Russian (RUSS)
Chair: Professor Laura Goering
Professors: Laura Goering, Diane M. Nemec Ignashev
Senior Lecturer: Anna Mikhailovna Dotlibova
Students considering language study outside the Western European offerings will find the Russian series a refreshing change. In our first-year sequence we cover the fundamentals with equal emphasis on speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Traditional materials are supplemented by fairy tales, folk songs, rock music video, film clips and internet materials. By the end of the Russian 204, students are able to read short prose by Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, and to communicate functionally with native speakers. Beyond completion of the requirement (usually in Russian 204) the Russian section offers classes addressing contemporary Russian cultural and social issues while focusing on skill development at the intermediate level (205-206), and language maintenance courses at the advanced level (301). Students with pre-college Russian, either acquired or native, should consult the department for placement information.
Literature and Cultural Studies:
We teach a variety of courses in English translation which carry no language prerequisites (230-295). Courses at the 330-395 level that are conducted entirely in Russian aim to expand students' linguistic range as well as their understanding of analytical techniques and cultural contexts. See individual listings below for prerequisites.
Requirements for a Major:
63 credits, including the following: Russian 205; 207 or 307; 12 credits of survey courses in English (Russian 150, 244, 255, 268); 18 credits numbered 330 or above, six of which will normally be Russian 395; and the integrative exercise. Up to six credits in Russian 301-308 can be counted toward the major. Remaining credits may be chosen in consultation with the adviser from: departmental offerings, study abroad, appropriate methodology courses, related field work, etc. Students are strongly advised to include Russian and Eurasian courses from other disciplines in their electives.
Study Abroad: Participation in foreign study programs is highly recommended for students majoring in the Russian field. For a description of the Carleton Moscow Program and information about the ACM Krasnodar Program, consult the section "Off-Campus Studies." For more details about these and other options you should consult faculty in the Russian section. Departmental approval of credit for participation in overseas programs should be sought before leaving campus.
Certificate of Advanced Study in Foreign Language and Literature or Foreign Language and Area Studies: In order to receive the Certificate of Advanced Study in Russian, students must fulfill the general requirements (refer to Academic Regulations) in the following course distribution: six courses beyond 103, including 205 and two courses at the 330 level (346 excluded). Additional courses may be chosen from among other offerings in the Russian section, History 240-241, Economics 231, and Political Science 323.
Language House: Students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the language by living in the Language House. A native Russian Resident Associate provides opportunities for conversation practice and assists students in organizing a variety of cultural activities.
Russian Courses
RUSS 101. Elementary Russian For students with no previous training in or minimal knowledge of Russian. Simultaneous development of skills in speaking, reading, aural comprehension, writing. Students with prior instruction or who speak Russian at home should consult the department for placement information. Class meets five days a week. 6 credits cr., ND, Fall—A. Dotlibova, L. Goering
RUSS 102. Elementary Russian Continues Russian 101. Prerequisite: Russian 101 or placement. Class meets five days a week. 6 credits cr., ND, Winter—A. Dotlibova, D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 103. Elementary Russian Concludes introductory method of Russian 101-102. Prerequisite: Russian 102 or placement. Class meets five days a week. 6 credits cr., ND, Spring—L. Goering
RUSS 107. Moscow Program: Beginning Grammar This course will focus on continued study of the fundamentals of Russian grammar, vocabulary expansion, and activation. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. Prerequisite: For students who have just recently begun their study of the Russian language, having completed or tested beyond elementary Russian 102. 4 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 108. Moscow Program: Beginning Phonetics This course is taken in combination with Russian 107. Students focus on the essentials of Russian pronunciation with preliminary work in intonation. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 2 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 109. Moscow Program: Beginning Conversation This course is taken in combination with Russian 107. Emphasis on socially relevant material. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 3 credit cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 150. Contemporary Russian Culture and Society A multi-media survey of Russian society and culture since 1975. Primary materials span Russia's most popular media: from film, the performing arts, literature (especially autobiography), and the legitimate press, to rock, TV, and digital culture. Secondary sources cover journalistic reports by foreigners along-side the more influential Russian theories of national identity and destiny of the time-their roots in the past and evolution in the present. In the cross-cultural component, we will look at Russian attitudes towards Americans as they have changed over the past two decades. Lectures with discussion. No training in Russian language or Russian studies required. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Fall—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 204. Intermediate Russian Continued four-skill development using texts and resources from a variety of sources. Emphasis on communicative skills. Prerequisite: Russian 103 or placement. Class meets four days a week. 6 credits cr., ND, Fall—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 205. Russian in Cultural Contexts In this course students continue to develop skills of narration, listening comprehension, and writing, while exploring issues of contemporary Russian life and consciousness. The issues are examined from the position of two cultures: American and Russian. The course draws on a variety of sources for reading and viewing, including the periodic press, film, and music. Prerequisite: Russian 204 or placement. 6 credits cr., ND, Winter—A. Dotlibova
RUSS 207. Moscow Program: Intermediate Grammar This course aims at vocabulary expansion and the assimilation and activation of formulaic conversational structures and speech etiquette at the same it develops familiarity with more complex principles Russian grammar. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. Prerequisite: Russian 205 or placement. 4 credits cr., Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 208. Moscow Program: Intermediate Phonetics This course is taken in combination with Russian 207. Students focus on the essentials of Russian pronunciation and correction. Preliminary work in intonation will be offered. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 2 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 209. Moscow Program: Intermediate Conversation This course is taken in combination with Russian 207. Emphasis will be placed on socially relevant reading materials. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 3 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 226. Moscow Program: Magical Russia Students will read a selection of fairy tales and several short works based on St. Petersburg by Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky; Bulgakov's the Master and Margarita; and short stories by contemporary Siberian writers. Through the readings, excursions, theater performances, and individual exploration, students will explore local legends as they contribute to the larger cultural context of Russia herself. The evaluative exercise for this course will include a project and/or a final examination. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 244. Russian Literature in Translation: The Novel to 1917 A survey of representative works from the early nineteenth century to 1917. Close textual analysis will be combined with discussion of the evolution of the genre in its historical and cultural context. Works by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol and others. No prior knowledge of Russian or Russian history is required. 6 credits cr., AL, Winter—L. Goering
RUSS 255. Russian Cinema: History and Theory This course offers an historical overview of Russian cinema from its inception before the revolution of 1917, through the Soviet epoch, and into the era of independent Russia. Focus on the history of the medium in its distinctly Russian context is complemented with an overview of Russian film theory as applied in analysis. No prior knowledge of Russian language or culture is required. All films will be subtitled. Format: 2 screenings per week, readings, discussion, short papers. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 266. Dostoevsky An introduction to the works of Dostoevsky. Readings include Poor Folk, Notes from the Underground, and The Brothers Karamazov. Conducted entirely in English. No prerequisites and no knowledge of Russian literature or history required. 3 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 267. War and Peace Close reading and discussion of Tolstoy's magnum opus. Conducted entirely in English. No prerequisites and no knowledge of Russian literature or history required. 3 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 268. Russian Fiction of the Soviet Period: "I Want to Be Honest" What avenues of literary expression are open to a writer when the government declares "socialist realism" to be the only acceptable artistic method? In this course we will read novels and short prose written in Russia between 1917 and 1991. Writers to be covered will range from those who conformed in varying degrees to governmental strictures to those who risked their lives to circulate their works underground or publish them abroad. Works by Olesha, Bulgakov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstaia, and others. In translation. No prerequisite. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 290. Reading for Russia 3 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 301. Russian Skill Maintenance Continued language practice and skill development, normally for midadvanced students not currently enrolled in another 300level Russian course. Weekly conversationdiscussion meetings on assigned topics; course materials include current publications, film, video and music. Conducted entirely in Russian. May be repeated according to need; six credits may be counted towards the Russian major. Prerequisite variable. 3 credits cr., Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 307. Moscow Program: Advanced Grammar This course combines advanced work in Russian grammar (largely corrective) and fundamentals in composition, with conversational Russian. Prerequisite: at least 6-12 credits beyond Russian 205206. 4 credits cr., Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 308. Moscow Program: Advanced Phonetics and Intonation This course is taken in combination with Russian 307. Students focus on corrective pronunciation and theory and practice of Russian intonation. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 2 credits cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 309. Moscow Program: Advanced Composition This course is taken in combination with Russian 307. Materials will combine literary classics with the socially relevant. This course is conducted by members of Moscow State University Philological Faculty and supervised by the program director. 3 credit cr., ND, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 326. Magical Russia Students will read a selection of fairy tales and several short works based on St. Petersburg by Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky; Bulgakov's the Master and Margarita; and short stories by contemporary Siberian writers. Through the readings, excursions, theater performances, and individual exploration, students will explore local legends as they contribute to the larger cultural context of Russia herself. The evaluative exercise for this course will include a project and/or a final examination. Students will do all of their work in Russian; permission of the instructor is required. 6 credits cr., AL,RAD, Spring—D. Nemec Ignashev
RUSS 345. Russian Cultural Idioms of the Nineteenth Century An introduction to the names, quotations and events that every Russian knowsknowledge which is essential to understanding Russian literature, history and culture of the last two centuries. We will study the works of Russian writers (from Griboedov and Pushkin to Leskov and Dostoevsky), composers (from Glinka and Mussorgsky to RimskyKorsakov and Tchaikovsky), artists (from Briullov and Ivanov to the Itinerants) and actors (from Mochalov to Shchepkin) in the context of social thought and the social movements of the nineteenth century. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 205 or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 351. Play Chekhov In this course we will read Chekhov through the prism of theater. As a final project students will participate in a "Chekhov Evening" as actors, designers, musicians or literary consultants. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 205 or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 360. Russian Theater in the Nineteenth Century We will read classic Russian plays by Gogol, Ostrovsky, and Chekhov, while using acting exercises following the methods of directors Stanislavksy, M. Chekhov, Meyerhold and Vakhtangov to help us understand the theatrical meaning of these texts. Through memoirs, critical articles, directors' notes, set designs and photographs we will then trace the theatrical history of these plays from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. 6 credits cr., AL, Fall—A. Dotlibova
RUSS 395. Senior Seminar: The Cult of Stalin Drawing on materials from film, literature, architecture, and mass culture, we will examine the cult of Iosif Stalin during "the Leader's" lifetime and continuing into subsequent eras through both repudiation and periodic revivals. We will address the pagan and Christian foundations of the Stalin cult, as well as its connections with the cult of Lenin. Conducted entirely in Russian. Prerequisite: at least 6 credits at the level of Russian 330 or higher or permission of the instructor. 6 credits cr., AL, Not offered in 2004-2005.
RUSS 400. Integrative Exercise 6 credits cr., S/NC, ND, Fall,Winter,Spring—A. Dotlibova