PDF reflects print version of the catalogue (beginning to French and Italian)Courses of Instruction
Slavic Languages and Literatures (SLL)
For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.
020 Course in Reading Russian (2) For graduate students wishing to use Russian as a scholarly tool. Emphasis on basic grammar and reading skills. Graded CR/NC.
025 Course in Reading Russian (2) Continuation of SLL 020. Reading of authentic materials from Russian press and students’ areas of interest. For graduate students only. Graded CR/NC. Prerequisite: SLL 020.
120 Beginning Russian I (4) Introduction to the Russian language with emphasis on basic conversational skills, major points of grammar, and reading.
121 Introductory Serbo-Croatian I (4) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises; analysis of structural differences between the Croatian and Serbian usages.
122 Elementary Polish I (4) Structure of the language, pronunciation, basic communication, and reading in modern Polish.
125ab Elementary Russian I (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises. Concurrent registration permitted. Prerequisite: departmental approval. (Duplicates credit in SLL 120.)
130ab Elementary Czech (4-4) a: Structure of the language, basic grammar, pronunciation, and oral communication. Readings in Czech; discussion of Czech history and culture. b: Continuation of SLL 130a. Prerequisite: SLL 130a.
150 Beginning Russian II (4) Continuation of SLL 120. Prerequisite: SLL 120.
151 Introductory Serbo-Croatian II (4) Continuation of SLL 121. Prerequisite: SLL 121.
152 Elementary Polish II (4) Continuation of SLL 122. Prerequisite: SLL 122.
155ab Elementary Russian II (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises. Concurrent registration permitted. Prerequisite: departmental approval. (Duplicates credit in SLL 150.)
185 Russian Utopian Fiction and Thought (4) The ideal of a perfect world, and its detractors, in Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Readings and lectures in English.
190 Cultural Diversity in the Russian Context (4) The function of ethnic identity, language, literature, and gender in Russian culture, with explicit discussion of parallels and contrasts with American cultural experience.
199 Chess and Critical Thinking (2) Analysis of significant chess games, reflecting societal attitudes toward science, competition, art, gender, psychology, politics, and technology. Graded CR/NC.
200 Russian Moral Dilemmas in the 20th Century (4) Examines the primary moral experiences of Russian society in its transition from tsarism through communism and beyond.
201 Contemporary Russian Culture and Society (4) (SS only) Introduction to the culture, politics, and economics of contemporary Russia. Offered only as part of the International Summer Session in Russia. Prerequisite: SLL 120.
210 Masterpieces of the Russian Short Story (4) Critical reading of selected masterpieces of the Russian short story; works by Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Babel, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and others. In English.
220 Intermediate Russian I (4) Development of thematic conversational skills with emphasis on extended dialogue. Review of basic morphology with special attention to verbs of motion. Reading of authentic material is emphasized. Prerequisite: SLL 120, SLL 150.
221 Intermediate Serbo-Croatian (4) Practice in conversation and composition. Readings in the Croatian and Serbian literatures, and the Yugoslav national epic. Prerequisite: SLL 151.
222 Readings in Polish Literature I (4) Continuation of elementary Polish and introduction to outstanding works in Polish literature. Prerequisite: SLL 122 and SLL 152.
225ab Intermediate Russian (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Development of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing; emphasis on grammar and syntax. Concurrent registration permitted. Prerequisite: departmental approval. (Duplicates credit in SLL 220.)
250 Intermediate Russian II (4) Continuation of SLL 220. Development of proficiency in conversation skills, reading, and writing. Prerequisite: SLL 220.
252 Readings in Polish Literature II (4) Continuation of SLL 222. Prerequisite: SLL 222.
270ab Russian for Native Speakers (4-4) a: For native Russian speakers who cannot read or write Russian. Emphasis on essentials of grammar, vocabulary, and orthography, and the reading and writing of simple texts in Russian. Prerequisite: departmental approval. b: Continuation of SLL 270a. Prerequisite: departmental approval.
300 The Russian Novel (4) The rise of the novel as the dominant form in Russian literature of the 19th century. Major works by Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and others. In English.
301 Russian Literary Avant-Garde (4) Russian modernism and the avant-garde: development of modern sensibility in literature and the arts from 1880 to 1930. Readings in Chekhov, Sologub, Bely, Mayakovsky, and others. Conducted in English.
302 Modern Russian Literature (4) Survey of the major developments in Russian literature during the 20th century, from modernism to the post-Soviet era. Readings in English.
303 Contemporary Russian Literature (4) Developments in Russian Literature from the 1960s to the present. Literature of moral resistance directed against official cultural models. In English.
320 Advanced Russian I (4) Advanced conversation topics based on literature, the press, films, and broadcasts. Advanced syntax. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: SLL 250.
321 Russian Culture (4) Survey of Russian civilization from the beginnings to the Soviet period focusing on major cultural and artistic trends. Lectures and readings in Russian. Prerequisite: four semesters of Russian.
325 Advanced Russian II (4) Continuation of SLL 320. Prerequisite: SLL 320.
330g Russian Thought and Civilization (4) Russian cultural identity from its beginnings until today. The Eastern Orthodox tradition, its traumatic confrontation with Western culture, and their continuous interaction.
344 Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist (4) Tolstoy’s major works in the context of his ethical views. Readings and lectures in English.
345 Literature and Philosophy: Dostoevsky (4) Dostoevsky’s novels as psychological and philosophical analyses of modern alienated man. Readings in Dostoevsky and selections from Gide, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. Conducted in English.
346 Russian Drama and the Western Tradition (4) Representative plays from the 18th century to the present. Development of the Russian theater in the European context. Conducted in English.
348 Nabokov’s Novels: Art and Exile (4) Survey of Vladimir Nabokov’s novels written in Europe and America from the 1920s-1960s. Primary focus on the structure of the novels and their themes of art and emigration. Readings in English.
370 Advanced Russian for Native Speakers (4) For students with basic oral proficiency in Russian who need to develop native fluency in an array of genres and situations. Emphasis on advanced grammar, reading (literary and scholarly texts), written expression (scholarly, administrative, and business genres), spelling, and punctuation. Prerequisite: departmental approval.
378 Modern Russian Art (4) Changing concepts of aesthetic value as expressed in the development of 19th and 20th century Russian art (painting and architecture).
390 Special Problems (1-4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
420 Seminar in the Russian Language (4) Survey and detailed analysis of selected topics in the Russian language. Prerequisite: SLL 325.
465 Seminar in Russian Studies (4, max 12) Readings and discussion in Russian of current topics in Russian culture, politics and society. Content varies each time offered. Prerequisite: SLL 250.
470x Reading Scholarly Russian (4) Practical experience in reading current Russian scholarly works in student’s field in the sciences, humanities, or social sciences. Prerequisite: SLL 220. Not available for major credit to Slavic majors.
490x Directed Research (2-8, max 8) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.
499 Special Topics (2-4, max 8)
500 Topics in Advanced Russian (2, max 8) Study of Russian required for graduate work and professional activities. Prerequisite: four years of college Russian or departmental approval.
501 Proseminar in Russian Literature (3, Fa) Introduction to graduate study of Russian literature: research methods, bibliography, transliteration, development of critical writing skills.
510 Old Church Slavonic (3) Study of the earliest recorded Slavic language; linguistic interpretation of original texts; knowledge of a Slavic language or general linguistics will be helpful.
512 History of the Russian Language (3) Phonetic, morphological, syntactical changes from common Slavic to the present. Russian literary language; influence of 19th century Russian authors and old church Slavic on contemporary Russian.
514 Structure of Modern Russian: Phonology (3) Articulatory phonetics, phonemics, morphophonemics, and intonational patterns of modern Russia. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
516 Structure of Modern Russian: Morphology (3) Essential issues in current linguistic description of the syntax and morphology of modern Russian. Considers word order, negation, verbal aspect.
530 Early Russian Literature and Culture (11th-17th Centuries) (3) Major monuments of medieval Russian literature examined in their cultural, literary, and theological context, with special emphasis on issues of genre. Focus on problems of Russian cultural identity and Russia’s complex relationship to Byzantine and Western traditions. Prerequisite: SLL 510 and SLL 514.
532 18th Century Russian Literature (3) Major works and genres of the 18th century. The development of a “modern” literary tradition, focusing on problems of Russia’s indigenization of Western literary movements (classicism and sentimentalism).
542 Symbolism (3) Russian symbolist literature; cultural and philosophical background of this late 19th and early 20th century movement. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
544 Russian Short Story (3) Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
545 19th Century Russian Poetry (3) Analysis of major works of 19th century Russian poetry in the context of developing aesthetic principles and cultural history. Prerequisite: SLL 501 or departmental approval.
546 The Russian Novel (3) Genre of the novel as exemplified in the works of one or more Russian authors. Readings from Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and others. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
548 History of Russian Literary Criticism (3) History and principles of literary criticism in Russia with attention to major periods and movements from the early 19th century through the Formalists.
555 Soviet Literature I (1917-1953) (3) The course surveys the major writers and literary schools of Soviet literature in the crucial period from the Revolution to the death of Stalin.
557 Soviet Literature II (1953-present) (3) De-Stalinization of Soviet culture, the reappropriation of Russia’s literary past, and new directions in contemporary literature.
575 Socialist Realism (3) The course examines the origins, doctrine, and ideology of socialist realism, the predominant, and officially prescribed, aesthetic of Soviet literature.
584 Russian Fiction and the West (3) A survey of major Russian fiction in the context of Western European literary movements from the late 18th through late 19th centuries. The course presumes the students’ basic acquaintance with the major monuments.
585 20th Century Russian Literary Criticism (3) Relationship between practical and theoretical literary criticism: Formalism and Structuralism, Sociological school, and Bakhtin; theoretical approaches applied to specific literary texts.
588ab Directed Readings (2-2) Assigned readings according to individual needs.
590 Directed Research (1-12) Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
594abz Master’s Thesis (2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.
599 Special Topics (2-4, max 8)
650 Seminar in Russian Literature (3, max 9) Detailed study of single literary period, movement or genre; two or more selected authors; specific school of literary criticism. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
660 Seminar on a Single Author or Work (3, max 9) Theme varies from year to year. An author or major work will be selected for intensive study; research paper required. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
665 Seminar in Russian Culture and the Arts (3, max 9) Subject varies from year to year. A trend or major figure will be studied in its cultural and artistic contexts. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
790 Research (1-12) Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.