Slavic Courses Fall 2019

Fall 2019 Featured Course!

Slavic Drama in Context

Time: TWR 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: 1090 Vilas Hall

Revizor Revisited based on Nikolai Gogol

The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol.

All enrolled students will be key company members, taking on various production roles based on interest, experience and needs. Opportunities may include, but are not limited to: acting, stage managing, design (lighting, scenic, costume or properties,) music direction, dramaturgy, and choreography. Additional opportunities include developing educational materials, activities and experiences for young people as part of performances for family audiences and school groups. Revizor is a hiliarious, satirical play, tackling corruption in a Russian Provincial town, written by Gogol in 1836.

Enrollment by consent Instructor only: contact mvandewa@wisc.edu

This is an Ensemble Experience; every member of the class has to be fully involved.

SLAVIC 101 – First Semester Russian

(4 credits)

Section 001: MTWRF 9:55-10:45 1510 Microbial Sciences
Section 002: MTWRF 11:00-11:50 159 Van Hise Hall
Section 003: MTWRF 12:05-12:55 335 Van Hise Hall
Section 004: MTWRF 1:20-2:10, 386 Van Hise Hall
Section 005: MTWRF 8:50-9:40 TBD (This section is not currently available for enrollment.)

Prerequisites: None. Open to first-year students.

Language of Instruction: Russian

Five hours a week focusing on speaking, listening, reading and writing Russian, with an introduction to Russian culture. No previous knowledge of Russian expected.

SLAVIC 203 – Third Semester Russian

(4 credits)

Section 001: MTWRF 9:55-10:45 am 375 Van Hise Hall Instructor: TBD
Section 002: MTWRF 1:20-2:10 pm 375 Van Hise Hall Instructor: TBD

Prerequisites: Slavic 102 or equivalent. Open to first-year students.

Five hours a week focusing on speaking, listening, reading and writing Russian, with continued study of Russian culture.

SLAVIC 207 – Third Semester Polish

MTWF 11:00-11:50 am 386 Van Hise Hall Ewa Miernowska (4 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 112 or consent of instructor. Open to first-year students.

Reading, conversation exercises, and grammar review.

LIT TRANS 233 – Russian Life and Culture Through Literature and Art (to 1917)

(3 credits/4 credits if enrolled for discussion section)

Section 001 (LEC w/Discussion): MWF 2:25-3:15 pm 375 Van Hise Hall Jennifer Tishler
- Discussion Section: T 2:25-3:15 pm 487 Van Hise Hall

Section 002 (LEC Only): MWF 2:25-3:15 pm 375 Van Hise Hall Jennifer Tishler

Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Tishler, Faculty Associate (Associate Director of CREECA)

Lit Trans 233 presents an introduction to the culture of Russia—its art and architecture, folklore, literature, music, religious life, and philosophy—from its origins through the beginning of the twentieth century. As we move through nearly one thousand years of Russian civilization, we will pay special attention to such recurring themes as the myth of Russia’s cultural hospitality, the theme of authoritarianism and reactions against authoritarianism, the concept of a Russian “people,” the status of women in Russian society, the views of “outsiders” to Russia (in the form of letters and essays written by non-Russians about Russia) and the acceptance or rejection of cultural values and innovations as “Western” or “Eastern,” “Russian” or “foreign.”

Students may take this class for either three or four credits. Students enrolled in LIT TRANS 233 for four credits complete all regular assignments and will also be required to:

Write a research paper of 10-15 pages on a topic selected in consultation with the instructor
Attend Tuesday meetings, to be held approximately every other Tuesday, and more frequently at the end of the semester. The purpose of these meetings will be to provide information, support, and guidance on the research project and also to allow students to learn about campus resources on Russian culture, such as Memorial Library, the Chazen Museum, and the Wisconsin State Historical Society. Therefore, these will not be run as traditional “discussion sections.”

Learning Outcomes:

- - Students will be able to identify and summarize important features of Russian cultural history from its origins to 1917, with an emphasis on the interaction between culture and the development of Russian politics and society.
  - Students will be able to identify and summarize significant works of Russian “high art” (e.g., painting, literature) as well as mass culture or popular culture (folklore and the culture of the everyday) and to think about the connections between them.
  - Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge about Russian culture by writing two analytical essays.
  - Students will be able to think more critically about the “functions” (artistic, social, and political) of Russian culture through discussions and writing assignments.

SLAVIC 245/LIT TRANS 247 – The Evil Empire? Reading Putin’s Russia

TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm 594 Van Hise Hall Kirill Ospovat (3 credits)

This course, situated between literary, political, cultural, and art studies, addresses contemporary Russia and the symbolic patterns that govern its erratic and seemingly irrational policies. We draw on political theory and investigative journalism as well as contemporary Russian film, fiction, and art in order to explore the peculiar, yet not unprecedented cult of violence that underlies Putin’s regime. We examine the origins of this cult in Russian imperial and Soviet culture and its implications for our understanding of current events.

SLAVIC 251 – Third Semester Serbo-Croatian

MWF 9:55 -10:45 am 159 Van Hise Hall Instructor: TBD (4 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 142 or consent of instructor. Open to first-year students.

Continuation of 142. Focus on developing proficiency in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Serbo-Croation.

SLAVIC 275 – Third Year Russian I

(4 credits)

Section 001: MWF 9:55-10:45 am 579 Van Hise Hall Alexandra Walter
Section 002: MWF 1:20-2:10 pm 395 Van Hise Hall Sergey Karpukhin

Prerequisites: Slavic 118, 204, or equivalent.

SLAVIC 277/Slavic 278 – Third Year Polish I/II

MWF 9:55 -10:45 am 223 Ingraham Hall Lukasz Wodzynski (3 credits/3 credits)

Prerequisites:

Slavic 277 – Third Year Polish I: Slavic 208 or consent of instructor. Open to first-year students.
Slavic 278 – Third Year Polish II: Slavic 208

Review of Polish grammar. Reading, oral practice, and composition.

SLAVIC 301 – Intro to Intensive Polish

MWF 12:05-12:55 pm 483 Van Hise Hall Ewa Miernowska (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Junior standing. Open to Freshman and Sophomores with consent of instructor.

Language of Instruction: Polish

The course teaches MODERN STANDARD POLISH. It practices reading, writing, speaking, and oral comprehension at the beginning (September, October) and intermediate level (November, December). The focus will be on oral communication, on learning grammatical patterns and building up active vocabulary. Great course for Polish native speakers who want to quickly review Polish grammar. After completing this course students can take Fourth semester of Polish (Slavic 208) or Advanced Polish class (Slavic 277).

Required Texts:

- - Textbook Polish 301 at University Book Store
  - Oscar E. Swan, Polish Verbs and Essentials of Grammar, McGraw-Hill, 2009
  - Dictionary (suggested Collins Polish Dictionary)

SLAVIC 315 – Russian Language And Culture I

TR 1:20-2:10 pm 395 Van Hise Hall Anna Tumarkin (2 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 or equivalent.

Emphasizes speaking and listening skills, helping students to converse on different stylistic levels, with varying degrees of formality, according to the rules of Russian speech etiquette.

SLAVIC 321 – Fourth Year Russian I

MWF 1:20-2:10 pm 475 Van Hise Hall Irina Shevelenko (4 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 276 or consent of instructor.

SLAVIC 331/Slavic 332 – Fourth Year Polish I/II

MWF 9:55 -10:45 am 223 Ingraham Hall Lukasz Wodzynski (3 credits/3 credits)

Prerequisites:

Slavic 331 – Fourth Year Polish I: Slavic 278 or consent of instructor. Open to first-year students.
Slavic 332 – Fourth Year Polish II: Slavic 331

Extensive reading, discussion, composition, and grammar review.

SLAVIC 362/CURRIC 362/THEATRE 362 – Drama For Teaching An Learning

(3 credits)

Lab 001: MW 4:00-5:30 pm Location: TBD Manon van de Water
Lab 002: TR 4:00-5:30 pm 1090 Vilas Hall Manon van de Water

This is a methods course useful for all involved in teaching and learning, including foreign languages. Introduction to philosophy, methodology, and practice of the use of drama and performance techniques in any educational or recreational settings. Focus on creativity and embodied and contextual learning, based on current neurological, psychological, and sociological research. A practical class which includes demonstration and practice with children.

SLAVIC 405/LIT TRANS 205/GEN&WS 205 – Women in Russian Literature

MWF 11:00-11:50 am 155 Van Hise Hall Karen Evans-Romaine (3 credits/4 credits for SLAVIC 405)

Slavic 405 discussion section: T 11:00 – 11:50 am (for 4^th credit)

This course will focus on gender dynamics, family, women’s fates and roles in Russian history, and the portrayal of women in Russian literature by men and women from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. We will examine works of poetry and prose, from fiction to memoir to political tracts, from the point of view of gender roles and portrayals, sex, family, and career in a society that has undergone radical changes. We will explore such questions as: Who is portrayed as the ideal Russian/Soviet man or woman? How have political and social turmoil affected their roles and relationships? Who is portrayed as transgressing societal norms, and how? What happens to these transgressors, and to those who decline to transgress? To what degree are the sexes divided, and to what degree do they blend? How is family defined? When is private life no longer private? What constitutes social and sexual freedom? We will also discuss many other aspects of these rich and thought-provoking texts.

SLAVIC 422/LIT TRANS 222 – Fyodor Dostoevsky

MWF 12:05- 12:55 pm (with discussion section) 224 Ingraham Hall Andrew Reynolds (4 credits)

Discussion Section: T 12:05-12:55pm 3425 Sterling Hall (dates to be confirmed)

This class as a whole has three major objectives:

- 1. To acquaint students with the major works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the most influential novelists in world literature.
  2. To acquaint students with the history, culture, and politics of pre-1917 Russia, and to show the relevance of Dostoevsky’s analyses to our time.
  3. To introduce students to various critical approaches to the study of literature and to help them read, analyze, and write about complex literary works.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is generally considered to be one of the greatest novelists in world literature. His insights into human psychology and his analysis of the political and spiritual climate of 19^th-century Russia (and of European thought more broadly) have influenced many major writers and philosophers, from Freud and Nietzsche to Faulkner and Camus. We will study some of his early works, including the seminal Notes from Underground, one of the most important proto-existentialist works, but our focus will be on three of his greatest novels. The Idiot provides particularly revealing insights into human psychology and sexuality and foregrounds many of the complex and problematic elements of Dostoevsky’s religious thought; Demons (also known as The Possessed or The Devils) is an increasingly relevant analysis of, among other things, political terrorism, and, together with his masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov, foretells the rise of totalitarianism.

This course should be of interest and relevance to anyone studying Russian society or history, or indeed for anyone with an interest in literature. Dostoevsky’s works are also, of course, direct encounters with the “accursed questions” of life, love, evil, violence, sex, death and the other usual suspects. As always in my classes, the main focus will be on the individual reader’s close encounter with the aesthetics and ethics of these works.

Required Texts:

Notes from Underground. Trans by Michael Katz. Norton Critical Editions. Second Edition (2000).
The Idiot. Trans. by Alan Myers. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford University Press; Reprint Paperback edition (August 1, 2008)
Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Vintage Classics). Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Paperback, 1995.
The Brothers Karamazov. Ed. Susan McReynolds Oddo, Trans. Garnett/Matlaw/Oddo. Norton Critical Edition, Second Edition, 2011.

THEATRE 423/LIT TRANS 423 – In Translation: Slavic Drama in Context

Time: TWR 6:00 – 9:00 pm Location: 1090 Vilas Hall Manon van de Water (3 credits)

Revizor Revisited based on Nikolai Gogol

In Russian and English and a Combination Thereof

A participatory and experiential course that culminates in a production of : Excerpts of

The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol.

Enrollment by consent Instructor only: contact mvandewa@wisc.edu

Course carries 3 credits. Rehearsal times, including some weekends, TBA based on availability of students. Performances aimed for the first week in November.

This is an Ensemble Experience; every member of the class has to be fully involved.

THEATRE 426/CURRIC 426 – History, Theory, And Dramatic Criticism In Theatre For Young Audiences: An International Perspective

TR 2:25-3:40 pm 1651 Mosse Humanities Building Manon van de Water (3 credits)

In the United States, theatre for children and youth is often perceived as a second class citizen, a stepping stone to the “real” world of theatre at most, but more often a place for less talented theatre artists who make theatre for less critical audiences. Whether this perception is accurate or due to ideological convictions and the encompassing material circumstances under which theatre for young people in this county is generated and perceived can be illuminated by looking at theatre for young people in other countries and continents.

U.S. practitioners and theorists in theatre for youth are rather isolated from many exciting developments in the non-English speaking theatre world. In this class we will examine companies, plays, and artists working for children and youth in select non-English speaking countries. We will consider the ideologies and circumstances that inform these artists’ work, situating it in the cultural and material context under which this work is generated and perceived. Additionally, we will look at shifting notions and representations of child and childhood in content and form. The ultimate goal of the class is to take a close look at the interdependence of meaning and material conditions by placing the work in a broad social, cultural, and material context in which we may contest generally held conceptions on the place and function of theatre for children and youth in society.

The class will merge theory, history, and practice. Class materials will include original translations of plays, web research, archival material, and audiovisuals. Each student will select a focus area outside of the United States. Students will give a full report to the class, which includes a brief history and the assessment of current place and function, company(s) of interest, and discussion of play(s) and other issues. The latter half of the class will be a practical project around the Dutch play House of Dreams.

For questions regarding this course please contact Manon van de Water: mvandewa@wisc.edu

SLAVIC 433 – History of Russian Culture

MWF 12:05-12:55 pm 374 Van Hise Hall Sergey Karpukhin (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 322

First in a two-semester course sequence, this course focuses on those topics in Russian cultural history that are most often discussed by Russians and serve as the basis for contemporary political and media discourse.

SLAVIC 441 – Third Semester Intensive Serbo-Croatian

MWF 9:55-10:45 am 159 Van Hise Hall Instructor: TBD (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 342. Graduate status or consent of instructor.

Advanced reading and discussion, primarily twentieth century Serbian and Croatian literature.

SLAVIC 454/LIT TRANS 454 – Moderna Srpska I Hrvatska Literatura/History Of Serbian And Croatian Literature

MWF 12:05 -12:55 pm 3425 Sterling Hall Instructor: Milan Simić (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 342 or equivalent.

SLAVIC 454: Continuation of Slavic 449, from 1919 until the present. Study of major twentieth-century writers. Readings in Serbo-Croatian.

LIT TRANS 454: Major literary movements of Serbian and Croatian literature from the medieval period until the formation of the Yugoslav state in 1919.

SLAVIC 470/LIT TRANS 215/LIT TRANS 471 – Love and Death at the Heart of Europe: Polish Literature in Translation

(former: Polish Literature: 14th-Mid-19th Century)

MWF 1:20-2:10 pm 575 Van Hise Hall Lukasz Wodzynski (3 credits)

Poland’s fascinating and turbulent history produced one of the most unique European cultures. From medieval religious songs to late nineteenth century decadent poetry, Polish literature has always struggled with the fundamental mysteries of human existence, leaving in its trail unique tales of heroism, sacrifice, enchantment, despair, passion, and the redeeming power of love. In this course you will be introduced to major traditions, narratives, and ideas that have shaped and defined Polish culture from its beginnings to the First World War (1914-1918). The course is designed to give you broad and contextualized knowledge of Polish culture by means of engaging you in careful readings of the source material.

Readings in Polish (Slavic 470) and in English (Lit Trans 215/471).

SLAVIC 560 (Seminar) – Capstone Seminar In Russian Literature and Culture

TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm 583 Van Hise Hall Anna Tumarkin (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Slavic 322 and one 400-level course in Russian literature or culture. Consent of instructor.

Conducted entirely in Russian. Designed for advanced students of Russian to study an aspect of Russian literature or culture in depth. Topics vary.

SLAVIC 707 – Foundations In Russian Realism (~1840-1890s)

T 2:30-5:30 pm 1411 Van Hise Hall Kirill Ospovat (3 credits)

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.

This course provides students with a deep knowledge of the masterworks of the 19th century and the broader literary, historical,political, intellectual and cultural contexts in which they arose and which they shaped.

SLAVIC 755 – Topics in Slavic Literature: Intro to REECAS

R 4:00-5:30 pm 206 Ingraham Hall Jennifer Tishler (1 credit)

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.

SLAVIC 800 (Seminar) – Proseminar-Slavic Literature And Culture

F 2:30-3:45 pm 355 Van Hise Hall Irina Shevelenko (1 credit)

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.

The purpose of this course is three-fold: an introduction to the faculty in our department, an introduction to the Slavic field in general, and an introduction to research methods in Slavic.

SLAVIC 801 – Slavic Critical Theory And Practice

M 2:30 – 5:00 pm 479 Van Hise Hall Andrew Reynolds (3 credits)

This course introduces students to the original works of major trends representing literary theory in the Slavic world and wider: formalism, structuralism, semiotics, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, gender-based theory and other relevant theories that have influenced the way we treat literature as a cultural and aesthetic practice.

It is essential that graduate students in possess a good knowledge of literary theory if they are to be competitive in a literary market place that once again places a premium on knowledge of a multiplicity of approaches to the study of literature. Given that modern literary theory essentially arose in Eastern and Central Europe, it is surprising that so many Slavists are dismissive of theory. Students ought to have an open-minded approach to the pros and cons of different theoretical perspectives. Moreover, Western scholars who use the writings of the main Slavic contributions to theory (the Russian Formalists, structuralists, semioticians, various theories of intertextuality, and Bakhtin) often have an imperfect and incomplete understanding of these texts. This course, by providing a solid foundation for our students’ further study of theory, reminds us that it is not impossible that Slavists may once again play a leading role in thinking about the global rather than local disputes of what it means to write and read works of literature, and is offered in the hope that such knowledge may once again serve as a model for innovative work throughout the humanities, as was the case during the years when “Theory” was central to much of the best work in the humanities.

Required Texts:

David H. Richter, The Critical Tradition (Third Edition). (Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 2006).
Harold Bloom, The Anxiety of Influence. (2^nd edition, Oxford University Press, 1997)

Professor: Andrew Reynolds
Office: 1436 Van Hise Hall
Office hours: M 11:00-11.50, F 1:00-2:00, and by appointment.
Contact: awreynolds@wisc.edu; awmreynolds@gmail.com

SLAVIC 820 – College Teaching Of Russian

R 2:30-3:45 pm 490 Van Hise Hall Anna Tumarkin (1 credit)

Prerequisites: Teaching assistant in Russian. Graduate/professional standing.

This course is designed and required for current Slavic Department Russian-language Teaching Assistants and provides important professional development in course design, lesson planning, and assessment. Course participants work cooperatively to develop course activities and assessment instruments, and will learn how to identify and solve problems in the classroom.

SLAVIC 900 (Seminar) – Seminar: Slavic Literature And Culture: Russian Realism

W 2:30-5:00 pm [Sep 4 – Dec 11 (AOE)] 1411 Van Hise Hall Kirill Ospovat (1 credit)

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing.

Advanced level graduate seminar on topics related to Slavic literature and culture.

THE FOLLOWING COURSE ARE OFFERED AS INDEPENDENT STUDY OPTIONS.

SLAVIC 699 – Directed Study (1-6 credits)
- IND 004: Halina Filipowicz
- IND 005: David Danaher
- IND 007: Karen Evans-Romaine
- IND 008: Alexander Dolinin
- IND 012: David Bethea
SLAVIC 799 – Independent Study (1-6 credits)
- IND 008: Alexander Dolinin
- IND 012: David Bethea
- IND 013: Andrew Reynolds
SLAVIC 991 – Individual Research-Slavic Literature (1-12 credits)
- IND 002: Irina Shevelenko
- IND 007: Karen Evans-Romaine
- IND 008: Alexander Dolinin
- IND 012: David Bethea
- IND 019: Tomislav Longinovic

Note: These courses require consent of instructor.

For questions regarding these courses please contact your instructor or contact us at: info@gns.wisc.edu