Undergraduate

REES 29021 /39021 The Shadows of Living Things: the Writings of Mikhail Bulgakov

(FNDL 29020)

“What would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared? After all, shadows are cast by things and people…. Do you want to strip the earth of all the trees and living things just because of your fantasy of enjoying naked light?” asks the Devil. Mikhail Bulgakov worked on his novel The Master and Margarita throughout most of his writing career, in Stalin’s Moscow. Bulgakov destroyed his manuscript, re-created it from memory, and reworked it feverishly even as his body was failing him in his battle with death. The result is an intense contemplation on the nature of good and evil, on the role of art and the ethical duty of the artist, but also a dazzling world of magic, witches, and romantic love, and an irresistible seduction into the comedic. Laughter, as shadow and light, as subversive weapon but also as power’s whip, grounds human relation to both good and evil. Brief excursions to other texts that help us better understand Master and Margarita.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Literature and Linguistics

REES 29018 /39018 Imaginary Worlds:Fantastic & Magic Realism in Russia & Southeastern Europe

(CMLT 27701, CMLT 37701)

In this course, we will ask what constitutes the fantastic and magic realism as literary genres while reading some of the most interesting writings to have come out of Russia and Southeastern Europe. While considering the stylistic and narrative specificities of this narrative mode, we also think about its political functions —from subversive to escapist, to supportive of a nationalist imaginary—in different contexts and at different historic moments in the two regions.

Readings in English. Background in Russia and the Balkans will make the course easier, but is not required.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Literature and Linguistics

REES 23137 /33137 Narratives of Suspense in European/Russian Lit/Film

(CMLT 22100,CMST 25102,CMST 35102,ENGL 26901,ENGL 46901)

This course examines the nature and creation of suspense in literature and film as an introduction to narrative theory. We will question how and why stories are created, as well as what motivates us to continue reading, watching, and listening to stories. We will explore how particular genres (such as detective stories and thrillers) and the mediums of literature and film influence our understanding of suspense and narrative more broadly. Close readings of primary sources will be supplemented with critical and theoretical readings. Literary readings will include work by John Buchan, Arthur Conan Doyle, Feodor Dostoevsky, Graham Green, Bohumil Hrabal, and J.M. Coetzee. We will also explore Alfred Hitchcock's take on 39 Steps and the Czech New Wave manifesto film, Pearls of the Deep. With theoretical readings by: Roland Barthes, Viktor Shklovsky, Erich Auerbach, Paul Ricoeur, and others.

Esther Peters
2017-2018 Spring
Category
Literature and Linguistics

REES Lolita Lolita

(FNDL 25300, ENGL 28916)

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul, Lolita: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate, to tap at three on the teeth.” Popular as Nabokov’s “all-American” novel is, it is rarely discussed beyond its psychosexual profile. This intensive text-centered and discussion-based course attempts to supersede the univocal obsession with the novel’s pedophiliac plot as such by concerning itself above all with the novel’s language: language as failure, as mania, and as conjuration.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Literature and Linguistics

RUSS 29910 - 29911 - 29912/39910 - 39911 - 39912 Special Topics in Advanced Russian I, II, III

Must complete Advanced Russian through Media or equivalent, or obtain consent of instructor. Class meets for 2 hours each week.  We'll work with several topics, all of them are relevant to the general theme of "Geography and Worldview: Russian Perspective". There will be maps, reading materials, several documentaries, clips from TV programs and other media, and feature films. Class meetings will be a combination of group discussions, short presentations, and lectures. Final - one term paper at the end (in English) based on Russian materials.

RUSS 21302/30102, 21402/30202, 21502/30302 or consent of instructor. Drill sessions to be arranged.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language

RUSS 21302 - 21402 - 21502/30102 - 30202 - 30302 Advanced Russian Through Media I, II, III

(REES 21502/30302)

This course, which is designed for fifth-year students of Russian, covers various aspects of Russian stylistics and discourse grammar in context. It emphasizes the four communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) in culturally authentic context. Clips from Russian/Soviet films and television news reports are shown and discussed in class. Classes conducted in Russian. Conversation practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 20702, 20802, 20902 or consent of instructor; drill sessions to be arranged.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language

RUSS 20702 - 20802 - 20902 Third Year Russian Culture I, II, III

This course, which is intended for third-year students of Russian, covers various aspects of Russian grammar in context and emphasizes the four communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening comprehension, speaking) in a culturally authentic context. Excerpts from popular Soviet/Russian films and clips from Russian television news reports are shown and discussed in class. Classes conducted in Russian; some aspects of grammar explained in English. Drill practice is held twice a week.

RUSS 20103, 20203, 20303 or consent of instructor. Drill sessions ot be arranged.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language

BCSN 21300 /31300 (Re)Branding the Balkan City: Contemporary Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, also Advanced BCS

(REES 21300/31300)

The course will use an urban studies lens to explore the complex history, infrastructure, and transformations of these three cities, now the capitals of Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Croatia. Drawing on anthropological theory and ethnography of the city, we will consider processes of urban destruction and renewal, practices of branding spaces and identities, urban life as praxis, art and design movements, architectural histories and styles, metropolitan citizenship, and the broader politics of space. The course is complemented by cultural and historical media, guest speakers, and virtual tours. Classes are held in English. No knowledge of BCS is required. However, this module can fulfill a language requirement or simply further the study of BCS with additional weekly sections, materials, discussions, and presentations in the target language.

First and Second Year BCS or equivalent.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language

RUSS 20103 - 20203 - 20303 Second Year Russian I, II, III

This course continues RUSS 10103-10203-10303; it includes review and amplification of grammar, practice in reading, elementary composition, and speaking and comprehension.  Systematic study of word formation and other strategics are taught to help free students from excessive dependence on the dictionary and develop confidence in reading rather than translating.  Readings are selected to help provide historical and cultural background.  Conversation practices is held twice a week.

RUSS 10103, 10203, 10303 or consent of instructor. Drill sessions to be arranged.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language

RUSS 10103, 10203 , 10303 First Year Russian I, II, III

This course introduces modern Russian to students who would like to speak Russian or to use the language for reading and research.  All five major communicative skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, comprehension, and speaking) are stressed.  Students are also introduced to Russian culture through readings, videos, and class discussions.  This yearlong course prepares students for the College Language Competency Exam, for continued study of Russian in second-year courses, and for study or travel abroad in Russian-speaking countries.  Conversation practice is held twice a week.

2017-2018 Spring
Category
Language
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