BCS 101 Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian I
An introduction to BCS, the primary language of the former Yugoslavia (also called Serbo-Croatian), this course develops the four major language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Class time is devoted to mastering conversational skills, grammar explanations, oral drilling, and reading a variety of texts—popular writing, fiction, poetry, and expository prose. Covers the fundamentals of BCS grammar (verbal conjugations, aspect, the primary verbal tenses, and all cases); high-frequency vocabulary will be progressively learned and reinforced. Knowledge of another Slavic language is not required. 5 mtgs/wkly.
PLS 101 Beginning Polish I
A beginner's course that introduces the student to three areas of competence in Polish: speaking, grammatical knowledge, listening and reading comprehension. Previous knowledge of other Slavic languages is advantageous, but not mandatory. Classes meet five times a week and combine lecture, recitation, and drill formats. The course will emphasize active language targeted at concrete practical contexts and communicative situations.
RUS 101 Beginner's Russian I; Class C01
Introduction to the essentials of Russian grammar. Presentation of grammar reinforced by oral practice of grammatical patterns. One hour per week devoted specifically to the development of oral skills. Five classes, one one-hour laboratory.
RUS 101 Beginner's Russian I; Class C02
Introduction to the essentials of Russian grammar. Presentation of grammar reinforced by oral practice of grammatical patterns. One hour per week devoted specifically to the development of oral skills. Five classes, one one-hour laboratory.
RUS 101 Beginner's Russian; Class C03
Introduction to the essentials of Russian grammar. Presentation of grammar reinforced by oral practice of grammatical patterns. One hour per week devoted specifically to the development of oral skills. Five classes, one one-hour laboratory.
PLS 102 Beginning Polish II
A continuation of PLS 101. This course continues to develop and refine the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), teaching all fundamental aspects of Polish grammar and basic communication skills on a variety of situations. As the course progresses, the rich Central European culture will be sampled through poetry, film and fictional, as well as expository prose.
RUS 102 Beginner's Russian II. Class C01
The objective of RUS 102 is to give a basic knowledge of Russian: basic training in speaking, reading, writing, and comprehending the Russian language in a cultural context.
RUS 102 Beginner's Russian II. Class C02
RUS 102 Beginner's Russian II. Class C03
RUS 105 Intermediate Russian I; Class C02
Grammar review; advanced grammar; introduction to word formation; expansion of vocabulary through readings of classical and modern fiction and history. One hour per week of translation and discussion of readings. Prerequisite: Successful completion of 102 of placement test at Princeton. Five classes, one one-hour laboratory.
RUS 105 Intermediate Russian I; Class C01
Grammar review; advanced grammar; introduction to word formation; expansion of vocabulary through readings of classical and modern fiction and history. One hour per week of translation and discussion of readings. Prerequisite: Successful completion of 102 of placement test at Princeton. Five classes, one one-hour laboratory.
BCS 107 Intermediate Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian II
A continuation of BCS 105. Advanced-level class with emphasis on oral and written communication; reading literary texts of interest to students; films
RUS 107 Intermediate Russian II
FRS 156 How to Make a Revolution in Russia: Ideas and Practices
RUS 207 Advanced Russian I; Class C01
Selected texts (nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry and prose, contemporary journalistic prose) with discussion and analysis in Russian. Four classes.
RUS 207 Advanced Russian I ; Class C02
Selected texts (nineteenth- and twentieth-century poetry and prose, contemporary journalistic prose) with discussion and analysis in Russian. Four classes.
RUS 208 Advanced Russian Reading II
Rus 209 Introduction to the History of the Russian Language
Introduction to the History of the Russian language is intended for undergraduates and graduate students in all fields, e.g. (Russian literature, history, linguistics) who are interested in the Russian language. The course's primary focus is how modern Russian emerged from Old Russian, which involves the history of the Russian sound system, as well as a survey of key changes in Russian word structure and sentence structure. Reading of Old Russ.
SLA 216/ANT 216 Russia Today
This course explores symbolic mechanisms and daily practices through which post-Soviet identities are constructed in contemporary Russia. We will look closely at such key concepts and institutions as ideology, space, crime, generation, and gender. What are the cultural contexts in which new identities emerge in today's Russia? What are the social, economic and cultural practices that influence this identity-construction process? To what extent does the Soviet cultural legacy still define the post-Soviet identity? Through fiction, film, and academic studies of post-Soviet life, we will analyze how Russia is being transformed.
SLA 219 History of Russian Literature before 1860
C. Emerson.
A survey in English of major literary developments and texts in Russian culture up tp the mid-19th century. After a brief introduction to Russian traditional texts (saints lives and folklore), the course concentrates on master prose writers of the Romantic and Realist periods: Pushkin, Gogol, Lermonotov and the early Dostoevsky.
SLA 219 Precept P01
SLA 219 Precept P02
SLA 219 Precept P03
SLA 219 Precept P04
SLA 220 The Great Russian Novel: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Beyond
A survey in English of Russian literature from the mid-19th century to the Soviet period. Authors read include Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bely and Nabokov. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Knowledge of Russian not required.
SLA 220 The Great Russian Novel
A survey in English of Russian literature from the mid-19th century to the Soviet period. Authors read include Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bely and Nabokov. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Knowledge of Russian not required.
SLA 221 Soviet Literature, 1917-1965
The course surveys major literary phenomena of the period between the October Revolution and the effective end of the Soviet Thaw. We will examine prose and poetry works of the Soviet left avant-garde, the so-called "fellow travelers" (Babel, Zamiatin, Pilniak, Platonov, Olesha), Stalinist socialist realism, its Thaw sequel, as well as what traditionally has been called "dissident" literature (Bulgakov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn). The discussion of these representative texts will be part of the process of general acquaintance with Soviet culture of the period in its various currents and phases. Two lectures and preceptorial.
SLA 221 Soviet Literature, 1917-1965
The course surveys major literary phenomena of the period between the October Revolution and the effective end of the Soviet Thaw. Two lectures and preceptorial.
COM 236 / ANT 236 / HLS 236 / SLA 236 Rituals, Songs, and Stories: Balkan and East European Oral Traditions
This course explores oral traditions and oral literary genres (in English translation) of the Balkan and East European world, both past and present. Topics include traditional rituals (life-cycle and seasonal) and the music and song associated with them, contemporary forms of traditional and popular culture, and oral traditional narrative: prose (folktale and legend) and poetry (epic and ballad). Discussion and analysis will focus on the roles and meanings of Balkan and East European oral traditions as forms of expressive culture.
SLA 238 Czeslaw Milosz, Joseph Brodsky: Poetry and History
Polish-born Czeslaw Milosz and Russian-born poet Joseph Brodsky both won Nobel Prizes in literature for the United States. In this course, which combines history of literature and intellectual history, we will treat their life stories as emblematic of historical, cultural, and political phenomena of the second part of the 20th century. On the basis of close textual analysis of major works by both poets, we will speak, among other things, about literary history, World War II, Polish-Russian relations, dominance of English-language poetry, growth of high culture in the United States, and the decline of exile.
SLA 239 Chekhov, Stanislavsky and Hollywood Film Acting
In this course we will examine the Russian roots of Hollywood film acting by studying Chekhov's major plays and the dramatic traditions, both in Russia and in the U.S., that grew out of Stanislavsky's stagings of those plays.
COM 236/SLA 236/HLS 236 Rituals, Songs, and Stories: Balkan and East European Oral Traditions
This course explores oral traditions and oral literary genres (in English translation) of the Balkan and East European world, both past and present. Discussion and analysis will focus on the roles and meanings of Balkan and East European oral traditions as forms of expressive culture.
SLA 308 The Russian Short Story
This course traces the development of the Russian 19th century short story. The course is conducted in Russian. Special emphasis is placed on active use of the language, both written and oral.
SLA 317 Russian Fiction, Foreign Film
This course focuses on major works of Russian literature (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Nabokov) and their cinematic translations - first by important Russian film-makers who stay close to the text and then by leading foreign film-makers who recast the works in new cultural settings.
ECS 320 The Human Face of Soviet Socialism
SLA 338/HIS 462 Between Heaven and Hell: Myths and Memories of Siberia
The course explores Siberia's histories, myths, memories, as well as Siberian ways of life - from the Siberia of nomadic tribes and Russian tsars to the Siberia of post Soviet oil giants.
SLA 340 Research Seminar
The purpose of this course is to help students prepare for their junior independent work, senior theses, and departmental exams. The first part of the course will be devoted to close readings of short poems and literary prose texts. In the second part, the emphasis will shift to academic and journalistic prose. A major goal of the course will be learning to write coherent Russian academic prose. To support these reading and writing skills, we will also introduce participants to research methods: library research, evaluation of sources, value (and potential pitfalls) of the Russian internet.
COM 404 The East European Novel
Long traded off among European empires, Eastern European peoples are again independent. But surviving the 20th century had literally become an art. After a geopolitical introduction to the region, we will read in English translation modern proseworks from the Polish, Czech, and South Slavic (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian) traditions, including novels cast as national epic during times of total war (Andrzejewski, Kosinski, Andric), as fantasy or science fiction (Capek, Lem, Gombrowicz), and as the tragicomedy of everyday life (Kundera, Ugresic).
RUS 405 Advanced Russian Grammar through Reading
A practical approach to advanced Russian grammar through reading and translation of Russian prose texts with special focus on difficult grammatical constructions.
RUS 406 Russian Sentence Structure through Reading
The course has two separate but linked elements: a practical analysis of Russian sentence structure based on the close reading and analysis of comtemporary Russian prose.
RUS 407 Advanced Russian Reading, Composition, and Conversation
A language course based on Russian films and designed to develop a more sophisticated level of spoken and written Russian. Discussions of life in Russia, weekly compositions.
RUS 407 Advanced Russian II
Intensive study and discussion conducted in Russian. Compositions and problems of translation. Reading of varied texts, with close analysis of language and style. Three classes. Prerequisite: 208 or instructor's permission.
RUS 408 Advanced Russian Reading, Composition, and Conversation
The course aims to improve students' proficiency in idiomatic Russian by using written, video and audio materials on historical and cultural topics. The materials cover Russian history from the days of Kievan Rus' to the post-Soviet era.
COM 410/SLA 410 Bakhtin, the Russian Formalists, and Cultural Semiotics
The seminar surveys (in English) three influential schools of 20th-century Russian literary criticism: the Russian Formalists (1920s); Mikhail Bakhtin (1920s-70s), and the cultural semiotics of Yury Lotman and the Tartu School (1960s-80s). The course will include both primary and secondary texts; major essays will be read in conjunction with literature that illustrates and tests the critical approach.
SLA 412/ MUS 412 Art and Censorship
The course examines Soviet censorship of the arts and culture by reviewing the different stages of government censorship (from the Revolutionary years through to the Soviet purges, WWII, Khrushchev's Thaw, and Brezhnev's stagnation) and the institutions involved in the practice: the Communist Party, the military, the security apparatus, the education ministries, and the Church.
SLA 413 Pushkin and His Time
The course is envisioned as both a language and literature course. Readings will be in Russian, discussion will be primarily in English. Papers will be written in English. We will sample writings in many genres (lyric and narrative poetry, short prose, drama).
SLA 417/COM 418 Vladimir Nabokov
This course examines major works of both the Russian and American periods of Nabokov's writing career. Knowledge of Russian is not required.
HIS 465 / SLA 420 - Cultural History of East-Central Europe
The seminar will analyze the coming to maturity and establishment of modern national communities in East-Central Europein the19th and 20th centuries. We will look at the process of selection and stabilization of basic cultural characteristics of East-Central European nation-states: language, territory, and folklore.
SLA 511 Critical Approaches to Literature
This graduate course is coordinated with COM/SLA 410, "Bakhtin, The Russian Formalists, and Cultural Semiotics", but with additional readings and discussions of the material in Russian. Emphasis is on the evolution of Russian literary and cultural theory through three 20th century historical periods: the 1920's, the Stalinist 1930-40's, and the post-Stalinist thaws.
SLA 511 Critical Approaches to Literature: Russian Contributions
This graduate course is coordinated with COM/SLA 410, Bakhtin,The Russian Formalists, and Cultural Semiotics, but with additional readings and discussions of the material in Russian. Emphasis is on the evolution of Russian literary and cultural theory through three 20th century historical periods: the 1920's, the Stalinist 1930-40's, and the post-Stalinist thaws.
SLA 514 Pushkin
An analysis of Pushkin's major works in all genres (lyric poetry, narrative poetry, dramatic works, prose, novel in verse, etc.). Some attention will be given to Pushkin scholarship, both Russian (Tomashevsky, Tynyanov, Lotman) and American (Bethea, Sandler, Todd).
SLA 517 Russian Short Prose: Chekhov
An analysis of Chekhov's major works, including short stories and plays. Some attention will be given to Chekhov scholarship, both Russian and Western.
SLA 518 Major Russian Poets and Poetic Movements
The course will focus on the "Tower" of Viacheslav Ivanov and its influence on the culture of the day. In addition to readings from the Symbolists themselves (especially Ivanov, Blok, Belyi), we will consider a number of non-Symbolist writers and other major cultural figures who attended and participated in the meetings (e.g. Meierhold, Berdiaev, Kuzmin, Mandelshtam, Khlebnikov, and perhaps even Lunacharskii).
SLA 519 Soviet Literature: 1917-1930
The course examines the culture of the post-revolutionary period in the Soviet Union through the prism of representative literary texts.
SLA 531 Russian Ornamentalist Prose
This seminar focuses on a series of texts that may be designated "ornamentalist." The readings include both modernist prose of the experimental period of "revolutionary romanticism" and earlier writings whose style is granted unprecedented autonomy and freed from subservience to narrative. The consequences to text and reader of the disruption of conventional distinctions between techniques of poetry and prose will be considered.
SLA 532: 19th and 20th Century Polish Poetry and Prose
In this course we will be reading selected text of Polish literature, beginning with prose and ending with poetry. The texts will be placed against the background of literary history, but we will concentrate on readings in Polish.
SLA 540 Russian Classics On (and Off) the Soviet-Stalinist Stage
An examination of six famous 19th-century literary works as transposed into Russian modernist theater in the 1920s-30s: two productions by Meyerhold (Gogol's Inspector General and Griboyedov's Woe from Wit), one opera by Shostakovich (on Leskov's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk;), and three archival documents that never passed the censor: Krzhizhanovsky's scenic projections: of Evgenii Onegin and Hadji Murad, and Mariengof's libretto for Resurrection. Our purpose is to sample aesthetic and political constraints on transpositions of the classics during the Bolshevik and Stalinist eras.
SLA 599 Slavic Dissertation Colloquium
A practical course devoted to scholarly writing intended to facilitate the proposal and dissertation writing process. The seminar meets every three to four weeks. Dissertation writers circulate work in progress for feedback and discuss issues that arise in the course of their work. The seminar is required of all post-generals students in Russian literature who are in residence.
SLA 599 Slavic Dissertation Colloquium; Seminar S01
A practical course devoted to scholarly writing intended to facilitate the proposal an dissertation writing process. The seminar meets every three to four weeks. Dissertation writers circulate work in progress for feedback and discuss issues that arise in the course of their work. The seminar is required of all post-generals students in Russian literature who are in residence.
