Jens, Benjamin C

Assistant Professor

bcjens@email.arizona.edu
Office Learning Services Building 305

Office Hours

Mondays 3:00 - 4:00 pm, Thursdays 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Dr. Benjamin Jens received his Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His main area of research is 19th-century Russian literature – especially the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky – with a focus on the relationship between literature, discourse, and Eastern Orthodoxy. He also has research interests in Eastern European cinema, science fiction, and cultural ties between the Western Balkans and Russia. Dr. Jens is also the director of the Arizona in Russia study abroad program in Moscow, Russia.

Select Publications

"Oral History in the Russian Language Curriculum: A Transformative Experience." Chapter co-authored with Benjamin Rifkin and Colleen Lucey and accepted for publication in The Art of Teaching Russian, eds. Evgeny Dengub, Irina Dubinina, and Jason Merrill.

“Silence and Confession in The Brothers Karamazov.” Russian Review, vol. 75, no. 1, 2016, pp. 51–66.

Courses Taught:

RSSS150B1 – Eastern European Cinema in a Social Context

RSSS275 – The Balkans: Identity in Crisis

RSSS304 – History of Soviet and Post-Soviet Film

RSSS310 – Red Stars, Cosmonauts, and Robots: Soviet and East European Science Fiction

RSSS315 – Werewolves and Vampires: Slavic Folklore in our Culture

RSSS325 – Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age

RSSS340 – The Pen and the Sword: Russian Writers and Autocracy (1825-1905)

RSSS350 – The Soviet Experiment

Currently Teaching

RSSS 101 – Elementary Russian I

For the student with no previous experience in Russian.

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RSSS 325 – Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age

This course focuses on the history and doctrine of Eastern Christianity from its origins in the early Church through today, emphasizing the cultural manifestations of Orthodox doctrine: liturgy, iconography, pious practice. We will compare Eastern Orthodoxy to Western Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), and will examine various different national Churches within Eastern Orthodoxy (i.e., Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian, Modern Greek, the older "Oriental" Churches, etc.), with a primary focus on Russia. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is often perceived as being one of the more 'mystical' of Christian traditions, and we will explore the Orthodox vision of 'the mystical life', examining its basis in history and contemporary experience. We will also ask about the significance of Church doctrine and practice for the development of culture as a whole in the areas of the world in which Eastern Christianity predominates, and the ways in which that culture both differs from and relates to what we (perhaps inaccurately) call "Western" civilization. In general, Orthodox practice relies heavily on the senses, and the course is designed to be experiential. To that end, we will make at least one field trip to a local Orthodox Church during the course of the semester.

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RSSS 364 – Russian Media Fluency 4

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.

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RSSS 367 – Russian Conversation & Fluency 4

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.

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RSSS 412A – Treasures of Russian Culture I

Survey of cultural monuments in Moscow and St. Petersburg. (In Russia)

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Currently Teaching

RSSS 101 – Elementary Russian I

RSSS 325 – Eastern Orthodoxy in a Global Age

RSSS 364 – Russian Media Fluency 4

RSSS 367 – Russian Conversation & Fluency 4

RSSS 412A – Treasures of Russian Culture I