Russian
Language Courses
Freshman Seminars
Russian Literature, Culture and History in English
Russian Literature, Culture and History in Russian
(for non-native speakers)
Literacy in Russian (for Russian Speakers)
Russian Language and Literature offered through CGS
Slavic Courses
Graduate Level Courses
Eastern European
Russian Language Courses
RUSS 001 Elementary Russian I
001 MTWRF 10-11 Shardakova
002 MTWRF 3-4 Oleinichenko
This course develops elementary skills in reading, speaking, understanding
and writing the Russian language. We will work with an exciting range
of authentic written materials, videos and recordings relating to the
dynamic scene of Russia today. At the end of the course students will
be comfortable with the Russian alphabet and will be able to read basic
texts (signs, menus, news headlines) and participate in elementary conversations
about daily life (who you are, what you do every day, where you are
from, likes and dislikes).
RUSS
003 Intermediate Russian I
001 MTWR 9-10 Shardakova
002 MTWR 5-6 Oleinichenko
This course will develop your ability to use the Russian language in
the context of typical everyday situations, including university life,
family, shopping, entertainment, etc. Role-playing, skits, short readings
from literature and the current press, and video clips will be used
to help students improve their language skills. At the end of the semester
you will be able to read and write short texts about your daily schedule
and interests, to understand brief newspaper articles, films and short
literary texts, and to express your opinions in Russian. In combination
with RUSS 004, this course prepares students to satisfy the language
competency requirement.
RUSS
107. Russian Outside the Classroom
Staff.
The goal of RUSS 107 is to provide students of Russian language
and Russian heritage speakers with formalized opportunities to improve
their conversation and comprehension skills while experiencing various
aspects of Slavic culture. There will be no weekly assignments or readings,
but all students will be expected to contribute at a level equivalent
to their Russian-speaking abilities both in class and on the newsletter
final project. The course consists of attending 2 out of 3 hrs/week
of lunch-time conversation (W/Th 12-1:30) in addition to a tea-drinking
hour in the department (F 4-5pm), film viewings, and a single outside
cultural event (e.g., concert of Russian music at the Kimmel Center).
RUSS
311 Advanced Russian Conversation and Composition
Prerequisite(s): RUSS 004 or placement exam. Prior language
experience is required.
001 MWF 2-3 Shardakova
This course develops students' skills in speaking and writing about
topics in Russian literature, contemporary society, politics, and everyday
life. Topics include women, work and family; sexuality; the economic
situation; environmental problems; and life values. Materials include
selected short stories by 19th and 20th century Russian authors, video-clips
of interviews, excerpts from films, and articles from the Russian media.
Continued work on grammar and vocabulary building.
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RUSS
185 Dream and Nightmare in Fiction and Film
TR 3-4:20 Allen
This course is devoted to some of the most exciting modern films and
novels from Latin America, Russia and Europe--dreams and nightmares
that allow us to comprehend the "underground" of human experience.
Our approach will be comparative, considering literary works in the
context of film and the other arts, with special emphasis on several
directors who laid the foundations of modern film: Fritz Lang, Dziga
Vertov, and Sergei Eisenstein. Topics of discussion will include: creativity,
deviant behavior, cultural dialogue, dissent, "delirious"
modern cities (St. Petersburg, Prage, Rio de Janiero), and death. Works
by: Dostoevsky, Gogol, Kafka, Proust, Lispector, Machado de Assis, Mario
de Andrade, Saramago, Petrushevskaia, Pelevin and others.
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Russian Literature, Culture, and History in English Translation
RUSS
145 Russian Literature to 1870s
Gen Req III: Arts & Letters.
001 TR 3-4:30 Steiner
Major Russian writers in English translation: Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev,
early Tolstoy, and early Dostoevsky.
RUSS
190 Terrorism
Distribution II: History & Tradition.
001 MW 3-4:30 Todorov
This course studies the emergence of organized terrorism in nineteenth
century Russia. It examines the philosophy of the terrorist struggle
through its methods, causes, various codes, and manifestoes that defined
its nature for the times to come. We critique intellectual movements
such as nihilism, anarchism, and populism that inspired terrorism defining
the political violence and disorder as beneficial acts. The issue of
policing terrorism becomes central when we study a police experiment
to infiltrate, delegitimize and ultimately neutralize the terrorist
networks in late imperial Russia.
The discussions draw on the ideology and political efficacy
of the conspiratorial mode of operation, terrorist tactics such as assassination
and hostage-taking, the cell structure of the groups and underground
incognito of the strikers, their maniacal self-denial, revoluntionary
asceticism, underground mentality, faceless omnipotence, and other attributes-intensifiers
of its mystique. We analyze the technology and phenomenology of terror
that generate symmetrical disorganizing threats to any organized form
of government and reveal the terrorist act as a sublime end as well
as a lever for achieving practical causes. Our study traces the rapid
proliferation of terrorism in the twentieth century and its impact on
the public life in Western Europe, the Balkans, and America.
RUSS
220 (HIST 220) From the Other Shore: Russian and the West
Distribution: History and Tradition.
401 MW 3-4:30 Vaingurt
This course will explore the representations of the West in Eighteenth-
and Nineteenth- century Russian literature and philosophy. We will consider
the Russian visions of various events and aspects of Western political
and social life - Revolutions, educational system, public executions,
resorts, etc. - within the context of Russian intellectual history.
We will examine how the images of the West reflect Russia's own cultural
concerns, anticipations, and biases, as well as aesthetic preoccupations
and interests of Russian writers. The discussion will include literary
works by Karamzin, Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Leskov, and Tolstoy,
as well as non-fictional documents, such as travelers' letters, diaries,
and historiosophical treatises of Russian Freemasons, Romantic and Positivist
thinkers, and Russian social philosophers of the late Nineteenth century.
A basic knowledge of
Nineteenth- century European history is desirable. The class will consist
of lecture, discussion, short writing assignments, and two in-class
tests.
RUSS
275 (FILM 253) Russian History in Film
Distribution III: Art & Letters.
401 MW 4:30-6 Todorov
This course draws on the fictional, drama and cinematic representation
of the Russian history based on Russian as well as non Russian sources
and interpretations. The analysis targets major modes of imagining,
such as narrating, showing and reenacting historical events, personae
and epochs justified by different, historically mutating ideological
postulates and forms of national self-consciousness. Common stereotypes
of picturing Russia from "foreign" perspectives draw special
attention. The discussion involves the following themes and outstanding
figures: the mighty autocrats Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and
Catherine the Great; the tragic ruler Boris Godunov; the brazen rebel
and royal impostor Pugachov; the notorious Rasputin, his uncanny powers,
sex-appeal, and court machinations; Lenin and the October Revolution;
images of war; the times of construction and the times of collapse of
the Soviet Colossus.
RUSS
299 Independent Study
000 see department for section numbers Staff
RUSS
399 Supervised Work
000 see department for section numbers Staff
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Russian
Literature, Culture and History in
Russian (for non-native speakers)
RUSS
402 Pushkin
Distribution III: Arts & Letters.
401 TR 10:30-12 Steiner
The writer's lyrics, narrative poems, and drama.
RUSS 416 Business and Democracy in the New
Russia
301 TR 1:30-3 Bourlatskya
This course is designed to familiarize students with contemporary
Russian society, its historical background and its present political
and economic structure, and to develop functional proficiency in speaking,
writing, reading and listening. The course will focus on a variety of
issues central to Russian society since the fall of the Soviet Union,
including changing values, political parties and movements, the business
climate and businessmen, various nationalities within Russia, women
in the family and at work. This course is conducted in Russian and intended
for students who do not speak Russian at home but have completed at
least six semesters (or the equivalent) of Russian. Course materials
will include interviews, articles, essays by leading Russian journalists
and statesmen, and contemporary Russian movies.
Literacy in Russian (for Russian Speakers)
RUSS
360 Literacy in Russian I: Likbez
Completion of 360-361 satisfies the language requirement.
001 TR 3-4:30 Verkholantsev
This course is intended for students who have spoken Russian at home
and seek to gain (or improve) literacy in the language. If you cannot
read and write in Russian or if you were only slightly exposed to Russian
literacy – this course is for YOU! Topics will include an intensive
introduction to the Russian writing system and grammar, focusing on
materials and examples drawn from classic and contemporary Russian culture
and social life. The other goal of this course is to acquire cultural
literacy in Russian, that is, to become familiar with some of the main
cultural idioms and concepts. If you have questions about your language
abilities, please contact the instructor at juliaver@sas.upenn.edu.
RUSS
467 Classic Russian Literature Today
Distribution III: Arts and Letters (Pending Approval)
001 TR 1:30-3 Verkholantsev
This course will be of interest to Russian-speaking students
with intermediate to advanced language competence, who seek to read
and study classic Russian literature in the original, and improve their
language skills to an academic level. Readings will consist of some
of the greatest works of 19th and 20th-century authors, such as Pushkin,
Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Bulgakov. Students will examine various
forms and genres of literature, learn basic techniques of literary criticism,
and explore the way literature is translated into film and other media.
An additional focus of the course will be on examining the uses and
interpretations of classic literature and elitist culture in contemporary
Russian society. Observing the interplay of the "high" and
"low" in Russian cultural tradition, students will develop
methodology of cultural analysis.
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Russian Language and Literature Offered Through the College of General Studies
RUSS
001 Elementary Russian I
601 MW 6:30-9 Oleinichenko
This course develops elementary skills in reading, speaking, understanding
and writing the Russian language. We will work with an exciting range
of authentic written materials, videos and recordings relating to the
dynamic scene of Russia today. At the end of the course students will
be comfortable with the Russian alphabet and will be able to read basic
texts (signs, menus, news headlines) and participate in elementary conversations
about daily life (who you are, what you do every day, where you are
from, likes and dislikes).
RUSS
003 Intermediate Russian I
601 TR 5-7 Oleinichenko
This course will develop your ability to use the Russian language in
the context of typical everyday situations, including university life,
family, shopping, entertainment, etc. Role-playing, skits, short readings
from literature and the current press, and video clips will be used
to help students improve their language skills. At the end of the semester
you will be able to read and write short texts about your daily schedule
and interests, to understand brief newspaper articles, films and short
literary texts, and to express your opinions in Russian. In combination
with RUSS 004, this course prepares students to satisfy the language
competency requirement.
RUSS
107 Russian Outside the Classroom
301 Time TBA
RUSS
196 Russian Short Story
Distribution
III: Arts and Letters (Pending Approval)
601 M 6-9:30 Todorov
This course studies the development of 19th and 20th century Russian
literature through one of its most distinct and highly recognized genres
-- the short story. The readings include great masters of fiction such
as Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Solzhenitsyn, and others.
The course presents the best works of short fiction and situates them
in a literary process that contributes to the history of a larger cultural-political
context.
The students learn about the historical formation, poetic virtue, and
thematic characteristics of major narrative modes such as romanticism,
utopia, realism, modernism, socialist realism, and post-modernism. We
critique the strategic use of various devices of literary representation
such as irony, absurd, satire, grotesque, anecdote, etc. Some of the
main topics and issues include: culture of the duel; the role of chance;
the riddle of death; anatomy of madness; imprisonment and survival;
the pathologies of St. Petersburg; terror and homo sovieticos.
RUSS
426 Chekhov Stage and Screen
Cross-list: FILM 426
Distribution III: Arts & Letters.
601 T 5:30-8:30 Zubarev
“What’s so funny, Mr. Chekhov?” This question is often
asked by critics and directors who still are puzzled with Chekhov’s
definition of his four major plays as comedies. Traditionally, all of
them are staged and directed as dramas, melodramas, or tragedies.
Should we cry or should we laugh at Chekhovian characters who commit
suicide, or are killed, or simply cannot move to a better place of living?
Is the laughable synonymous to comedy and the comic? Should any fatal
outcome be considered tragic?
All these and other questions will be discussed during the course. The
course is intended to provide the participants with a concept of dramatic
genre that will assist them in approaching Chekhov’s plays as
comedies.
In addition to reading Chekhov’s works, Russian and western productions
and film adaptations of Chekhov’s works will be screened. Among
them are, Vanya on 42nd Street with Andre Gregory, and Four Funny Families.
Those who are interested will be welcome to perform and/or direct excerpts
from Chekhov’s works.
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SLAV
399 Independent Study
000 see department for section numbers Staff
SLAV
501 Elementary Polish I
Offered through the Penn Language Center
680 MW 6-8 Sachs
Grammar and vocabulary study, reading, and practice in conversation,
pronunciation, and writing on an elementary level, reading and translation
of simplified Polish prose and poetry.
SLAV 530 Elementary Czech I
Offered through the Penn Language Center.
680 TR 6:30-8 Stejskal
An introduction to the fundamentals of the Czech language, acquisition
of conversational, reading and writing skills.
SLAV 590 Elementary Ukranian I
Offered through the Penn Language Center.
680 MR 4-6:30 Rudnytsky
SLAV 592 Intermediate Ukrainian I
Offered through the Penn Language Center.
680 MR 6:30-8:30 Rudnytsky
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SLAV
655 (COML 654, HIST 656) History, Memory, Trauma
4 01 M 2-5 Platt
EEUR
121 Elementary Hungarian I
Offered through Penn Language Center
680 TR 5:30-7 Mizsei
An introduction to the fundamentals of the Hungarian language, acquisition
of conversational, readings and writing skills.
EEUR
123 Intermediate Hungarian I
Prerequisite(s): EEUR 121 or placement. Offered through Penn
Language Center.
680 TR 4-5:30 Mizsei
Continuation of EEUR 121
EEUR
125 Advanced Hungarian I
Offered through the Penn Language Center.
680 TR 9-10:30 Mizsei
The basic aim is to enable students, independently or under the guidance
of the teacher, to communicate in Hungarian and express their thoughts
(orally or in writing) at an advanced level.
