Slavic Courses – Spring 2026

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 am
• Lecture 002: MTWRF 12:05 – 12:55 pm
• Lecture 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)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 11:00 – 11:50 am

Instructor: Krzystof Borowski

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

Prerequisites: None

(Meets-with GNS 370.)

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWRF 9:55 – 10:45 am
• Lecture 002: MTWRF 12:05 – 12:55 pm

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)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 12:05 – 12:55 pm

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Continuation of SLAVIC 207 — Third Semester Polish.

Prerequisites: None

(Meets-with Slavic 304.)

(Meets-with Slavic 304.)

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

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.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 1:00 – 2:15 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: Poland and Europe 1914-1945. Even as we emerge from a devastating global health crisis and face the uncertain future, with the world on the edge, we find that the traumas, issues, and concepts engendered by two World Wars continue to haunt us, even a century later. We once again find ourselves in difficult times, marked by social, cultural, religious, and economic tensions. In this course, we will examine how cultural texts – including literature, film, theatre, painting, and sculpture – produced during, between, and after the two wars – deal with the extreme and everyday experiences, with shattered worlds of individuals, ethnicities, and nations. This course concentrates on 20th -century Polish culture. All the readings and materials are available in English.

Prerequisites: None.

(Breadth: Literature, Humanities; Honors option available)

(3 credits)

• Lecture 002: TR 9:30 – 10:45 am

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: Get CREDIT for watching and discussing MOVIES! No final paper, no final exam, no prior knowledge required — instead, a multimedia final project and a series of video assignments. All course content and materials provided by the instructor and in English or with English subtitles.

What makes comedy a powerful political tool? Can laughter become a weapon against totalitarian regimes? How do comedy and humor help subvert power relations in society?

We explore these and similar questions by analyzing political comedy in various formats (film, television, literature, music, internet memes, etc.) using examples from modern Polish culture.

Due to its strong tradition of political comedy amidst a turbulent history — wars, communism, totalitarian rule, and social protests — Poland is uniquely positioned to serve as a cultural case study of how individuals and societies can embrace and survive change, political turmoil, and an uncertain future.

This course is open to students at all levels. All reading and materials will be available in English. No purchase of textbooks or other learning materials required.

No background in Polish or Slavic studies, or languages necessary — everyone interested in comedy and/or politics is welcome!

(3 credits)

• Lecture 003: 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.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm
• Discussion 301: W 9:55 – 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 contemporary global 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). Guest speakers from UW-Madison programs will be invited to lead classes on topics related to the course themes.

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)

• Lecture 001: MWF 1:20 – 2:10 pm

Instructor: Sara Karpukhin

Course Description: ELEMENTARY SPECIAL TOPICS IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE & CULTURE. Exploration of various topics – periods, genres, individual writers, themes, problems, etc. in Russian and Eastern European literature.

(Crosslisted with LitTrans 266.)

(3 credit)

• Lecture 001: MWF 8:50 – 9:40 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.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: In this course, students explore both traditional and evolving notions of culture in Poland, review grammar, and build vocabulary related to the cultural topics studied. The course places a strong emphasis on speaking and reading. Reading assignments include short stories, press articles, poetry, and a novel. Additionally, the program incorporates films, music, and visual arts.

Open to Freshmen

Prerequisites: Slavic 208 or a placement test.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: In this course, students explore both traditional and evolving notions of culture in Poland, review grammar, and build vocabulary related to the cultural topics studied. The course places a strong emphasis on speaking and reading. Reading assignments include short stories, press articles, poetry, and a novel. Additionally, the program incorporates films, music, and visual arts.

Open to Freshmen

Prerequisites: Slavic 208 or a placement test.

(4 credits)

• Lecture 001: MTWR 12:05 – 12:55 pm

Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

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)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

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)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: In this course, students explore both traditional and evolving notions of culture in Poland, review grammar, and build vocabulary related to the cultural topics studied. The course has a strong emphasis on reading and speaking. The reading assignments are based on short stories, press articles, poetry, and a novel. Assignments will contain discussion questions, reading/listening comprehension activities, lexical, and grammar exercises.

Prerequisites: Slavic 305.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: 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)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: In this course, students explore both traditional and evolving notions of culture in Poland, review grammar, and build vocabulary related to the cultural topics studied. The course places a strong emphasis on speaking and reading. Reading assignments include short stories, press articles, poetry, and a novel. Additionally, the program incorporates films, music, and visual arts.

Open to Freshmen

Prerequisites: Slavic 208 or a placement test.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 2:30 – 3:45 pm

Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: In this course, students explore both traditional and evolving notions of culture in Poland, review grammar, and build vocabulary related to the cultural topics studied. The course places a strong emphasis on speaking and reading. Reading assignments include short stories, press articles, poetry, and a novel. Additionally, the program incorporates films, music, and visual arts.

Open to Freshmen

Prerequisites: Slavic 208 or a placement test.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: TR 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

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)

• Lecture 001: 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)

• Lecture 001: 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)

• Lecture 001: 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: None

(2 credits)

• Lecture 001: M 2:30 – 5:00 pm

Instructor: Irina Shevelenko

Course Description: This course introduces graduate students with advanced competence in modern Russian to major works of medieval and early modern literature of Eastern Slavic provenance, from the eleventh through seventeenth centuries. Students read primary texts in the original or in translation into modern Russian. Secondary readings provide students with the historical background and showcase a variety of scholarly approaches to medieval texts.

(3 credits)

• Lecture 001: F 2:30 – 5:00 pm

Instructor: Andrew Reynolds

Course Description: This course introduces students to the original works of major trends representing literary theory in the Slavic world and wider: formalism, materialism, 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. 

(2 credits)

• Lecture 001: MR 11:00 – 11:50 am

Instructor: Irina Shevelenko

Course Description: This course introduces students with advanced competence in modern Russian to Old Church Slavonic (OCS) and its impact on the formation of Russian literary language. In the first part of the course, emphasis is placed on comparing OCS morphology, syntax, and patterns of word formation with those of modern Russian and on achieving basic reading knowledge of OCS and of the Russian version of Church Slavonic that emerged from it. In the second part of the course, the focus shifts to the impact of OCS on the formation of Russian literary language in the course of the eighteenth century, and to the presence and function of OCS vocabulary and morphological patterns in modern Russian language.

(1 credit)

• Lecture 001: 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: Teaching assistant in Russian. Graduate or professional standing.

(3 credits)

• Seminar 001: T 2:30 – 5:00 pm

Instructor: Kirill Ospovat

Course Description: SEMINAR: SLAVIC LITERATURE AND CULTURE. Seminar topics related to Slavic literature and culture.

Prerequisites: Graduate/professional standing