Slavic Courses Spring 2024

(4 credits)

MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 AM 

Instructor: Anna Tumarkin 

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.

(4 credits)

• SEC 001: MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 AM 
• SEC 002: MTWRF 12:05 – 12:55 PM
• SEC 003: MTWRF 1:20 – 2:10 PM 

Instructor: Anna Tumarkin 

Course Description: Continuation of SLAVIC 101.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 101. Open to first-year students.

(4 credits)

MTWR 12:05 – 12:55 PM

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Continuation of SLAVIC 111 — First Semester Polish.

(4 credits)

• SEC 001: MTWRF 1:20 – 2:10 PM 
• SEC 002: MTWRF 11:00 – 11:50 AM 

Instructor: Anna Tumarkin 

Course Description: Continuation of SLAVIC 203.

Prerequisites: SLAVIC 203. Open to first-year students.

(This course is also offered to graduate students as SLAVIC 304.)

(4 credits)

MTWR 11:00 – 11:50 AM 

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Development of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in Polish, with continued study of Polish culture.

(3 credits)

MTWR 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: David Danaher

Course Description: The course is a continuation of 217/451; complete of 217/451 or its equivalent serves as a necessary prerequisite. The course is designed to further develop communicative skills in Czech: speaking, reading, listening, and writing. The course continues to move students through the B1 level (in the Common European Framework) of learning another language. It is thematically organized by lessons in the intermedate textbook Krok za krokem / Czech Step by Step: units 3-7. Another main text for the course will be the Czech film Musíme si pomáhat / Divided We Fall (Jan Hřebejk, 2000). All students will be responsible for mateirals in Step by Step and also for work with the film; tests will cover both. The instructional mode for this course is face-to-face meetings (four hours per week) and time devoted to homework; credit hours are therefore met according to the Carnegie definition.

Prerequisites: Slavic 217/451 or equivalent

(3 credits) 

MW 2:30 – 3:45 PM 

Instructor: Oksana Stoychuk 

Course Description: Since the early 1990s, there has been an explosion of women’s writing in Central and Eastern Europe greater than in any other cultural period. This is due to the fact that women in this region have experienced more cataclysmic transformations than most of their contemporaries in Western Europe. This course focuses on the question of how women writers have responded to the collapse of communism, searching in their work for new forms of posttotalitarian identities – national, cultural or sexual, creating the new empowered female voices. We will read a number of contemporary Central and Eastern European women writers and trace narrative manifestations of the women’s struggle against different forms of authority: political regimes, religion, cultural hegemony, and patriarchy. In addition to works of fiction, we will read articles, interviews, and other secondary sources to achieve a general understanding of contemporary politics, cultural conflict, and gender roles in Central and Eastern Europe.

Prerequisites: Open for everyone. No knowledge of the German language is required for this class.

(3 credits) 

TR 1:00 – 2:15 PM 

Instructor: Lukasz Wodzynski 

Course Description: How do we define adventure, and who gets to experience it? What role has it played in modern culture? What do adventure stories tell us about our values and changing attitudes to risk and violence? We will address these and similar questions on our intellectual journey through some of the most iconic adventures in Western cultural tradition, from The Odyssey to Indiana Jones, and beyond.

Prerequisites: None

(The course meets the Literature requirement)

(3 credits)

MW 4:00 – 5:00 PM

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Polish migration to the Americas, including the United States, has a long and rich tradition. This course surveys the historical, political, and sociological factors that brought millions of Poles across the Atlantic Ocean. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, we will examine the history and cultural legacy of that transnational movement in the Americas in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States.

Prerequisites: None. All readings in English. No language knowledge required.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S)

(4 credits)

• LECTURE: TR 2:30 – 3:45 PM
• DISCUSSION 301: W 8:55 – 10:45 AM 
• DISCUSSION 302: W 11:00 – 11:50 AM 
• DISCUSSION 303: W 1:20 – 2:10 PM
• DISCUSSION 304: W 2:25 – 3:15 PM

Instructor: David Danaher

Course Description: The theme of the course will be the culture of dissent in Czechoslovakia and Poland. That is, we will be looking at the “dissident” period in these countries—the 1960s through the late 1980s—primarily through the lens of literature and film, but within a broader interdisciplinary approach. Historical background will be provided as necessary, but the main emphasis in this course will fall on a humanities reading of dissent. This approach will involve problematizing the notion of dissent by suggesting that it is not tied to one particular time and place (to one historical -ism). Ideally, we will be able to view the subject not so much as an object of historical investigation (from a 21st-century American perspective), but as something relevant to our own lives that teaches us something about ourselves, and we might take from the course a working definition of dissent that we could apply to modern American society. A motif running throughout the course will be a focus on “faces of dissent” or the stories of individuals involved as “dissidents” in the countries under consideration.

This is a cross-listed, interdisciplinary course sponsored through UW-Madison’s Center for Russian, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA). Funding from CREECA has allowed us to invite experts from the UW system and other universities to lecture on topics related to the course. A good number of the course lectures, particularly on Poland, will be presented by these speakers; please see the profile page of guest speakers on the course Canvas site.

The discussion section, taught by the course teaching assistant, is integral to the course. Active participation by students in discussion will be expected.

The course is 4cr; it is credit type C at the elementary level and does not have prerequisites. It fulfills either the Humanities or Social Sciences breadth requirement for L&S. The instructional mode for this course is face-to-face meetings (four hours per week of class time) with time devoted to homework; credit hours are met according to the traditional Carnegie definition.

(3 credits) 

MWF 1:20 – 2:10 PM 

Instructor: Sara Karpukhin 

(3 credits)

MWF 9:55 – 10:45 AM 

Instructor: Alexandra Walter

Course Description: A 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. The goals of this course are to improve students’ reading fluency, writing skills, and command of Russian grammar and structure. We will focus on the use of complex syntax and undertake a thorough review of several major aspects of Russian grammar (including the imperative, verbal aspect, participles, comparatives and verbs of motion). Grammar topics will be presented and practiced using the textbook Panorama. In addition, grammatical forms will be contextualized by reading literary works as well as songs and articles. While the development of speaking skills is not a primary goal of this course (as it is in Slavic 315/316), class discussion of grammar, lexicon, and texts will be largely conducted in Russian.

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM

Instructor: Ewa Miernowska 

Course Description: The aim of the course is to help students to extend their knowledge of the language, as well as to enhance their literacy skills, and cultural awareness. Class activities are largely based on contemporary Polish prose and on articles from the Polish press related to contemporary Polish society. Students expend their vocabulary by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. The syllabus includes working on grammar with written exercises and compositions. The course has a strong emphasis on speaking. Students work in groups, make presentations, and debate different issues in class discussions. A study of Polish culture is offered also through films, music and media.

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 OR placement test for other students including Freshmen.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts for the Slavic Certificate)

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: Ewa Miernowska 

Course Description: The aim of the course is to help students to extend their knowledge of the language, as well as to enhance their literacy skills, and cultural awareness. Class activities are largely based on contemporary Polish prose and on articles from the Polish press related to contemporary Polish society. Students expend their vocabulary by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. The syllabus includes working on grammar with written exercises and compositions. The course has a strong emphasis on speaking. Students work in groups, make presentations, and debate different issues in class discussions. A study of Polish culture is offered also through films, music and media.

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 OR placement test for other students including Freshmen.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts for the Slavic Certificate)

(4 credits) 

MTWR 11:00 – 11:50 AM 

Course Description: Continuation of SLAVIC 207 — Third Semester Polish for graduate students. Includes additional work at the graduate level. Open to all graduate students and taken for graduate credit.

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 pm

Instructor: Ewa Miernowska 

Course Description: The aim of the course is to help students to extend their knowledge of the language, as well as to enhance their literacy skills, and cultural awareness. Class activities are largely based on contemporary Polish prose and on articles from the Polish press related to contemporary Polish society. Students expend their vocabulary by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. The syllabus includes working on grammar with written exercises and compositions. The course has a strong emphasis on speaking. Students work in groups, make presentations, and debate different issues in class discussions. A study of Polish culture is offered also through films, music and media.

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 OR placement test for other students including Freshmen.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts for the Slavic Certificate)

(3 credits) 

TR 1:00 – 2:15 PM

Instructor: Anna Tumarkin 

Course Description: The goals of this course are to improve students’ listening comprehension and speaking skills in Russian, focusing on the development of syntax and conversational patterns to increase the complexity and length of discourse students can understand and create. Students will discuss topics related to contemporary Russian culture and society and work with authentic reading and listening materials, including literary texts, newspaper articles, songs, and film.

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: Ewa Miernowska 

Course Description: The aim of the course is to help students to extend their knowledge of the language, as well as to enhance their literacy skills, and cultural awareness. Class activities are largely based on contemporary Polish prose and on articles from the Polish press related to contemporary Polish society. Students expend their vocabulary by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. The syllabus includes working on grammar with written exercises and compositions. The course has a strong emphasis on speaking. Students work in groups, make presentations, and debate different issues in class discussions. A study of Polish culture is offered also through films, music and media.

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 OR placement test for other students including Freshmen.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts for the Slavic Certificate)

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: Ewa Miernowska 

Course Description: The aim of the course is to help students to extend their knowledge of the language, as well as to enhance their literacy skills, and cultural awareness. Class activities are largely based on contemporary Polish prose and on articles from the Polish press related to contemporary Polish society. Students expend their vocabulary by engaging with texts from different genres, historical periods and perspectives. The syllabus includes working on grammar with written exercises and compositions. The course has a strong emphasis on speaking. Students work in groups, make presentations, and debate different issues in class discussions. A study of Polish culture is offered also through films, music and media.

Prerequisites: Slavic 204 OR placement test for other students including Freshmen.

(L&S Credit – Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S. Counts for the Slavic Certificate)

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: Andrew Reynolds 

Course Description: This course introduces students to the life and works of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), one of the most attractive and influential figures in Russian (and world) literature. We will study many of Chekhov’s major works (short stories, novellas, and plays) to gain a better sense of what literature is and why it is important to read literary texts. Russian culture is one where literature has always played a central role in the nation’s self-definitions, but Chekhov’s enduring popularity around the globe is evidence of his universal appeal and relevance. His innovations in the art of the short story and drama have changed, perhaps more than those of any other author, the ways modern literature functions and how plays are staged and acted in. One of the main features of this course will be to try to understand how Chekhov’s works are constructed and how they function. At the same time, we will learn much about the Russia of Chekhov’s time and the social, philosophical, and moral questions that concerned him and his contemporaries and their very different responses to what Russian writers call the “accursed questions”. We shall also discover that many of these dilemmas are still with us today; moreover, that Chekhov’s tolerance, objectivity, and empathy are invaluable at a time of increasing ideological polarization.

All readings will be in English.

Prerequisites: None. Open to first-year students.

(3 credits)

MWF 11:00 – 11:50 AM 

Instructor: Kirill Ospovat

Course Description: In this course, we read Tolstoy’s lengthier and shorter masterpieces, from War and Peace to The Strider, alongside some of his nonfictional manifestoes. We explore his techniques of representation and ethical stances and traced their evolution through Tolstoy’s long literary career. What were Tolstoy’s objections to sexuality and political reform? What is moral and beautiful? How does civilization and education relate to nature?  What does death say about life? These were some of the questions that we have investigated while reading Tolstoy’s manifold work.

(3 credits) 

MWF 12:05 – 12:55 PM 

Instructor: Sara Karpukhin 

Course Description: Second in a two-semester course sequence, this course focuses on those topics in modern Russian cultural history that are most often discussed by Russians and serve as the basis for contemporary political and media discourse. The primary aim of the course, the second one in a two-course sequence, is to offer an overview of those aspects of Russian history and culture which are most relevant in Russia today. The course will include a survey of the most important historical events of Russian history whose purpose is to introduce you to the discussion of Russian culture in Russian. There will be no separate discussion of grammar and I will not correct your grammar in conversation as long as everyone understands your meaning. We will continually practice all four skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing), but always in application to historical and cultural knowledge.

(3 credits)

MTWR 12:05 – 12:55 PM

Instructor: David Danaher 

(3 credits) 

MWF 11:00 – 11:50 AM 

Instructor: Sara Karpukhin

Course Description: A focus on development of reading, writing, and speaking skills and on the interpretation of texts in their historical and cultural context. This course is the final course in the Russian language sequence required for the Russian major (either Russian Language & Literature or Russian Language & Civilization). It will focus on development of reading, writing, and speaking skills in the interpretative (interpreting written and audio/video materials), interpersonal (speaking with others), and presentational (oral presentations to the class and written compositions) modes. The goal of this course is to enable students to progress in language proficiency from the Intermediate to the Advanced level in reading and listening, and to the Intermediate High level in speaking and writing. In addition, the course will enrich students’ cultural knowledge through reading and discussion of literary texts.

(3 credits)

MWF 8:50 – 9:40 AM

Instructor: Karen Evans-Romaine

Course Description: This advanced-level course focuses on improving students’ Russian proficiency in listening and speaking through contemporary media in Russian. The course provides students with basic knowledge and vocabulary in a variety of areas related to contemporary Russian-language media and culture necessary for a professional-level command of the language, regardless of the student’s discipline. Course modules will include recent Russian history (since perestroika); media, mass communications, and censorship; Russian domestic and foreign policy, with a focus on Russia’s war on Ukraine and its consequences; political opposition in Russia; economic issues; and contemporary culture(s) in countries where Russian is among the widely spoken languages. We will also discuss some American political and economic issues from a Russian point of view.

Prerequisites: Slavic 321 or the equivalent

(Advanced; L&S credit)

(3 credits) 

F 2:30 – 5:00 PM 

Instructor: Andrew Reynolds 

Course Description: This course introduces students to various trends in Russian Modernist literature, from the twilight of realism (Chekhov) and the birth of Symbolism in the 1890s through the 1930s. We will examine the aesthetic theories and creative practices of major representatives of various trends within Russian experimental literature during the earlier part of the 20th century. Students will acquire a solid foundation in the historical and philosophical groundings of the Russian Modernist imagination, will read a range of secondary sources addressing various aspects of the literary legacy of Russian Modernism, and will develop skills in textual analysis and interpretation. This course is lecture-based and reading intensive.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional standing.

SLAVIC 900-002

SLAVIC 900-002 is a 1-credit course that serves as a seminar add-on for SLAVIC 708 – Russian Modernism. It meets five times a semester in 150-minute class periods.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.

(3 credits) 

MWF 9:55 – 10:45 AM 

Instructor: Oksana Stoychuk 

Course Description: This course is an introduction to the Ukrainian language and culture. Through a mix of activities and assignments, students will acquire intermediate Ukrainian language skills in the four main areas: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Regular written and speaking tests will help you solidify your language skills while homework assignments will ensure you practice and learn the new material. You will also learn about regional particularities, when to use formal/informal language, and what colloquialisms Ukrainians like to use in everyday conversations. By learning the language in the larger context of Ukrainian culture, you will also acquire valuable cultural competence that will make your communication with Ukrainian speakers easier and more natural.

Prerequisites: Open for everyone. No knowledge of the Ukrainian language is required for this class.

(1 credit) 

R 2:30 – 3:45pm

Instructor: Anna Tumarkin

Course Description: This practicum course is designed for Russian Language Teaching Assistants and emphasizes topics related to the teaching of First- and Second-year Russian, including course design, lesson planning, and assessment development.

(3 credits) 

T 2:30 – 5:00 PM

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: How do we define the fantastic? Both the concept and its application in art have been theorized in various, often strikingly contradictory ways. In this course, we will explore various modalities of the fantastic in literature and film, drawing on East-Central European (Czech, Polish, and Russian) cultural traditions.

Prerequisites: Graduate students only

(1 credit) 

Instructor: Andrew Reynolds 

Course Description: SLAVIC 900-002 is a 1-credit course that serves as a seminar add-on for SLAVIC 708 – Russian Modernism. It meets five times a semester in 150-minute class periods.

Prerequisites: Graduate or professional student.