Course description
101 Elementary Russian. Introduction to Russian life and culture through the study of language. This course focuses on the development of functional socio-cultural competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing. No prerequisite. 2 units .
102 Elementary Russian. (Not offered 2009-10.) 1 unit.
103 Elementary Russian Skill Maintenance. Review and maintenance of existing skills through readings and conversation until the student is able to progress to Russian 201. Prerequisite: Russian 101. .25 unit .
104 Elementary Russian Skill Maintenance. Review and maintenance of existing skills through readings and conversation until the student is able to progress to Russian 201. Prerequisite: Russian 101. .25 unit .
201 Intermediate Russian I: Language through Film I. Focus on development of four communicative skills (speaking, aural comprehension, reading comprehension, writing) through interactive activities and integrated use of popular Russian films. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (This course is also offered during the CC program in Russia.) Prerequisite: Russian 101 or consent of instructor. 1 unit.
202 Intermediate Russian II: Language through Film. Emphasis on active control of basic grammatical structures, readings, short essays, and discussions based on popular Russian films. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (This course is offered during the CC program in Russia.) Prerequisite: Russian 201 or consent of instructor. 1 unit - Department. Prerequisite: Russian 201 or consent of instructor. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit.
205 Intermediate Russian Skill Maintenance. For students between 201 and 202 or 305. Prerequisite: Russian 201. .25 unit..
206 Intermediate Russian Skill Maintenance. For students between 201 and 202 or 305. Prerequisite: Russian 201. .25 unit..
255 Survey of Russian Literature I. Survey of selected texts representing the periods of Russian literary tradition preceding the Age of the Novel: from the ecclesiastic texts of the Kievan era, through the baroque (first biographies, rise of the secular tale), the Russian Enlightenment (emergence of satire), to Russian Romanticism and the beginning of Realism (Pushkin, Lermontov, and Gogol). (Taught in English.) Prerequisite: (taught in English). (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Not offered in 2009-10)1 unit.
256 Survey of Russian Literature II. This sequel to RU255 focuses on Realism, Modernism, Socialist Realism, and Postmodernism in Russian literature; it serves as an introduction to Russian major writers from the second half of the 19th century to the present: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstaya and others. (Taught in English.) Prerequisite: (taught in English). (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit.
305 Advanced Russian Language I. Intensive practice in oral self-expression and comprehension based on literary and audio-visual sources of modern standard Russian. (Taught in Russia.) Prerequisite: Russian 202. (Not offered in 2009-10) 1 unit.
306 Advanced Russian Language II. Continued work toward proficiency in spoken and written modern standard Russian. (Taught in Russia) (Not offered in 2009-10) Prerequisite: Russian 305. 1 unit.
311 Independent Study. For students wishing to read literature not covered by courses they have taken or to bridge scheduling difficulties. Prerequisite: Russian 306 and COI. 1 unit.
312 Independent Study. For students wishing to read literature or to enhance their individual skills in Russian. (May be taken as one block or half-block or as an extended format course for one semester each, i. e., 311, 312.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and Russian 306. 1 unit.
350 Tolstoy in Translation. Readings of selected fictional and nonfictional works. Close analysis of texts and study of Russian and European background of Tolstoy's works.Taught in English. (Not offered in 2009-10)1 unit.
351 Dostoevsky in Translation. Readings in the various forms of psychological narrative explored by Dostoevsky with emphasis on close study of his major works in their Russian and European contexts. (Taught in English.) No prerequisite. (Not offered 2009-10.) 1 unit.
History (HY)
317 Modern Central and Eastern Europe. This course will examine the rise, fall, and legacy of the modern German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires in the lands of Central and Eastern Europe. Important themes will be the struggles over historical memory and national identity within or against continental and imperial paradigms, the complex patterns of resistance and adaptation to foreign domination, and the struggles for national independence. Prerequisite: History 218 or consent of instructor. (Not offered in 2009-10.) 1 unit.
318 Modern Russia and the Soviet Union. This course will focus on more advanced study of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Soviet successor states in the 20th century. Topics will include the collapse of the Empire during the First World War, the attempted “building of socialism” in the Soviet period, the crisis of the Soviet system, and how Soviet conceptions of the relation between ethnicity and nationality shaped political and cultural identities before and after 1991. Prerequisite: History 218 or consent of instructor. 1 unit.
319 Modern Central Asia and Eurasia. This course will focus on those regions that stand at the crossroads of European and Asian history, and that are often neglected in traditionally bounded survey courses. Topics will include the patterns of conquest, trade, technological diffusion, and religious conversion across these regions; the effects of Ottoman, Persian, Russian, Chinese, Soviet and Japanese colonialism; and the emergence of independent nations in the 20th century. Prerequisite: History 218 or consent of instructor. (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (not offered 2009-10.) 1 unit
Political Science
308 Comparative Politics: Russia. The roots, rise, maturity, and collapse of Soviet Leninism. Addresses implications of the Soviet legacy and contemporary conditions of the post-Soviet political order in Russia and other successor states of the Soviet Union. 1 unit.
310 Eastern Europe. Compares aspects of the Soviet legacy and post-Soviet politics in former socialist states of Eastern Europe. Emphasis on Poland, the Czech Republic and former Yugoslavia. 1 unit.
312 Balkan Politics. Focuses on Yugoslavia’s disintegration in the 1990’s and the subsequent international response. Evaluates theories developed in the fields of international relations and comparative politics that purport to explain events. Places specific focus on the interaction of identity and political institutions. Prerequisite: Either Political Science 101 or 103 or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2009-10)1 unit.
Art
208 Byzantine Art. Art of the Byzantine Empire. Its sources in late Roman art. The “golden age” of Justinian, Iconoclasm and later Byzantine art until 1453. Byzantine influences in medieval Armenia, Serbia and Russia. Philosophy and theology of images in eastern Christianity. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor or Art History 111 or 112. 1 unit.
Russian and Eurasian Studies
RS200 Topics in Russian and Eurasian Studies: Russian Woman: The Search for Identity in Russian Film, 1930s to 2000s. Survey of the Soviet and Russian cinema by and/or about Russian women, starting with Stalin's propaganda films of the 1930s, and ending with the Russian version of the 'chick flick' of early 2000s. No knowledge of the Russian language is required. Those students who would like to advance their Russian proficiency and have the opportunity to watch, read, write, and talk about these films in Russian may sign up for this course under RU311 after consulation with the instructor. 1 unit.
RS400 Tutorial Advanced Seminar in Russian and Eurasian Studies. This course is required of all majors, and will result in the completion of an extended essay or independent research project, based on a significant body of original research and/or the student’s internship experience in the region. Student will present this essay at an annual faculty-student seminar. 1 unit – Gould, Johnson, Kolarik, Pavlenko, department.
