RUS 101 | BASIC RUSSIAN I | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Rus 101 is the first course in the yearlong Basic Russian sequence. It assumes no prior knowledge of Russian. In this course students will develop Russian reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. They will learn to read and write both print and cursive script. This course will teach grammatical structures and vocabulary for both professional and informal conversations. Students will also learn to identify (in Russian) major cities and facts about the Russian Federation. The Basic Russian course sequence emphasizes communication skills and uses a free online curriculum. It may incorporate additional materials from Russian literature, art, film, and contemporary media. By the end of the first year sequence (101-102-103) students should be able to read everyday texts and communicate using simple structures in a variety of settings. They will be able to ask and answer basic questions about family and everyday life. This course may be appropriate for some heritage speakers who do not read Russian. Students with prior knowledge of Russian should take the Russian placement exam and consult with their academic advisor and course instructors for proper placement in Russian.
RUS 102 | BASIC RUSSIAN II | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This is the second course in the Basic Russian sequence. In this course, students will continue to develop their communication skills in Russian, participating in longer conversations and learning more complex grammatical structures. Students will expand their skills in reading and deciphering Russian texts. Building on skills learned in RUS 101, students will learn to describe everyday life and other persons. They will use adjectives and verbs appropriately in longer sentences and manage longer conversations. Students will also learn about Russian culture and life. Topics incorporated into language practice may include: geography, ethnic groups and religions of the Russian Federation, literature, traditions, and pop culture. The Basic Russian course sequence emphasizes communication skills and uses a free online curriculum. It may also incorporate materials from Russian literature, art, film, and contemporary media. By the end of the first year sequence (101-102-103), students should be able to read everyday texts and communicate using simple structures in a variety of settings. RUS 102 generally assumes knowledge of the Russian alphabet. This course may be appropriate for some heritage speakers who do not read Russian. Otherwise, students enrolling in RUS 102 should have placed into this course per the Russian placement exam or taken RUS 101.
RUS 103 | BASIC RUSSIAN III | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This is the third course in the introductory sequence Basic Russian. Students will develop their communication skills and by the end of the yearlong sequence, students will be able to participate in conversations about family life, home and student activities. They will be able to read Russian and write messages and texts. Through structured conversation practice they will also continue to learn about Russian culture and life. Topics incorporated into language practice may include: Russian geography, diverse ethnicities and religions of the Russian Federation, literature, traditions, and popular culture. The Basic Russian course sequence emphasizes communication skills and uses a free online curriculum. It may also incorporate materials from Russian literature, art, film, and contemporary media. By the end of the first year sequence (101-102-103), students should be able to read everyday texts and communicate using simple structures in a variety of settings. RUS 103 assumes much basic vocabulary, knowledge of the Russian cyrilic alphabet, familiarity with noun/adjective agreement, and present tense verb forms. Students enrolling in RUS 103 should have placed into this course per the Russian placement exam or taken RUS 101 and 102.
RUS 104 | INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN I | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Intensive practice in the use of Russian through listening, speaking, reading and writing, and continued enhancement of the cultural awareness intrinsic to those skills. Russian 103 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 105 | INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN II | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Intensive practice in the use of Russian through listening, speaking, reading and writing, and continued enhancement of the cultural awareness intrinsic to those skills. Russian 104 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 106 | INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN III | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Developing more fluency in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Russian with a concomitant heightened awareness of the cultural dimensions of the Russian language. Russian 105 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 130 | MOLILSAP STUDY ABROAD | 2 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is specially designed to complement the Modern Language Introductory Languages Study Abroad programs, linked to the third quarter of the first year language program. The course will be taught abroad.
RUS 197 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN RUSSIAN | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
See schedule for current offerings.
RUS 198 | STUDY ABROAD | 1-8 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 199 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 201 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN LANGUAGE I | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Third-year course covering oral and written communication, reading and writing, and grammar and syntax. Students will explore media, pop culture, literature and politics as they improve their language skills. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 202 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN LANGUAGE II | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Third-year course covering oral and written communication, reading and writing, and grammar and syntax. Students will explore media, pop culture, literature and politics as they improve their language skills. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 203 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN LANGUAGE III | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Third-year course covering oral and written communication, reading and writing, and grammar and syntax. Students will explore media, pop culture, literature and politics as they improve their language skills. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 205 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN: LITERATURE AND CULTURE I | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Grammar, written composition and cultural readings for advanced students and speakers of Russian.
RUS 206 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN: LITERATURE AND CULTURE II | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Continued emphasis on improved grammar and writing for advanced students and speakers of Russian with collateral cultural readings.
RUS 207 | ADVANCED RUSSIAN: LITERATURE AND CULTURE III | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Advanced composition and writing course emphasizing standard and literary language with appropriate literary and cultural readings for advanced students and speakers of Russian.
RUS 210E | WARRIORS, WITCHES, FIREBIRDS AND VAMPIRES: INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIAN FOLKLORE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. This course will introduce students to the rich and dynamic body of Russian folk texts and belief. Course readings will include epic poems, skazki (fairy tales), ballads, legends, incantations, and elements of popular culture. Students will learn and apply contemporary theories of folklore and traditional folk belief. The course will touch on the role of Russian folklore themes in literature and film. Emphasis on primary source materials (in English translation) with supplemental theory and history.
RUS 212E | PROJECTION, REVOLUTION, DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES: INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIAN AND SOVIET CINEMA | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. This course is a survey of Russian and Soviet film, beginning with the origins of film itself and how it was received in Russia. From there, we will explore the first films of the late Russian Empire, the early avant-garde works of revolutionary cinematographers who sought to create the "New Soviet Man (and Woman)" by means of altering their perception through montage, editing, and documentary footage, the Socialist Realist films of high Stalinism, newly personalized themes found in films of the "Thaw" era, the works of Andrei Tarkovsky and Sergei Parazhanov (legendary Soviet film auteurs) against the backdrop of the subsequent "Stagnation," the cultural revolt of the "Perestroika" era, the gritty films of Alexei Balabanov shot during the "wild nineties," and the dreamlike and nightmarish offerings of the new Russian millennium. We will interpret these films through the lens of contemporaneous cultural developments in Russia and the Soviet Union. As part of the course, students will be challenged not only to recognize how Russian and Soviet culture has informed the development of the cinema but, likewise, how, since the turn of the twentieth century, cinema has been a profound engine of cultural innovation and evolution throughout Russian and Soviet history.
RUS 213E | TEMPLARS OF THE PROLETARIAT": ESOTERIC TRADITIONS IN RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET UNION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. This course explores the primary traditions of the 'esoteric' or the 'occult' in the Russian imperial and Soviet eras. Topics range from occultism in the Soviet secret police to apocryphal and heretical interpretations of religion(s). As we examine each tradition, our task will be to understand the importance of the 'esoteric' as a category of societal meaning and cultural production.
RUS 215E | THE BODY AND SEXUALITY IN MODERN RUSSIAN DRAMA | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. Modern theater includes such genres as Naturalism, Realism, Modernism, Postmodernism, and Russian modern theater represents a high point of Russian cultural and literary production. In this course students will explore Russian plays by a selection of the most important authors, with a focus on the body and sexuality in their works. Readings may include texts by Anton Chekhov, Maksim Gorky, and Mikhail Bulgakov, among others, and critical works on twentieth century theater will be included as well. The student will read, analyze and interpret the plays, comedies and dramas, both with respect to form and meaning. In the process they will develop greater insight into the social and multicultural issues of the time period in which the plays were written.
RUS 297 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN RUSSIAN | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
See schedule for current offerings.
RUS 298 | STUDY ABROAD | 1-8 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 299 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 316 | TOPICS IN THE RUSSIAN NOVEL | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
The course will allow students to read and analyze novels from important Russian authors such as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, as well as other. Students will write essays and participate in individual and group projects in the format of Round-Table discussion. Cross-listed with MOL 316. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 317 | TOPICS IN THE RUSSIAN SHORT STORY | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
The course will allow students to read and analyze short stories from important Russian authors such as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky and Korolenko . Students will write papers and present short stories on these authors as well as others. Cross-listed with MOL 317. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 318 | MASTERPEICES OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course will explore masterpieces of Russian literature from a variety of genres: plays, novels, short stories and poetry. Works by authors such as Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Nabokov, Pushkin, Turgenev, Akhmatova, Mayakovsky, Pasternak and Yevtushenko will be read within their historical context to provide a basis for literary appreciation and analysis. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 360 | REALISM IN RUSSIAN DRAMA | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Russian Theater of the 18-19th century appeared in parallel to the development of realism in Russian literature. The movement dominated from approximately 1845 to 1905. The course presents some of the greatest Russian plays of the 19th century by Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Griboedov, Alexander Ostrovsky, and Anton Chekhov. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 361 | MODERN RUSSIAN DRAMA | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Russian plays by a selection of the most important authors. Readings may include Chekhov, Gorky, Bulgakov, Teffi and others. Some critical works will be included. The student will read, analyze and interpret the plays, comedies and dramas, both with respect to form and meaning. In the process they will develop greater insight into the social and multicultural issues of the time period in which the plays were written. Cross-list with MOL 361. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 364 | MODERN RUSSIAN AUTHORS | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course explores works of the most influential Russian authors of the Modern period. Authors might include Anton Chekhov, Vladimir Nabokov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Evgeny Zamyatin, and more. Students will explore several genres, including poetry, novel, short, story, and plays. These authors and works will be studied in the context of their times. Cross-listed with MOL 364. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test of permission of instructor, recommended.
RUS 369 | RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND FILM | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Greatest Russian short stories, plays, and novels of the 19-20th century, as presented in films by Soviet and Post-Soviet film-makers. Readings in the original of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Ostrovsky, Chekhov, Bulgakov, and Pasternak. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 393 | RUSSIAN FOR MASS MEDIA, POLITICS, AND CULTURE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Introduction to the structures and vocabulary of Russian news media with emphasis on politics and current events. Weekly readings and writing assignments from television, print media, and Internet news sources. Emphasis on building vocabulary and understanding of current political news and events. Individualized research/writing project. Russian 106 or equivalent, including placement test or permission of instructor, is recommended.
RUS 395 | FOREIGN LANGUAGES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM | 2 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
The two credit FLAC course allows students to enrich their experience in the co-required course through added reading, writing, listening and speaking activities in Russian. Students must have the equivalent of 106 or higher ability in Russian to take this two credit component. Please contact the Department of Modern Languages if you have questions about this courses or about language placement.
RUS 397 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN RUSSIAN | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
See schedule for current offerings.
RUS 398 | STUDY ABROAD | 1-8 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 399 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 497 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN RUSSIAN | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
See schedule for current offerings.
RUS 498 | STUDY ABROAD | 4-8 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Variable credit.
RUS 499 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 4-8 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Variable credit.