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LANGUAGE PLACEMENT: Entering students who have studied Russian or who have Russian language background should take the Russian language placement test scheduled during the Fall Semester orientation. If you are an upperclassman who would like to arrange for a placement test, please contact Professor Carleton.
For a complete list of courses offered by the Russian Program click here.
FALL SEMESTER 2006: Taught in Russian - Taught in English
LANGUAGE COURSES (F06)
RUS 1 Elementary Russian
Sloane Block: C TWF 9:30-10:20 (Section A)
Petrov Block: F TRF 12:00-12:50 (Section B)
Basic conversation and communication skills. Fundamentals of pronunciation and grammar. Additional conversation section to be arranged.
RUS 3 Intermediate Russian
Petrov Block: C TWF 9:30-10:20
Emphasis on continued development of basic conversational Russian. Review of case and verb systems. Expanded study of aspect, time expressions and other topics. Additional 4th hour to be arranged. Prerequisite: Russian 2 or equivalent.
RUS 21 Composition and Conversation
Carleton Block: DMD+ M 9:30-10:20, TR 10:30-11:45
Going beyond the basics to achieve a sophisticated competence in Russian. Readings of unsimplified texts, fiction and non-fiction, film and/or T.V. programming. Expanding stylistic ability through composition, discussion, listening. Prerequisite: Russian 4 or equivalent.
RUS 121 Advanced Russian
Gassel Block: E+ EF MW 10:30-11:45, F 10:30-11:20
Designed for students with the equivalent of three years of college Russian. Classes conducted entirely in Russian; advanced concepts in grammar and stylistics; intensive practice in pronuncation and intonation; discussions based on Russian literature and periodicals. Oral examination. Prerequisite: Russian 22 or equivalent.
RUS 119 Contemporary Russian Media
Gassel Block: G+ MW 1:30-2:45
Introduction to contemporary Russian media: print and television. Focus on advanced written and oral skills in Russian. Topics include the changing role of the media in the glasnost, perestroika and the post-Soviet period; social conflict, crime, and investigative journalism; shaping old/new cultural myths; and Russian nationalism and communism. Prerequisite: Russian 22 or consent.
LITERATURE and CULTURE taught in English (F06):
RUS 62 Modern Russian Literature, 1930-Today
Carleton Block: J+ TR 3:00-4:15
Russian literature from the rise of Stalin to the chaos of the contemporary post-Soviet period. Analysis of both socialist-realist and dissident writing. Focus on tensions between ideological-cultural imperatives and artistic freedom through Soviet period as well as in post-modern currents of today. Readings include Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Akhmatova, Tolstaya, Platonov. No prerequisites.
RUS 70 Women in Russian Literature and Culture
Sloane Block H+ TR 1:30-2:45
Examination of how social, economic, and political institutions in Russia shaped the roles women could play to fulfill their literary, artistic, and spiritual aspirations; how women strove to transcend these prescribed norms. Illustrations from Russian folklore, poetry, fiction, painting, and film--including works by male authors (Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy), female poets (Pavlova, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Odoevtseva), prosaists (Kollontai, Tolstaya, Tokareeva), women painters (Goncharova, Serebriakova) and filmmakers (Shepitko, Muratova). No prerequisites.
RUS 93 Directed Study: Language and Literature
Staff
Guided independent study of an approved topic. Variable credit. Permission of instructor. Hours to be arranged
RUS 99 Internship
Staff
Fieldwork at a business, school, government, or community service location that involves substantial use of Russian language. Weekly journal required. Variable credit. Permission of instructor. Hours to be arranged.
SPRING SEMESTER 2005:
LANGUAGE COURSES (S06)
RUS 2 Elementary Russian (2A & 2B)
Sloane (2A) Block: C TWF 9:30-10:20 (Olin 116)
Petrov (2B) Block: F TRF 12:00-12:50 (Olin 321)
Basic conversation and communication skills. Fundamentals of pronunciation and grammar. Additional conversation section to be arranged. Prerequisite: Russian 1 or consent.
RUS 4 Intermediate Russian
Petrov Block: C TWF 9:30-10:20 (Olin 001)
Emphasis on continued development of basic conversational Russian. Review of case and verb systems. Expanded study of study of aspect, time expressions and other topics. Additional 4th hour to be arranged. Prerequisite: Russian 3 or consent.
RUS 22 Composition and Conversation
Carleton Block: DMD+ M 9:30-10:20 WF 10:30-11:45 (Olin 334)
Going beyond the basics to achieve a sophisticated competence in Russian. Readings of unsimplified texts, fiction and non-fiction, film and/or T.V. programming. Expanding stylistic ability through composition, discussion, listening. Prerequisite: Russian 21 or equivalent.
RUS 122 Advanced Russian
Gassel Block: E+ EF MW 10:30-11:45 F 10:30-11:20 (Olin 334)
Designed for students with the equivalent of three years of college Russian. Classes conducted entirely in Russian; advanced concepts in grammar and stylistics; intensive practice in pronunciation and intonation; discussions based on Russian literature and periodicals. Oral examination. Prerequisite: Russian 121 or equivalent.
LITERATURE and CULTURE taught in Russian (S06):
RUS 131 Masterpieces of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature.
Nemirovsky Block: L+ TR 4:30-5:45 (Olin 107)
Reading and discussion of short masterpieces by major authors of nineteenth-century fiction and poetry: Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Conducted exclusively in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 22.
LITERATURE and CULTURE taught in English (S06):
RUS 65 Dostoevsky.
Sloane Block: H+ TR 1:30-2:45 (Olin 006)
Dostoevsky's evolution as a writer and thinker, from his beginnings in socialist utopianism to his emergence as one of Russia's foremost religious philosophers. His exploration of the unconscious, social and moral transgression, revolution, the human condition, and religious truth. Readings include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Brothers Karamazov. No prerequisites.
RUS 80 Russian Film: Art, Politics, and Society.
Johnson K+ MW 4:30-7:00 (Olin 012)
Survey of film classics by Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Vertov, Tarkovsky, and others, tracing the parallels between the history of film and the history of the new Soviet state and society. Lenin and film as propaganda; the experimental twenties; cinema verit? (kinopravda); Socialist Realism; the Great Patriotic War; the "thaw"; 1960s to present: conservatives vs. liberals; unbanned films, and the new cinema of glasnost and perestroika. Films with English subtitles. No prerequisites.
RUS 115 Stalinism: Seminar.
Carleton Block: 11+ T 6:00-9:00 (Olin 116)
Examination of Stalinism as a cultural phenomenon in the Soviet Union through an array of primary sources: fiction, diaries, memoirs, art, film, mass media, letters, and party documents. Key issues include the cult of Stalin, the purges and terror, everyday life, and the state of the arts. Emphasis on how the system modeled itself to increase appeal, reach, and power; and the diverse responses of the people. Special attention devoted to the expression of ideology in culture and the lived experience of the average person. Seminar format. In English. Permission of instructor.COMPREHENSIVE COURSE LISTING
Russian Language Courses
RUS 1, 2 Elementary Russian. Basic conversation and communication skills. Fundamentals of pronunciation and grammar. Language laboratory. Two courses. Members of the departmentRUS 3, 4 Intermediate Russian. Completion of the formal study of grammar. Emphasis on oral and compositional skills. Prerequisite: Russian 2 or equivalent. Two courses. Members of the departmentRUS 21, 22 Composition and Conversation. Selected grammar topics. Advanced oral and written drill. Compositions, reports, and discussions based on readings of journalistic and literary periodicals and prose. Prerequisite: Russian 4 or equivalent. Two courses. Members of the departmentRUS 99 Internship. Fieldwork at a business, school, government, or community service location that involves substantial use of Russian language (150 hours, full credit; 75 hours, half credit). Weekly journal or project in Russian. Students must arrange faculty advising on campus and professional supervision at the site. May count for the major with prior consent.RUS 118 Russian in Business and Politics. Introduction to current business and political contexts in the former Soviet Union and acquisition of relevant written and oral skills in the Russian language through the use of television and printed media. Topics include East-West trade, the new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs, and the process of democratization and transformation of Russian society. Prerequisite: Russian 22 or consent. GasselRUS 119 Contemporary Russian Media. Introduction to contemporary Russian media: print and television. Focus on advanced written and oral skills in Russian. Topics include the changing role of the media in the post-Soviet period; social conflict, crime, and investigative journalism; shaping old/new cultural myths; and Russian nationalism and communism. Prerequisite: Russian 22 or consent. GasselRUS 121, 122 Advanced Russian. Classes conducted entirely in Russian, advanced concepts in grammar and stylistics, intensive reading, and discussions. Prerequisite: Russian 22. GasselRussian Literature and Culture Courses
Courses Taught in RussianRUS 131 Masterpieces of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. Reading and discussion of short masterpieces by major authors of nineteenth-century fiction and poetry: Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Conducted exclusively in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 22. Members of the departmentRUS 132 Masterpieces of Twentieth-Century Russian Literature. Reading and discussion of short masterpieces by major authors of twentieth-century fiction and poetry: Blok, Akhmatova, Olesha, Bulgakov, Babel, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstaya, and others. Conducted exclusively in Russian. Prerequisite: Russian 22. Members of the departmentCourses Taught in EnglishRUS 60 Classics of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. Major Russian writers and literary currents (sentimentalism, romanticism, the Golden Age of realism) and their relation to social, political, and cultural developments. The evolution of Russian prose fiction with attention to important poetic works. Readings include Pushkin, Gogol, Pavlova, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. No prerequisites. (May be taken at 100 level with consent; see Russian 160 below.) SloaneRUS 61 Russian Literature in Revolution: 1880-1930. Russian literature in a period of political, cultural, and aesthetic revolution; avant-garde movements before the Bolshevik Revolution (symbolists, decadents, futurists, acmeists) and the dynamic literary response in the 1920s to the revolution itself. Readings include Chekhov, Bely, Blok, Akhmatova, Mayakovsky, Zamyatin, Bulgakov, and others. No prerequisites. Alternate years. (May be taken at 100 level with consent; see Russian 161 below.) CarletonRUS 62 Modern Russian Literature, 1930-Today. Russian literature from the rise of Stalin to the chaos of the contemporary post-Soviet period. Analysis of both socialist-realist and dissident writing. Focus on tensions between ideological-cultural imperatives and artistic freedom through Soviet period as well as in post-modern currents of today. Readings include Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Akhmatova, Tolstaya, Platonov. No prerequisites. Alternate years. (May be taken at 100 level with consent; see Russian 162 below.) Members of the departmentRUS 65 Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky's evolution as a writer and thinker, from his beginnings in socialist utopianism to his emergence as one of Russia's foremost religious philosophers. His exploration of the unconscious, social and moral transgression, revolution, the human condition, and religious truth. Readings include Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Brothers Karamazov. Alternate years. No prerequisites. SloaneRUS 66 Tolstoy. Tolstoy's development as literary master and spiritual force; his life and its counterpoint with the fictional worlds he created. The philosophy of history in War and Peace; morality, social conventions, and sexual roles in Anna Karenina and other works. Tolstoy's spiritual crisis, turn to populism, and the concept of nonresistance to violence. Other readings include Childhood, The Sevastopol Sketches, The Cossacks, and Khadzhi-Murat. Alternate years. No prerequisites. SloaneRUS 70 Women in Russian Literature and Culture. Examination of how social, economic, and political institutions in Russia shaped the roles women could play to fulfill their literary, artistic, and spiritual aspirations; how women strove to transcend these prescribed norms. Illustrations from Russian folklore, poetry, fiction, painting, and film--including works by male authors (Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy), female poets (Pavlova, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Odoevtseva), prosaists (Kollontai, Tolstaya, Tokareeva), women painters (Goncharova, Serebriakova) and filmmakers (Shepitko, Muratova). No prerequisites. (May be taken at the 100 level with consent; see Russian 170 below.) SloaneRUS 72 Contemporary Russian Culture. An exploration of Russian culture through literature, film, the media, and the arts from the era of "stagnation" to glasnost, perestroika, and the post-Soviet period. The destruction and reconstruction of cultural and political canons and myths: the Stalinist legacy and reevaluation of Soviet history; the revival of religion and nationalism; social dislocation: the problems of youth, the generation gap, and women's issues; the breaking of taboos and the dark side of freedom--violence, crime, pornography, and neofascism; the liberalization and commercialization of art. All readings and films are in English. No prerequisites. CarletonRUS 73 The Bible in Russian Literature. (Cross-listed as Comparative Religion 73.) Appropriation of biblical motifs, characters, and themes for moral, political, and artistic purposes. Emphasis on the varying images of Jesus (teacher, sage, revolutionary) and the devil (tempter, teacher, Promethean); Genesis, Job, and the writer as spiritual visionary and prophet. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Solzhentisyn, Gogol, Zamiatin, Bulgakov, and others. Supplemented by selected readings from the Bible. No prerequisites. CarletonRUS 80 Russian Film: Art, Politics, and Society. Survey of film classics by Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Vertov, Tarkovsky, and others, tracing the parallels between the history of film and the history of the new Soviet state and society. Lenin and film as propaganda; the experimental twenties; cinema verit? (kinopravda); Socialist Realism; the Great Patriotic War; the "thaw"; 1960s to present: conservatives vs. liberals; unbanned films, and the new cinema of glasnost and perestroika. Films with English subtitles. No prerequisites. Spring. JohnsonRUS 114 Satire and Absurdist Literature. Comparative investigation of the modes, intentions, and reception of satiric and absurdist writing in the twentieth century. Includes other Slavic literatures, particularly Czech. Focus on the writer as political voice and public conscience. Priority given to development of critical skills in talking, reading, and writing about controversial texts in a variety of sociopolitical contexts. Seminar format. No prerequisites. CarletonRUS 115 Stalinism. Examination of Stalinism as a cultural phenomenon in the Soviet Union through an array of primary sources: fiction, diaries, memoirs, art, film, mass media, letters, and party documents. Key issues include the cult of Stalin, the purges and terror, everyday life, and the state of the arts. Emphasis on how the system modeled itself to increase appeal, reach, and power; and the diverse responses of the people. Special attention devoted to the expression of ideology in culture and the lived experience of the average person. No prerequisites. Seminar format. CarletonRUS 160 Classics of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. (See Russian 60 for course description.) Additional readings in Russian and extra class meetings.RUS 161 Russian Literature in Revolution: 1880-1930. (See Russian 61 for course description.) Additional readings in Russian and extra class meetings.RUS 162 Modern Russian Literature, 1930-Today. (See Russian 62 for course description.) Additional readings in Russian and extra class meetings.RUS 170 Women in Russian Literature and Culture. (See Russian 70 for course description.) Additional readings in Russian and extra class meetings.Special Topics and Directed Studies in RussianRUS 91, 92 Special Topics. Courses on selected themes and authors given in English. Members of the departmentRUS 93, 94 Directed Study: Language or Literature. Guided independent study of an approved topic. Variable credit. Members of the departmentRUS 191, 192 Special Topics. Study of selected authors, themes, genres, or literary movements given in Russian. Seminar or lecture/discussion format. Members of the departmentRUS 193, 194 Advanced Directed Study: Language or Literature. Guided independent study of an approved topic conducted in Russian. Variable credit. Members of the departmentRUS 198, 199 Senior Honors Thesis. See Thesis Honors Program for details.