Russian Course Offerings Fall 2021

RUSS 401: Advanced Russian Grammar and Composition

What do you want to know about Russian grammar but are afraid to ask? Come fill in the gaps! Continue to develop the expression of your own opinions in clear, colloquial standard Russian through advanced exercises in Russian grammar, syntax, and word usage. Special attention will be paid to participial constructions, gerunds, verbs of motion, aspect, prepositions, and word order, with an emphasis on word formation as essential to vocabulary building. Explore this grammar through an examination of key aspects of contemporary Russian education, politics, ecology, and perception of the U.S. through authentic readings from contemporary sources with related listening, speaking, and writing activities. This course will answer many of your unanswered questions about Russian; no stone will be left unturned!

Instructor: Julia Hulings

Prerequisite: Any 300-level RUSS course

Honors credit available

RUSS 325: Russian Civilization and Culture

This course focuses on different aspects of Russian culture such as sports, arts, journalism, politics, and business. We will discuss each area by exploring lives of prominent contemporary individuals who are currently active in their respective fields. Among others, these professionals include fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin, four-time Olympic medalist in figure skating Evgeni Plushenko, famous economist and political activist Irina Khamakada, and Vladminir Posner, a Russian-American journalist. Our discussion of the Russian cultural landscape will conclude with looking into cultural diversity of the Russian Federation, a country that is home to about 160 different ethnic groups. Students will learn about traditions and everyday life of non-ethnic Russians including but not limited to the Chuvash, Bashkirs and Tatars.

Instructor: Julia Hulings

Satisfies Group B “History and Cultural Change” and Multi-cultural requirements

Prerequisite: RUSS 211, RUSS 305, or instructor approval

Honors credit available

LLCU 375: Russian Roulette; Risk-taking Behavior in Russian Society

As legend has it, Germans coined the term “Russian roulette” after observing bored Russian soldiers participate in the dangerous game. Indeed, the idea of tempting fate is deeply Russian; one scholar identifies a cultural propensity that deems it “more attractive and ethical to spend, waste, and lose, rather than save, keep, and retain.” Couple this live-for-today attitude with macho pride and social rank, and you get the pervasive risk-taking behavior that permeates 19th and early 20th century literature and helps to explain some of the choices and attitudes of Russians even today. Come read the masters- Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Lermontov, Chekhov, Nabokov- as they explore a deep-seated and pompous recklessness that inspires gambling, duels, and unsavory deals with the devil himself!

Instructor: Julia Hulings

Satisfies Group B “History and Cultural Change.”

Prerequisites: None; course is taught in English