Slavic Courses Fall 2020

(4 credits)

• Section 001: MTWRF 9:55-10:45 am
• Section 002: ONLINE (MTWRF 11:00-11:50 am)
• Section 003: ONLINE (MTWRF 12:05-12:55 pm)
• Section 004: ONLINE (MTWRF 1:20-2:10 pm)

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

Prerequisites: Section 001 requires FIG 238 authorization. Sections 002, 003, 004 require none.

(4 credits)

• MTWF 11:00-11:50 am.          Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Introduction to Polish language focusing on speaking, listening, reading and writing  with an introduction to Polish  culture. For students who have not previously studied Polish.

Prerequisites: None.

(4 credits)

• MTWF 12:05-12:55 pm          Instructor: David Danaher

Course Description: Designed to help students acquire proficiency in Czech through understanding, speaking, reading and writing. For students who have not previously studied Czech.

Prerequisites: None.

(4 credits)

• Section 001: MTWRF 9:55-10:45 am
• Section 002: ONLINE (MTWRF 1:20-2:10 pm)

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

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 102 or appropriate score on the placement exam.

(3 credits)

• Section 001: ONLINE (TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm)          Instructor: Maksim Hanukai

Course Description: 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.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 002: ONLINE (MWF 1:20-2:10 pm)          Instructor: Kirill Ospovat

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 003: MWF 2:25-3:15 pm          Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: What is it like to be a migrant? Does your identity change as you move from one country to another? Can a nation exist (and even survive) outside of its borders We will explore these and similar questions by taking the rich Polish-American experience as our case study, examining diverse examples from Polish migrant and diaspora culture (film and literature) from the 19th century to the present. This course combines open discussions, digital and written storytelling, and critical analysis of cultural texts to foster a deeper understanding of the issues of migration, identity, and nation in culture and the world around us. No prerequisites; all readings and screenings in English.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 004: ONLINE (TR 2:30-3:45 pm)          Instructor: Marina Zilbergerts

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 005: ONLINE (TR 1:00 am-2:15 pm)          Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: What constitutes heroism in the absence of universally shared moral frameworks? Who are we as individuals? What responsibility do we have for the way we represent reality to ourselves and to others? What constitutes “good life”? Engage with these questions and examine Polish cinematic tradition from the Polish Film School to the present. Explore key works, themes, and creators of Polish cinema, and probe the ethical and existential dimensions these films open up.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 001: MWF 9:55-10:45 am                                Instructor: Alexandra Walter
• Section 002: ONLINE (MWF 1:20-2:10 pm)            Instructor: Karen Evans-Romaine

Course Description: A thorough review of several major aspects of Russian grammar, focusing on the use of complex syntax in speech and writing. Read and discuss literary works and other Russian-language texts. Students will develop writing proficiency through compositions on a variety of topics.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 118 or SLAVIC 204.

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am          Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Students expend their language proficiency  by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. Continued work on grammar and vocabulary with written exercises and compositions. Readings offer a variety of authentic materials: short stories, novels, poems, and press articles. The program includes also films, music and visual arts.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 208, appropriate score on the placement exam, or consent of instructor. Open to first-year-students.

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am          Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Students expend their language proficiency  by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. Continued work on grammar and vocabulary with written exercises and compositions. Readings offer a variety of authentic materials: short stories, novels, poems, and press articles. The program includes also films, music and visual arts.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 208, appropriate score on the placement exam, or consent of instructor. Open to first-year-students.

(3 credits)

• MWF 1:20-2:10 pm          Instructor David Danaher

Course Description: Do languages shape the way we think? For bicultural individuals, the answer to this question is obviously yes. Even, however, for students who have attained an intermediate- or advanced-level proficiency in another language, the idea that languages present different “pictures of the world”—that language and worldview often go hand-in-hand—seems self-evident. This course is both an introduction to semantic analysis (how do languages encode meaning?) as well as a content-based course in comparative ethnosemantics (to what extent does language shape the way we think and how can we systematically investigate this question?). Cross-linguistic case studies of the meaning of terms and concepts—everyday words like “home,” modes of conveying spatial orientation, words relating to human psychology, philosophy, morality, and spirituality—will serve as practical vehicles for an explanation and a discussion of the theory of a cultural approach to language. This course requires no formal background in linguistics. While no knowledge of a Slavic language will be necessary, proficiency in another language besides English would be helpful. For more information, see https://ethnolinguisticscourse.tumblr.com.

Prerequisites: Declared in honors program.

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am         Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Intensive coverage of the structure of the Polish language. Rapid introduction to reading and speaking.

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

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am          Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Vocabulary reinforced through literature, film and journalism. Readings and discussions related to issues of contemporary Polish society. Continued work on grammar and vocabulary with written exercises and compositions.

Prerequisites: Slavic 304, graduate student standing, or consent of instructor.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (TR 11:00-12:55 pm)          Instructor: Anna Tumarkin

Course Description: 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.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 204.

(4 credits)

• MWF 1:20-2:10 pm          Instructor: Sergey Karpukhin

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 276 or consent of instructor.

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am          Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Students expend their language proficiency  by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. Continued work on grammar and vocabulary with written exercises and compositions. Readings offer a variety of authentic materials: short stories, novels, poems, and press articles. The program includes also films, music and visual arts.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 278, appropriate score on the placement exam, or consent of instructor. Open to first-year-students.

(3 credits)

• MWF 9:55-10:45 am          Instructor: Ewa Miernowska

Course Description: Students expend their language proficiency  by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. Continued work on grammar and vocabulary with written exercises and compositions. Readings offer a variety of authentic materials: short stories, novels, poems, and press articles. The program includes also films, music and visual arts.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 331, appropriate score on the placement exam, or consent of instructor. Open to first-year-students.

(3 credits)

• MTWR 12:05-12:55 pm          Instructor: David Danaher

Course Description: Rapid introduction to Czech grammar, reading, and speaking.

Prerequisites: None.

(3 credits)

• TR 4:00-5:30 pm          Instructor: Manon Van de Water

Course Description: Methods 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.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or higher.

(4 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 9:55-10:45 am)          Instructor: Andrew Reynolds

Prerequisites: Slavic 276 or equivalent.

(4 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 12:05-12:55 pm)          Instructor: Andrew Reynolds

Prerequisites: Slavic 276 or equivalent

(3 credits)

• MWF 12:05-12:55 pm          Instructor: Sergey Karpukhin

Course Description: 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.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 322.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm)          Instructor: Maksim Hanukai

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

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 322 and one 400 level SLAVIC course.

(3 credits)

• T 2:30-5:00 pm          Instructor: Maksim Hanukai

Course Description: This course introduces students to Russian Romanticism and provides them with a solid foundation in both primary texts and secondary scholarship in the field.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.

(1 credits)

• ONLINE (R 4:00-5:30 pm)          Instructor: Jennifer Tishler

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.

(2 credits)

• WF 12:05-12:55 pm          Instructor: Karen Evans-Romaine

Course Description: Students will investigate the history of foreign language instruction, various models of adult foreign language acquisition, methods for teaching Russian, the creation of testing instruments, issues relevant to course design, and criteria for textbook selection.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.

(1 credits)

• R 2:30-3:45 pm          Instructor: Anna Tumarkin

Course Description: 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.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student. Teaching assistant in Russian.

(3 credits)

• Seminar 002: M 2:30-5:00 pm          Instructor: Irina Schevelenko

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.