James McGavran

This course offers independent study for senior candidates for honors under the direction of the honors supervisor. Normally offered in the spring semester, this course may be offered in the fall with the approval of the student's honors supervisor and the chair of modern languages and literature. Permission of instructor and department chair required.

This is an introductory language course that emphasizes language proficiency in all four skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing. Students learn essentials of Russian grammar and vocabulary. After the first year, they are able to discuss most everyday topics. The course also introduces students to facts about Russian life, culture, history and geography. This course includes required practice sessions with a teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in this course are automatically added to RUSS 112Y for the spring semester. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.

The second half of this course places greater emphasis on authentic target-language input (poems, songs, film clips) and student-to-student communication. Students do group work and make formal and informal presentations for their peers while continuing their study of new vocabulary and grammar. This course includes required practice sessions with a teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Prerequisite: RUSS 111Y or equivalent. Offered every spring.

In this course, students continue their study of the language, concentrating on the development of oral communication and writing skills. Work for the course involves regular study of new vocabulary, extensive reading and writing. We review important aspects of grammar, focusing on communication in a variety of contexts. Students are introduced to more facts about Russian culture and read excerpts from Russian literature. This course includes required practice sessions with a teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in this course are automatically added to RUSS 214Y for the spring semester. Prerequisite: RUSS 111Y-112Y or equivalent. Offered every fall.

The second half of the yearlong course emphasizes reading authentic cultural materials in Russian and student-to-student communication in various formats. Students work in groups on analytical and creative writing assignments, give presentations and lead discussions in Russian, developing their oral communication and writing skills. Students perfect their listening comprehension skills through watching masterpieces of Russian animation and completing assignments and quizzes based on them. They regularly study new vocabulary and important aspects of grammar, focusing on communication in a variety of contexts. Students are introduced to more facts about Russian culture, and read excerpts from the 19th-century Russian literature. This course includes required practice sessions with a teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Prerequisite: RUSS 213Y or equivalent.

The central aim of this course is to introduce students to classic works in prose and poetry of 19th- and 20th-century Russian literature, and to develop their ability to discuss and analyze various genres and individual styles. Lectures and discussions focus on works by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. While our emphasis is on close readings and analysis of individual texts, we pay special attention to the development of realist aesthetics and to the special role played by literature in Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet society. Though centered on the novel, this course examines various genres and their boundaries: short story, drama and film. This course is taught in English. No prerequisite. Generally offered every three years.

This course introduces students to 20th-century Russian literature. Lectures and discussions focus on works by Chekhov, Zamyatin, Gorky, Nabokov, Bunin, Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn, among others. While our emphasis is on close readings and analysis of individual texts, we pay special attention to the artistic conflict resulting from the imposition by the Soviet government of socialist realism. This course examines various genres and their boundaries: novel, drama and short story. This course is taught in English. No prerequisite. Generally offered every other year.

This course provides advanced students of Russian the opportunity to continue their study of the language, concentrating on the development of four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. To strengthen their writing, students write several essays during the course of the semester. Work for the course involves regular study of new vocabulary, reading a variety of texts and writing essays. This course can be repeated for credit up to 1.0 unit with permission of the instructor. Prerequisite: RUSS 213Y-214Y or equivalent. Offered every year.

Tolstoy and Dostoevsky may be Russian literature's best-known ambassadors to the West but, at its heart, Russian literature is a tradition of poetry, not prose. Because this poetry has fared poorly in translation, its rich heritage has remained all but off-limits to the rest of the world. This course introduces students to Russian lyric poetry by showing its historical development from the late 18th to the 20th century, encompassing both Golden and Silver Ages. We pay particularly close attention to Pushkin, whose genius is notoriously underappreciated outside Russia. We weave our way through poetic movements including Symbolism, Acmeism and Futurism but also look beyond these convenient categories in our assessment of the figures who towered above them: Block, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Mayakovsky, Pasternak and Tsvetaeva. Our day-to-day focus is on reading, translating, understanding and appreciating Russian poetry. All poetry readings are in Russian. Prerequisite: RUSS 213Y-214Y or equivalent.