GE Course Offerings

Are you looking for a course that fulfills a specific General Education requirement? All of the department's GE courses have been collected here. Click on the drop downs below to go to the list of courses that fulfill each requirement. Please note that courses with the suffixes .01 and .99 are offered both in-person (.01) and 100% online (.99).

Please note that as of Autumn 2022, there are two sets of GE curriculum at Ohio State. All students entering in the Autumn 2022 semester will complete the new GE curriculum. Please contact your advisor if you have any questions on the GE.

World Languages

The 1101-1103 courses in the following languages fulfill the Foreign Language requirement: Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Russian.


Race, Ethnic and Gender Diversity

SLAVIC 2995.99 - Race and Gender in Eastern Europe and the US: A Transatlantic Comparison

By studying how identities (racial, ethnic, gender, and religious) exist as cultural constructs, this course will examine and compare the experiences of Russian and East European ethnic and racial minorities in their respective countries and African Americans in the US regarding racialization and marginalization through cultural and social constructs. Taught in English.


Prereq: Not open to students with credit for CompStd 2995. GE foundation race, ethnicity and gender div course. Cross-listed in CompStd 2995.


Social and Behavioral Sciences

Slavic 3800 - Bilingualism: Life in Two Worlds

The majority of the world population is becoming increasingly bilingual and bilingualism is viewed as the rule rather than the exception in the 21st century. This course explores the multifaceted aspects of a bilingual individual, i.e., the reasons to become bilingual, cognitive and social advantages of bilingualism, attitudes to people with accents, personality and bilingualism, etc. Through the instructor’s lectures, assigned readings, engaging discussions and a course project students will be exposed to numerous aspects of bilingualism, both at the individual and societal levels. Taught in English.


Historical/Cultural Studies

Slavic 2230(.01/.99) - Vampires, Monstrosity, and Evil: From Slavic Myth to Twilight

Changing approaches to evil as embodied in vampires in East European folk belief & European & American pop culture; function of vampire & monster tales in cultural context, including peasant world & West from Enlightenment to now.  Taught in English.

Russian 2335(.01/.99) - Magnificence, Mayhem, and Mafia: Russian Culture

Russian culture from its foundations to the 21st century through analysis of literature, film, music, visual arts, beliefs, and customs. Taught in English.


Slavic 3333(.01/.99) - The Soviet Space Age

Exploration of Space Age as a technological/cultural phenomenon, focusing on the Soviet period and the Space Race, in historical context and in a comparative perspective. Taught in English.


Russian 3490(.01/.99) - Russian Youth Culture

In this class, students will learn about different decades, from 1950s till present, in the life of Russian youth. Ideology, political activism and political inertia, Western influence and national patriotism, fashion and popular bands. Taught in English.


Russian 3530 - Russian Cuisine in History, Literature and Culture

Explores Russian cuisine: its history and its role in Russian literature and culture. We will use a variety of cookbooks and cultural histories as our textbooks, and we will read selections from classical Russian literature to see how writers incorporate ideas of food and cuisine into their works. We will also read critical articles about the relationship between food and culture. Taught in English.


Literary, Visual and Performing Arts

Russian 2250(.01/.99) - Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Reading and analysis of great works of Russian literature from the 19th century to the present by authors such as Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and Ulitskaya. Taught in English.


Russian 2250H - Honors Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Reading great works of Russian literature (including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bunin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Ulitskaya); developing analytical writing & discussion skills. Taught in English.


Russian 2345 - Russian Fairy Tales and Folklore

Examines four categories of texts, both verbal and visual: (1) a survey of Russian demonology; (2) a large selection of the best-known Russian fairy tales,; (3) scholarly articles analyzing the differences between folklore and literature; and (4) visual materials (film, paintings, graphics, and handicrafts) and music inspired by Russian fairy tales. Taught in English.


Russian 3460(.01/.99) - Modern Russian Experience through Film

Exploration of some of the most revealing hopes and disappointments of Russian people presented in internationally acclaimed Russian films. Taught in English.

Russian 3470(.01/.99) - Anna Karenina Goes to Hollywood: Tolstoy's Novel in Film and Popular Culture

This course explores Tolstoy's Anna Karenina in relation to popular American culture. The course will consist of two parts: in the first half, we will read and discuss Anna Karenina, and we will then examine films and other popular works based on the novel. Taught in English


Citizenship for a Diverse and Just World

Slavic 3320 - Queer Comrades: Sexual Citizenship and LGBTQ Lives in Eastern Europe

Through the lens of film, literature, theater, and art, this course explores what it means to be a queer citizen of Eastern Europe. Countering ideas of inherent backwardness, which tend to erase the existence of a diverse group of people, we will get to know works of art that bear witness to the wealth of queer experiences in 20th century Eastern Europe.


Migration, Mobility, and Immobility

Slavic 3340 - The East European Immigrant Experience in America

This course looks at international migration with a special focus of the experience of Eastern European immigrants in the United States. We will explore the role of immigration for American culture and society and discuss the historical background and theoretical concepts related to migrant experiences between the early 1900s and today.

Cross-Disciplinary Seminar
Cultures and Ideas
Diversity: Global Studies
Diversity: Social Diversity in the U.S.
Foreign Language
Literature
Visual and Performing Arts
Writing and Communication 2


Cross-Disciplinary Seminar


Slavic 4597
The Politics of Language in Southeast Europe

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

In a global world, language is a key issue in the articulation of ethnicity and the struggle for power. This course looks at how the languages of the Balkans serve as the foundations for modern ethnic and religious identities, and how linguistic histories and structures have been and continue to be manipulated for social and political purposes. 

Prereq: Junior standing or higher.
GE cross-disciplinary seminar and diversity global studies


Cultures and Ideas

 


Slavic 2230
Vampires, Monstrosity, and Evil: From Slavic Myth to Twilight

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Changing approaches to evil as embodied in vampires in East European folk belief & European & American pop culture; function of vampire & monster tales in cultural context, including peasant world & West from Enlightenment to now.  Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 130.
GE cultures and ideas course, GE diversity global studies course.
 

Russian 2335.01 (2335.99 online)
Magnificence, Mayhem, and Mafia: Russian Culture

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Russian culture from its foundations to the 21st century through analysis of literature, film, music, visual arts, beliefs, and customs.

Prerequisites: Not open to students with credit for 135 or 235.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Russian 2345
Russian Fairy Tales and Folklore

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Examines four categories of texts, both verbal and visual: (1) a survey of Russian demonology; (2) a large selection of the best-known Russian fairy tales,; (3) scholarly articles analyzing the differences between folklore and literature; and (4) visual materials (film, paintings, graphics, and handicrafts) and music inspired by Russian fairy tales. Taught in English. 

GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Slavic 2365 (.01 classroom, .99 online)

Sports, Socialists, and Society in Russia and Eastern Europe

Offered: Annually beginning Spring 2020 | 3 credit units

This course looks at the development of sports as a substitute and arena for battle between countries, as well as the rise of sports culture more generally in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of nationhood, politics, and corporeality. In this course, students will learn about the history and culture of sports, spectatorship, fandom, the Cold War, and Central and Eastern Europe.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Slavic 3333

The Soviet Space Age

Offered: Annualy | 3 credit units 

Exploration of Space Age as a technological/cultural phenomenon, focusing on the Soviet period and the Space Race, in historical context and in a comparative perspective. Taught in English.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Russian 3490

Russian Youth Culture

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

In this class, students will learn about different decades, from 1950s till present, in the life of Russian youth. Ideology, political activism and political inertia, Western influence and national patriotism, fashion and popular bands.


Russian 3530
Russian Cuisine in History, Literature and Culture

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Explores Russian cuisine: its history and its role in Russian literature and culture. We will use a variety of cookbooks and cultural histories as our textbooks, and we will read selections from classical Russian literature to see how writers incorporate ideas of food and cuisine into their works. We will also read critical articles about the relationship between food and culture.

GE cultures and ideas course.


Russian 3355.99

Vodka in Russian Society and Culture: Deconstructing Myths

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Vodka in Russia is important to virtually all social functions, is used as a home remedy for ailments, and is a frequent theme of jokes, folk songs, films, and literature. It also has an important political history, having long been used by the Russian (and Soviet) state as a form of social control. This course explores Russian culture and history through its most famous drink.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Diversity: Global Studies


Slavic 2230
Vampires, Monstrosity, and Evil: From Slavic Myth to Twilight

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Changing approaches to evil as embodied in vampires in East European folk belief & European & American pop culture; function of vampire & monster tales in cultural context, including peasant world & West from Enlightenment to now.  Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 130.

GE cultures and ideas course, GE diversity global studies course.


Russian 2250
Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Reading and analysis of great works of Russian literature from the 19th century to the present by authors such as Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and Ulitskaya. Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 2250H (250H and 251H), 250, or 251.

GE literature and diversity global studies course.


Russian 2250H
Honors Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Reading great works of Russian literature (including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bunin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Ulitskaya); developing analytical writing & discussion skills. Taught in English.

Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 2250 (250 and 251), 250H, or 251H.
GE literature and diversity global studies course.
 

Russian 2335.01 (2335.99 online)
Magnificence, Mayhem, and Mafia: Russian Culture

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Russian culture from its foundations to the 21st century through analysis of literature, film, music, visual arts, beliefs, and customs.

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 135 or 235.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Russian 2345
Russian Fairy Tales and Folklore

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Examines four categories of texts, both verbal and visual: (1) a survey of Russian demonology; (2) a large selection of the best-known Russian fairy tales,; (3) scholarly articles analyzing the differences between folklore and literature; and (4) visual materials (film, paintings, graphics, and handicrafts) and music inspired by Russian fairy tales. Taught in English. 

GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Slavic 2345
Introduction to Slavic and East European Literature and Culture

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Literature of a selected Slavic or East European country or countries in cultural and historical context; may include film, drama, art, music, and other media. Taught in English. May be repeated with topic change. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 credit hours.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 245 except by permission of instructor.
GE literature course, GE diversity global studies course.

Slavic 2365 (.01 classroom, .99 online)
Sports, Socialists, and Society in Russia and Eastern Europe

Offered:Annually beginning Spring 2020 | 3 credit units

This course looks at the development of sports as a substitute and arena for battle between countries, as well as the rise of sports culture more generally in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of nationhood, politics, and corporeality. In this course, students will learn about the history and culture of sports, spectatorship, fandom, the Cold War, and Central and Eastern Europe.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.

Slavic 3310

Science Fiction: East vs. West

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Slavic, American, and British sci-fi on page and screen as reflection of major cultural concerns: progress, utopia, human perfectibility, limits of science and knowledge, gender, identity. Taught in English. GE Visual and Performing Arts, GE Diversity: Global Studies


Slavic 3333

The Soviet Space Age

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units 

Exploration of Space Age as a technological/cultural phenomenon, focusing on the Soviet period and the Space Race, in historical context and in a comparative perspective. Taught in English.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Russian 3460
Modern Russian Experience through Film

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Exploration of some of the most revealing hopes and disappointments of Russian people presented in internationally acclaimed Russian films. Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 360.
GE visual/performance arts and diversity global studies course.

Russian 3480

The Russian Spy: Cultures of Surveillance, Secret Agents, & Hacking from the Cold War through Today

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units
 
This course explores the concept of the spy in the cultural imaginations of both Russia and the West from the early-20th century through the present. Topics will include stereotyping in popular culture, the relationship between fiction and the political imagination, Western (especially American) and Russian views of each other, the Cold War, privacy, security, fear, and war.

Russian 3490

Russian Youth Culture

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

In this class, students will learn about different decades, from 1950s till present, in the life of Russian youth. Ideology, political activism and political inertia, Western influence and national patriotism, fashion and popular bands.


Russian 3355.99

Vodka in Russian Society and Culture: Deconstructing Myths

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Vodka in Russia is important to virtually all social functions, is used as a home remedy for ailments, and is a frequent theme of jokes, folk songs, films, and literature. It also has an important political history, having long been used by the Russian (and Soviet) state as a form of social control. This course explores Russian culture and history through its most famous drink.

GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.


Slavic 4597
The Politics of Language in Southeast Europe

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

In a global world, language is a key issue in the articulation of ethnicity and the struggle for power. This course looks at how the languages of the Balkans serve as the foundations for modern ethnic and religious identities, and how linguistic histories and structures have been and continue to be manipulated for social and political purposes. 

Prereq: Junior standing or higher.
GE cross-disciplinary seminar and diversity global studies

 

Diversity: Social Diversity in the U.S.


Slavic 2367
The East European Immigrant Experience in America

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Experiences of East European immigrants; assimilation vs. multiculturalism, American Dream, stereotypes, identity formation; development of written & oral communication skills.  Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Level 1 writing course (1110), or English 110 or 111 with permission of instructor. Sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit for 367.
GE writing and communications course: level 2, and diversity social diversity in the US course.
 

Slavic 3800
Bilingualism: Life in Two Worlds

Offered: Occasionally | 3 credit units

The majority of the world population is becoming increasingly bilingual and bilingualism is viewed as the rule rather than the exception in the 21st century. This course explores the multifaceted aspects of a bilingual individual, i.e., the reasons to become bilingual, cognitive and social advantages of bilingualism, attitudes to people with accents, personality and bilingualism, etc. Through the instructor’s lectures, assigned readings, engaging discussions and a course project students will be exposed to numerous aspects of bilingualism, both at the individual and societal levels.

GE Social Diversity in the United States (Social Sciences)


Foreign Language

The 1101-1103 courses in the following languages fulfill the Foreign Language requirement: Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Russian.


Literature


Russian 2250
Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Reading and analysis of great works of Russian literature from the 19th century to the present by authors such as Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and Ulitskaya. Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 2250H (250H and 251H), 250, or 251.
GE literature and diversity global studies course.
 

Russian 2250H
Honors Masterpieces of Russian Literature

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Reading great works of Russian literature (including Pushkin, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bunin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Ulitskaya); developing analytical writing & discussion skills. Taught in English.

Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 2250 (250 and 251), 250H, or 251H.
GE literature and diversity global studies course.
 

Slavic 2345
Introduction to Slavic and East European Literature and Culture

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Literature of a selected Slavic or East European country or countries in cultural and historical context; may include film, drama, art, music, and other media. Taught in English. May be repeated with topic change. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 credit hours.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 245 except by permission of instructor.
GE literature course, GE diversity global studies course.
 

Visual and Performing Arts


Slavic 3310
Science Fiction: East vs. West

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Slavic, American, and British sci-fi on page and screen as reflection of major cultural concerns: progress, utopia, human perfectibility, limits of science and knowledge, gender, identity. Taught in English. GE Visual and Performing Arts, GE Diversity: Global Studies


Slavic 3360
Screening Minorities: Representations of the Other in Slavic Film

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units

Film representations of ethnic and religious others in East European cinema.  Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 360.

GE visual/performance arts course


Russian 3460
Modern Russian Experience through Film

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Exploration of some of the most revealing hopes and disappointments of Russian people presented in internationally acclaimed Russian films. Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 360.
GE visual/performance arts and diversity global studies course.

Russian 3480

The Russian Spy: Cultures of Surveillance, Secret Agents, & Hacking from the Cold War through Today

Offered: Annually | 3 credit units
 
This course explores the concept of the spy in the cultural imaginations of both Russia and the West from the early-20th century through the present. Topics will include stereotyping in popular culture, the relationship between fiction and the political imagination, Western (especially American) and Russian views of each other, the Cold War, privacy, security, fear, and war.

Writing and Communication 2


Slavic 2367
The East European Immigrant Experience in America

Offered: Autumn, Spring | 3 credit units

Experiences of East European immigrants; assimilation vs. multiculturalism, American Dream, stereotypes, identity formation; development of written & oral communication skills.  Taught in English.
 
Prereq: Level 1 writing course (1110), or English 110 or 111 with permission of instructor. Sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit for 367.
GE writing and communications course: level 2, and diversity social diversity in the US course.