German, Nordic, and Slavic Courses – Spring 2027
(4 credits)
- Lecture 001: MTWR 8:50 – 9:40 am
Instructor: Sunny Yudkoff
Course Description: Introduction to the Yiddish language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Emphasis on communication with attention to cultural and historical context.
GNS 406 is for students of graduate standing.
GNS 106 is crosslisted with JEWIST ST 106. GNS 406 is crosslisted with JEWISH ST 406.
Prerequisites: GNS/JEWISH 105
(3 credits)
- Lecture 001: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Instructor: Geoffrey Durham
(3 credits)
- Lecture 001: MWF 9:55 – 10:45 am
Instructor: Oksana Stoychuk
(3 credits)
- Lecture 002: MWF 1:20 – 2:10 pm
Instructor: Melissa Sheedy
Course Description: What do Disney, Shrek, the Nutcracker, and modern romantasy fiction all have in common? Regardless of audience and form, they all draw on and reimagine the elements, structures, and characters from fairy tales told around the world. From well-known storytellers and collectors like the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen to the invisible women behind their work, we will explore the genre of the fairy tale from its unwritten beginnings to canonical and popular versions printed, translated, and filmed across the globe. In this class, we will consider how familiar formulas are reimagined across time, cultures, and media. We will explore tales as part of larger “circles,” groups of adaptations over time, to trace how sociocultural values embedded in these stories shift over the years. We will consider intersections of gender, race, disability, sexuality, religion, nature, and the family, and explore how these depictions are shaped by the national, cultural, and personal circumstance of their tellers and re-tellers. Moving beyond Europe, we will examine the genre as a richly transcultural aspect of world literature. All materials and discussions will be in English.
Prerequisites: none
(3 credits)
- Lecture 003: MW 4:00 – 5:15 pm
Instructor: Gulnara Glowacki
Course Description: Dumplings, plov, and politics: how food tells the story of a whole region
What do a dumpling, a loaf of tandyr bread, and a bowl of tea have in common? In Central Asia, almost everything. Each one carries thousands of years of history from nomads moving across the steppe, caravans along the Silk Road, both Soviet Union and post-Soviet nation-building, famine and forced resettlement, migration and memory.
In this course we treat food as evidence, a source as rich as any document or artifact. Why did plov become a symbol of the Uzbek nation, and beshbarmak of the Kazakh? How did plowing up the steppe for wheat permanently change what is served on the table today? Why do countries compete to “own” a dish on UNESCO’s lists? And what lies behind the tired image of the “wild nomad” and stereotypes that this course will teach you to see straight through?
We’ll read anthropologists, historians, and archaeologists, watch films, and in a campus teaching kitchen, cook and taste dishes from the region ourselves, asking what they reveal about culture, hospitality, and identity. No prior knowledge of the region or its languages is required; just bring curiosity and a willingness to think.
Open to all majors
(4 credits)
- Lecture 001: MWF 8:50 – 9:40 am
Course Description: Second semester Turkish is designed for students who are interested in learning the modern Turkish language (“Istanbul dialect”) and cultures, and who have taken first semester Turkish (GNS 339) or have already a basic command of modern Turkish. Students will have the opportunity to practice the materials to increase their elementary level listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in line with the ACTFL proficiency guidelines for Turkish and based on the World-Readiness Standards.
Prerequisites: GNS 339 or consent of instructor. Turkish program coordinator e-mail: erbil@wisc.edu
Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts towards Middle East Studies Certificate and European Studies Certificate.
(3 credits)
- Lecture 001: TR 9:30 – 10:15 am
Instructor: Leonie Schulte
(4 credits)
- Lecture 001: MTWR 8:50 – 9:40 am
Instructor: Sunny Yudkoff
Course Description: Introduction to the Yiddish language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Emphasis on communication with attention to cultural and historical context.
GNS 406 is for students of graduate standing.
GNS 106 is crosslisted with JEWIST ST 106. GNS 406 is crosslisted with JEWISH ST 406.
Prerequisites: GNS/JEWISH 105
(4 credits)
- Lecture 001: MWF 2:25 – 3:15 pm
Instructor:
Course Description: Fourth Semester Turkish is designed for students who have studied three semesters of Turkish or its equivalent. This course is designed to help students develop intermediate competence in spoken and written Turkish. Emphasis is on listening comprehension, reading, speaking, writing, and cultural and historical knowledge in line with ACTFL proficiency guidelines for Turkish and the World-Readiness Standards. Knowledge of the grammatical structures taught in the first three semesters is assumed while we review them and introduce advanced grammar preferably in the context. You can expect to engage in group and pair work and to take part actively in class. Your ability to communicate in Turkish will increase as you apply yourself in class and even outside of the classroom. Turkish will be the primary language of the class although there could be instances where the instructor resorts to English for clarification. Any questions and concerns that require the use of English may be addressed after class time or during the instructor’s office hours.
Prerequisites: GNS 539 or consent of instructor. Turkish program coordinator e-mail: erbil@wisc.edu
Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts towards Middle East Studies Certificate and European Studies Certificate.
Eligible for FLAS funding.
(4 credits)
- Lecture 001: TR 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Instructor: Gulnara Glowacki
Course Description: This is an advanced mid-level Kazakh language course.
This course has two goals: firstly, it focuses on reviewing some of the topics of the prerequisite course and introducing more challenging vocabulary, improving usage, and comprehension in Kazakh. Lessons will be focused on reading texts, analyzing multimedia, and discussing special topics. Secondly, it introduces new topics which are focused on learning to communicate about abstract topics such as what is published in the news media, work etiquette, and politics among other topics as warranted.
The class activity is conducted primarily in Kazakh. The course will enhance your ability to read complex Kazakh texts more easily and to express yourself with greater confidence, clarity and precision both in writing and everyday conversation.
Prerequisites: GNS+ 531: Fifth Semester Kazakh
(3 credits)
- Lecture 001: F 1:20 – 3:15 pm
Instructor: Katerina Somers
Course Description: This course offers an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the theory, practice, and phenomena of translation. Humans are and always have been multilectal on both the individual and societal level; that is, they have command of multiple linguistic varieties of languages and dialects. As a corollary to this fact, the field of translation studies reflects the diversity of language and all the ways that people use it. In this course, we cover the major aspects of translation studies; our goal is to understand the discipline, its foundations and methodological tools, so students can investigate what interests them the most about translation. This course is open to graduate students, as well as undergraduates with junior standing. All students should have knowledge of at least one language that is not their first language.
(3 credits)
- Seminar 001: R 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Instructor: Dean Krouk
Course Description: This course promotes the academic and professional development of graduate students in the humanities, in particular in the fields of German, Scandinavian, and Slavic studies. Students critique and create documents such as conference presentations, CVs, research statements, grant proposals, teaching statements, book reviews, and others. We analyze and discuss what makes good academic writing in various fields. We familiarize ourselves with arguments about the value of the humanities in the twenty-first century. The seminar also includes visits from department faculty and alums to help participants think about academic and other career paths.