.  We also think about the political power of these alternative realities in their historical contexts: from subversive to escapist, from giving voice to the disempowered to supportive of nationalist imaginaries.

Instructor(s): A. Ilieva     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): SOSL 37700,CMLT 27701,CMLT 37701,RUSS 27300,RUSS 37300

SOSL 29700. Reading and Research Course. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SOSL 29900. BA Paper. 100 Units.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open to fourth-year students who are majoring in Slavic Languages and Literature with consent of instructor and Departmental Adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course must be taken for a quality grade.