An oral communication course designed to give students the opportunity to further develop their ability to effectively communicate in Russian. The course targets advanced communication skills, such as, expressing an opinion on various social and political issues, narrating a story or telling about a current event, presenting a well-structured argument, and engaging in an extended conversation with a social complication. Students will explore selected themes of contemporary Russian-speaking states while watching and discussing films, documentaries, and TV shows. We will focus on improving listening and speaking skills primarily, but extensive reading and writing will also be required.

Russian Rap introduces students to a more recent history of the Russian Federation and various political, social, and cultural changes through exploration of the development and rise of Hip Hop culture within a newly reshaped country. In particular, the focus is on the global phenomenon of rap music and Hip Hop as it enters and adapts to local contexts in Russia. Beginning with an overview of Russian history up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the course spans over near four decades of Russian history and a way of life of modern Russians (1990s - present). Students will engage in exploration of Russian rap music from a variety of prominent musicians, as well as analysis of their significance from socio-political and cultural perspectives. Particular emphasis is on a comparison between rap within Russian and American contexts as well as connecting it to an idea of Hip Hop as a global phenomenon. As an outcome, students should develop an understanding of recent Russian history and culture along with an ability and tools for understanding how musical artifacts represent historical, societal, and cultural changes and aspects of the region.

Although Arizona and Russia have vastly different climates, cultures, and histories, there are more shared traditions of food cultivation, preparation, and consumption than we might assume. This is a comparative course in Russian and Sonoran foodways that not only explores food preferences, recipes, and cooking as part of human identity but also examines power structures behind food economies; the significance of ancient recipes and remedies in indigenous cultures; and the effect of oppressive policies/ideologies, such as colonialism or communism, on foodways. This course offers an in-depth study of food culture, traditional cuisine, agriculture, and "locavore" movements in Russian and American (particularly Sonoran) contexts. Through a variety of readings, films, lectures, and experiential learning activities, students will investigate how foodways serve as markers of inequalities or oppression (but also resistance and liberation) that inevitably leave a deep imprint on cultures, with additional emphasis on contemporary issues of sustainability, environmental impact, and global interconnectedness.

This course examines the cultural and historical context within which cinema was produced in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1917-1991), as well as the evolving nature of the regions cinema in the post-Soviet period (1991-present) following the collapse of communism. Among the topics to be discussed are: the role of ideology in cinema, the cult of personality of various leaders as expressed in cinema, World War II, the Sovietization of post-war Eastern Europe, daily life in the Soviet zone, modes of dissent, and the search for identity as East European nations regained their independence after the fall of communism.

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.