PDF reflects print version of the catalogue (Mathematics to The Writing Program)Courses of Instruction
Slavic Languages and Literatures (SLL)
For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 120 Beginning Russian I (4) Introduction to the Russian language with emphasis on basic conversational skills, major points of grammar, and reading.
SLL 121 Introductory Serbo-Croatian I (4) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises; analysis of structural differences between the Croatian and Serbian usages.
SLL 122 Elementary Polish I (4) Structure of the language, pronunciation, basic communication, and reading in modern Polish.
SLL 125ab Elementary Russian I (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises. Concurrent registration permitted. (Duplicates credit in SLL 120.)
SLL 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.
SLL 150 Beginning Russian II (4) Continuation of SLL 120. Prerequisite: SLL 120.
SLL 151 Introductory Serbo-Croatian II (4) Continuation of SLL 121. Prerequisite: SLL 121.
SLL 152 Elementary Polish II (4) Continuation of SLL 122. Prerequisite: SLL 122.
SLL 155ab Elementary Russian II (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Basic grammar; oral drills and written exercises. Concurrent registration permitted. (Duplicates credit in SLL 150.)
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 225ab Intermediate Russian (2-2) (Individualized Instruction) Development of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing; emphasis on grammar and syntax. Concurrent registration permitted. (Duplicates credit in SLL 220.)
SLL 250 Intermediate Russian II (4) Continuation of SLL 220. Development of proficiency in conversation skills, reading, and writing. Prerequisite: SLL 220.
SLL 252 Readings in Polish Literature II (4) Continuation of SLL 222. Prerequisite: SLL 222.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 310 Advanced Russian in Popular Culture (4, Fa) Advanced conversation topics, readings and analysis of Russian press, films and other popular materials. Advanced grammar. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: SLL 250; recommended preparation: SLL 120, SLL 150, SL 220.
SLL 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.
SLL 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. Concurrent enrollment: MDA 140.
SLL 340 Intercultural Communication in Russian (4, Sp) Advanced language training focusing on specific issues of communication with Russians. Analysis and translation of literary texts. Advanced syntax. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: SLL 250; recommended preparation: SLL 120, SLL 150, SLL 220.
SLL 344 Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist (4) Tolstoy's major works in the context of his ethical views. Readings and lectures in English.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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).
SLL 390 Special Problems (1-4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
SLL 420 Seminar in the Russian Language (4) Survey and detailed analysis of selected topics in the Russian language. Prerequisite: SLL 325.
SLL 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.
SLL 470x Reading Scholarly Russian (4) Practical experience in reading current Russian scholarly works in student's field in the sciences, humanities, or social sciences. Not available for major credit to Slavic majors. Prerequisite: SLL 220.
SLL 490x Directed Research (2-8, max 8) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.
SLL 499 Special Topics (2-4, max 8)
SLL 500 Topics in Advanced Russian (2, max 8) Study of Russian required for graduate work and professional activities. Prerequisite: four years of college Russian.
SLL 501 Proseminar in Russian Literature (3, Fa) Introduction to graduate study of Russian literature: research methods, bibliography, transliteration, development of critical writing skills.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 514 Structure of Modern Russian: Phonology (3) Articulatory phonetics, phonemics, morphophonemics, and intonational patterns of modern Russia. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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).
SLL 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.
SLL 544 Russian Short Story (3) Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 575 Socialist Realism (3) The course examines the origins, doctrine, and ideology of socialist realism, the predominant, and officially prescribed, aesthetic of Soviet literature.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 588ab Directed Readings (2-2) Assigned readings according to individual needs.
SLL 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.
SLL 594abz Master's Thesis (2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.
SLL 599 Special Topics (2-4, max 8)
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 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.
SLL 794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.