Survey of contemporary Russian literature. (In Russia)

Survey of contemporary Russian literature. (In Russia)

This is course designed to develop non-native speaker oral skills to achieve the Intermediate High level. We will focus on skills that are relevant to establishing and maintaining direct conversation and communication with native speakers of Russian. The course focuses on a range of skill sets, including improving listening comprehension, participating in class discussions, understanding conversational strategies, giving group presentations, asking and answering questions, interacting effectively with native speakers, and improving through self-evaluation of speech.

This is course designed to develop non-native speaker oral skills to achieve the Intermediate Mid level. We will focus on skills that are relevant to establishing and maintaining direct conversation and communication with native speakers of Russian. The course focuses on a range of skill sets, including improving listening comprehension, participating in class discussions, understanding conversational strategies, giving group presentations, asking and answering questions, interacting effectively with native speakers, and improving through self-evaluation of speech.

This is course designed to develop non-native speaker reading and writing skills achieve at least the Intermediate High level (using the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines). We will focus on reading and writing skills that are relevant to establishing and maintaining communication with native speakers of Russian and to retrieving information and making inferences and connections within and across texts. The course focuses on a range of skill sets, including improving grammar and reading comprehension, participating in class discussions, understanding writing strategies, giving feedback through peer editing, framing and answering questions, corresponding effectively with native speakers, and improving through self-evaluation of written language.

This is course designed to develop non-native speaker reading and writing skills achieve at least the Intermediate Mid level (using the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines). We will focus on reading and writing skills that are relevant to establishing and maintaining communication with native speakers of Russian and to retrieving information and making inferences and connections within and across texts. The course focuses on a range of skill sets, including improving grammar and reading comprehension, participating in class discussions, understanding writing strategies, giving feedback through peer editing, framing and answering questions, corresponding effectively with native speakers, and improving through self-evaluation of written language.

This course seeks to: understand the role of vowels, consonants, and the soft-sign in Russian and their effects on spoken Russian language; understand the role and usage of the 7 intonation patterns in spoken Russian; compare and contrast standard speech with dialect variations, Slavic influences, and foreign language influences in the Russian language; understand basic intonation patterns in Russian poetry, lyrics, etc., and build students' understanding of the rhythm of spoken Russian, both in "high" genres (poetry, etc.) and in "low" genres (informal speech, pop music, etc.); develop student skills and experience in the target culture (i.e., Russian).

Since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution our understanding of East European and Russian art has been defined by utopian ideas of revolutionary transformation. This course will trace the historical development of East European and Russian art from the medieval era to the modern day, focusing primarily on the Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods to reveal the social and cultural forces behind artistic change, transgression, and transformation. We will investigate artists and art movements in Eastern Europe and Russia, critically assessing artistic influence, production, avant-garde experiments, reception, and cultural interaction in their historical context. We will also discuss how the changing ideologies in the 19th-, 20th-, and 21st centuries led to the re-assessment of artistic production in relation to discourses of nationalism, identity, gender, politics, modernity, propaganda, and mass media. The course analyzes the artistic practices, styles, interpretations, and expressions of recurring themes in East European and Russian art and culture more broadly, such as utopia, spirituality, anarchy, satire, and the collective.

Readings and discussion in English of representative Russian literary works from the 20th century.

A cultural exploration of the Soviet experience of WWII, "The Great Patriotic War." Students examine how the Soviets shaped the narrative of this conflict in poetry, prose, speeches, music, posters, paintings, monuments, and film.