Russian (RUSS)
RUSS 1001. Introduction to Russian I. (5 Credits)
Students will learn the Russian alphabet, build basic communication skills, and work through four grammatical cases (nominative, prepositional, accusative, and genitive) while beginning to use motion verbs and present and past tense forms. No prior knowledge of Russian required.
RUSS 1501. Intermediate Russian I. (3 Credits)
In this course, students will continue to develop their Russian through the dative case, prefixed verbs of motion, aspectual distinctions between imperfective and perfective verbs, and directional concepts, all practiced through authentic cultural materials.
Attribute: IPE.
Prerequisites: RUSS 1001 or RUSS 1002.
RUSS 1502. Intermediate Russian II. (3 Credits)
Move from novice to intermediate proficiency through contemporary themes, cultural literacy, and communicative practice while completing the full case system and deepening command of verbal aspect.
Attribute: IPE.
Prerequisite: RUSS 1501.
RUSS 1901. Grammar Review Russia Speaker. (4 Credits)
For heritage speakers of Russian. Will improve the literacy of native Russian speakers. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 1999. Tutorial. (0 to 1 Credits)
Tutorial.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 2001. Russian Language and Literature. (3 Credits)
In this course, students will advance their Russian proficiency through a flexible, modular approach that integrates grammar, vocabulary, culture, music, film, and literature within authentic contexts of Russian life.
Attribute: IPE.
Prerequisite: RUSS 1502.
RUSS 2300. Russian From Intermediate to Advanced. (4 Credits)
Students in this course will build on their intermediate Russian language skills by working through essential advanced structures, including plural case forms, verbal adverbs, participles, complex motion verbs, conditional constructions, indefinite pronouns, and nuanced conjunction usage. Film and composition are integrated throughout to develop both comprehension and expressive command. Designed to be taken in either order with RUSS 3250. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attribute: IPE.
Prerequisite: RUSS 2001.
RUSS 2301. Russian for Heritage Speakers. (3 Credits)
Harness your heritage Russian skills—formally. This course brings clarity and structure to the conversational Russian you absorbed, however imperfectly, from your upbringing. Sharpen your reading, writing, and conversation skills with an expert: study film, media, and literature to propel you toward advanced grammar and literacy. Depart with efficient language practices and renewed confidence in your Russian. Course taught in Russian.
RUSS 2500. Approaches to Literature. (4 Credits)
This course examines the masterpieces of the nineteenth-century Russian prose, using a broad selection of the excerpts from the literary works of Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. One of the goals of the course is to analyze how these writers expanded the boundaries of the genres in which they worked, even as they exposed the acute social problems of their time. Taught in Russian. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attributes: IPE, OCST.
Prerequisite: RUSS 2001.
RUSS 2601. Russian Conversation and Composition. (4 Credits)
Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 2640. Russian Short Fiction. (4 Credits)
Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 2650. Media and the Russian State: News Outlets From 19th Century to Present Day Russia. (4 Credits)
This course consists of two primary components: 1) an intermediate/advanced Russian language study and 2) a survey of censorship in Russian and Soviet history. It is available to both intermediate and advanced students of Russian and fulfills a Russian language requirement. The language track offers Russian grammar instruction that will prepare students to read and research advanced Russian texts. The cultural component of this course offers a survey of censorship in Russian and Soviet history, spotlighting great works of art under censorship. The course takes its starting point with imperial censorship in the second half of the 19th century, including press censorship leading up to and during WWI. We continue with artists’ battles against Soviet censorship and Socialist Realism, using case studies of: writers Zamyatin, Boris Pilnyak, Boris Pasternak, and Joseph Brodsky; filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein and Aleksandr Askoldov; classical composers Shostakovich and Prokofiev; and Malevich’s Suprematism, which includes a class trip to observe MoMA’s permanent collection. Finally, we will analyze Putin’s state-sponsored news outlets and compromised freedom of expression in present day Russia. Heritage students will read original Russian texts and post responses in Russian. Scholarship and literature will be available in English for non-heritage speakers. Discussions will be in both Russian and English. Completion of 2001 or instructor approval required. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attributes: ALC, IPE, OCST, PJMJ, PJST.
Prerequisite: RUSS 2001.
RUSS 2999. Tutorial. (2 Credits)
Independent research and reading with supervision from a faculty member.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 3002. Genres and Styles Russian Literature. (4 Credits)
This course will introduce students to a wide variety of genres in both sychronic as well as in diachronic aspect. It will undertake a close analytical examination of a number of types of literary and folkloric texts. These masterworks of Russian literature will be analyzed in terms of their defining features such as their intrinsic imaginative system, language devices, themes, and ethical function, which are significant for the chronologically relevant cultural tradition. The course will enable students to perceive the literary works in their multi-dimensional depths as the students will engage in a deeper analysis of each text surveyed. The course will include texts from the present day to the distant Russian literary past. Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attributes: ALC, IPE.
RUSS 3250. Translating Russian Poetry, Music, Animation, Film, and Journalism. (4 Credits)
Students in this course will build on their intermediate Russian language skills through the art and craft of translation across diverse media, including poetry, song, journalism, and advertising, while deepening their command of advanced grammatical structures in practice. Film and composition are integrated throughout to develop cultural literacy, close-reading skills, and the ability to navigate meaning across languages. Designed to be taken in either order with RUSS 2300. Note: Four-credit courses that meet for 150 minutes per week require three additional hours of class preparation per week on the part of the student in lieu of an additional hour of formal instruction.
Attribute: ALC.
Prerequisite: RUSS 2001.
RUSS 3999. Tutorial. (3 Credits)
Independent research and reading with supervision from a faculty member.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 4999. Tutorial. (4 Credits)
Independent study in Russian is available in rare instances, only for students who have declared the Russian minor to complete minor requirements. Interested students should contact professor Michael Ossorgin, director of the Russian program.
Attribute: IPE.
RUSS 9000. GSAS 0 Credit Language Course. (0 Credits)
GSAS 0 Credit Language Course.