Spring 2023 Courses | Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures

Spring 2023 Course Offerings

Language Courses

(4 credits unless otherwise noted)

BCS 1102: ELEMENTARY BOSNIAN-CROATIAN-SERBIAN II

TWRF 3:00PM-3:55PM, Instructor: Matthew Boyd

GE Foreign Language

CZECH 1102: ELEMENTARY CZECH II

MTWR 1:50PM-2:40PM, Instructor: BTAA CourseShare

GE Foreign Language

CZECH 2104: INTERMEDIATE CZECH II

MWF 12:40PM-1:30PM, Instructor: BTAA CourseShare

POLISH 1102: ELEMENTARY POLISH II

TWRF 10:20AM-11:15AM, Instructor: Diana Sacilowski

GE Foreign Language

POLISH 2104: INTERMEDIATE POLISH II

TWR 2:20PM-3:40PM, Instructor: Diana Sacilowski

ROMANIAN 2104: INTERMEDIATE ROMANIAN II

TWF 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Adela Lechintan-Siefer

RUSSIAN 1101.01: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN I

Section 0010, TWRF 9:10AM-10:05AM, Instructor: Lilia Caserta

Section 0030, TWRF 11:30AM-12:25PM, Instructor: Lilia Caserta

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1101.51: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN I (SELF-PACED)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1101.61: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN I (SELF-PACED) (ONLINE)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1102.01: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN II

Section 0010, TWRF, 9:10AM-10:05AM, Instructor: Sofia Bachman

Section 0030, TWRF, 11:30AM-12:25PM, Instructor: Lejla Veskovic

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1102.51: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN II (SELF-PACED)

Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1102.61: ELEMENTARY RUSSIAN II (SELF-PACED) (ONLINE)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1103.01: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN I

TWRF, 9:10AM-10:05, Instructor: Natalia Sletova

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1103.51: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN I (SELF-PACED)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 1103.61: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN I (SELF-PACED) (ONLINE)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

GE Foreign Language

RUSSIAN 2104.01: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN II

Section 0010, TWRF, 10:20AM-11:15AM, Instructor: Mykyta Tyshchenko

Section 0020, TWRF, 11:30AM-12:25PM, Instructor: Lilia Caserta

RUSSIAN 2104.51: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN II (SELF-PACED)

Instructor: Andrei Cretu

RUSSIAN 2104.61: INTERMEDIATE RUSSIAN II (SELF-PACED) (ONLINE)
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

RUSSIAN 3102: THIRD-YEAR RUSSIAN II

TWR 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Viktoriia Kim

Prereq: 3101, or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 3121: ADVANCED READING RUSSIAN I (SELF-PACED) -- 3 credits
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

Developing reading skills and strategies from a variety of authentic Russian sources, with special emphasis on contemporary materials

Prereq: 2104.01or 2104.51, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs.

RUSSIAN 3122: ADVANCED READING RUSSIAN II (SELF-PACED) -- 3 credits
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

Further development of reading skills & strategies from authentic Russian sources, with emphasis on contemporary materials. Students register for 1-3 cr hrs during sem. Progress is sequential from one cr hr to next; 80% is required to advance.

Prereq: 3121, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 cr hrs.

RUSSIAN 3140: RUSSIAN CONVERSATION -- 1 credit
T 11:30AM-12:25PM, Instructor: Larysa Stepanova

Maintaining and further developing conversational skills in Russian at the intermediate level. Taught in Russian as round-table discussion.

Prereq: 2104.01 or 2104.51, or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 2 cr hrs.

RUSSIAN 4102: ADVANCED RUSSIAN II -- 3 credits

TR 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Helen Myers

Continuation of Russian 4101: speaking, listening, reading, and writing practice in Russian at the advanced level, with a focus on Russian culture and national identity.

Prereq: 4101, or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 5102: ADVANCED RUSSIAN IV-- 3 credits

WF 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Helen Myers

Prereq: 5101, or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 5104: ADVANCED RUSSIAN VI-- 3 credits

WF 2:20PM-3:40PM, Instructor: Viktoriia Kim

Prereq: 5103, or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 6171: BASIC READING RUSSIAN FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS (SELF-PACED) -- 3 credits
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

Russian alphabet, basic vocabulary, and basic elements of grammar for graduate students who need to develop reading skills for professional research. Taught in self-paced format. Continued by Russian 6172.

Prereq: Graduate standing.

RUSSIAN 6172: READING RUSSIAN FOR RESEARCH (SELF-PACED) -- 3 credits
Instructor: Andrei Cretu

Continuation of Russian 6171: further development of reading skills, vocabulary, and grammar for graduate students who need to read Russian for professional research. Taught in self-paced format.

Prereq: 6171, and Graduate standing.

EAST EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES (EEURLL) 5627

MW 2:20PM-3:40PM, Instructor: Brian Joseph

Topics to be covered include Albanian's external and internal history, the structure of the language (phonology, morphology, and syntax), the sociolinguistics of the language, and Albanian dialectology. There will also be some practical Albanian instruction as well, involving simple conversation (greetings, basic structures for requests and questions, etc.) and readings from beginning- level materials. Also, a special feature of the class will be the opportunity for some work eliciting Albanian data from native speakers of the language.

Some familiarity with linguistics and with the principles of linguistic analysis is helpful, but not essential as long as students are willing to learn certain basic elements; no knowledge of Albanian itself is assumed.

POLISH 5230: POLISH LITERATURE

TR 3:55PM-5:15PM, Instructor: Wojciech Lewandowski

The course is aimed at presenting Polish and European politics as well as its representation in popular culture. Specific social and political problems of contemporary Poland and Europe will be presented and discussed in class along with the analysis of their coverage in selected pieces of popular culture. The course will mostly focus on contemporary social, political and cultural issues, however necessary historical context will be provided.

Taught in English.

RUSSIAN 2250.01: MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE

TR 11:10AM-12:30PM, Instructor: Alexander Burry

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 or 2250.99

New GE - Foundation: Literary, Visual & Performing Arts course

Legacy GE - Literature/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 2250.99: MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE (100% Online)

Online Section, Instructor: Helen Myers

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 2250H or 2250.99

New GE - Foundation: Literary, Visual & Performing Arts course

Legacy GE - Literature/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 2335.99: MAGNIFICENCE, MAYHEM, AND MAFIA - RUSSIAN CULTURE (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Jennifer Suchland

Russia has always been a fascinating place, with its mixture of globe-shaking politics and world-class culture. The future -- whatever it holds -- promises nothing less. Through an analysis of literature, films, and the visual arts, we will learn about Russia and the USSR in the twentieth century and its impact on the world; try to understand the present of post-Soviet Russia; and imagine Russia in the future. In an attempt to comprehend the Western puzzlement in dealing with unique Russian contradictions, we will discuss the magnificence of Russian culture as well as look into the dark side of the Russian tradition, the destructive impulses of Stalinism and most recently of the return of Soviet Style politics with Vladimir Putin and the Russian Mafia. Taught in English. Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 2335.01.

New GE - Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies

Legacy GE - Cultures and Ideas/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 3355.99: VODKA IN RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE: DECONSTRUCTING MYTHS (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Matthew Boyd

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 GE Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 3460.01: THE MODERN RUSSIAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH FILM

Section 0010: TR 12:45PM-2:05PM, Instructor: Alisa Lin

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.

New GE - Foundation: Literary, Visual & Performing Arts

Legacy GE - Visual and Performing Arts/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 3460.99: THE MODERN RUSSIAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH FILM (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Lilia Caserta

New GE - Foundation: Literary, Visual & Performing Arts course

Legacy GE - Visual and Performing Arts/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 3480.01: THE RUSSIAN SPY: CULTURES OF SURVEILLANCE, SECRET AGENTS, & HACKING FROM THE COLD WAR THROUGH TODAY

WF 11:10AM-12:30PM, Instructor: Matthew Boyd

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.

GE Legacy - Visual and Performing Arts/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 3480.99: THE RUSSIAN SPY: CULTURES OF SURVEILLANCE, SECRET AGENTS, & HACKING FROM THE COLD WAR THROUGH TODAY (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Alisa Lin

GE Legacy - Visual and Performing Arts/Diversity Global Studies course

RUSSIAN 4575: CAPSTONE COURSE FOR RUSSIAN MAJORS

WF 12:45PM-2:05PM, Instructor: Angela Brintlinger

Junior-senior seminar explores issues of Russian language and literature, focusing on reading in Russian and on honing Russian and English oral and writing skills. Required for Russian major.

Prereq: English 2367 or equivalent Writing and Communication: Level 2 course. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs.

RUSSIAN 5194: GROUP STUDIES - INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIAN OPEN SOURCE RESEARCH

MW 5:30PM-6:50PM, Instructors: Andrei Cretu & Ken Hensley

This course is designed to introduce students to the open-source intelligence (OSINT) process and develop the specialized Russian language skills required for successful work in the OSINT field. This course includes an information technology component and a Russian language component.

This course is part of the Advanced Language Institute.

Prereqs: Undergraduates must have at least a 3.0 GPA in their language major/minor courses; undergraduates must be of at least sophomore status; Russian 3102 or Russian 3122; or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 5701: HISTORY OF RUSSIAN I

TR 2:20PM-3:40PM, Instructor: Daniel Collins

Survey of the most important developments in the Russian writing system, phonology, morphology, and syntax from Old East Slavic to modern times; Russian among the Slavic languages; main methodologies in historical linguistics.

Prereq: 3102, graduate standing, or permission of instructor.

RUSSIAN 6253: ISSUES IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY RUSSIAN LITERATURE

M 9:00AM-11:45AM, Instructor: Philip Gleissner

Silver Age, Soviet, emigre, or post-Soviet literature in cultural and political context. Good reading ability in Russian recommended.
Prereq: Grad standing, or permission of instructor.

SLAVIC 2230.01: VAMPIRES, MONSTROSITY, AND EVIL: FROM SLAVIC MYTH TO TWILIGHT

TR 11:10AM-12:30PM, Instructor: Daniel Collins

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.

New GE - Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies course

Legacy GE - Cultures and Ideas/Diversity Global Studies course

SLAVIC 2230.99: VAMPIRES, MONSTROSITY, AND EVIL: FROM SLAVIC MYTH TO TWILIGHT (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Diana Sacilowski

New GE - Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies course

Legacy GE - Cultures and Ideas/Diversity Global Studies course

SLAVIC 2345: INTRODUCTION TO SLAVIC AND EAST EUROPEAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE

TR 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Sunnie Rucker-Chang

Where “the Balkans” begin and end is debatable. What is clear, however, is that the cultures frequently considered “Balkan” (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia) have histories and cultures that have been interconnected for centuries. In this class we will study Balkan literature and film (classic and popular), history, politics, and culture. In addition, you will learn the cultural and subjectivity in nuance of being defined as “Balkan” from war to peace, the socialist to postsocialist periods, Europeanization and beyond. Finally, we will learn why the countries of the Balkans, as the crossroads of Europe, continue to have significance.

New GE - Foundation: Literary, Visual & Performing Arts

Legacy GE - Literature/Diversity Global Studies course

SLAVIC 2365.99: SPORTS, SOCIALISTS, AND SOCIETY IN RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Andrei Cretu

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.

Legacy GE - Cultures and Ideas/Diversity Global Studies course

SLAVIC 2367: THE EAST EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA

TR 12:45PM-2:05PM, Instructor: Diana Sacilowski

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; Not open to students with credit for 367.

Legacy GE - Writing and Communication: Level 2/Diversity: Social Diversity in the US course

SLAVIC 3310: SCIENCE FICTION EAST VS WEST

TR 2:20PM-3:40PM, Instructor: Alexander Burry

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.

Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Slavic 3320 or WGSS 3310.

Legacy GE - Visual and Performing Arts/Diversity Global Studies course. Cross-listed in WGSS.

SLAVIC 3320: QUEER COMRADES: SEXUAL CITIZENSHIP & LGBTQ LIVES IN EASTERN EUROPE

TR 9:35AM-10:55AM, Instructor: Philip Gleissner

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.

New GE - Theme: Citizenship for a Diverse & Just World

SLAVIC 3333: THE SOVIET SPACE AGE (100% ONLINE)

Online Section, Instructor: Andrei Cretu

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.

New GE - Foundation: Historical and Cultural Studies course

Legacy GE - Cultures & Ideas/Diversity: Global Studies course