14 courses with the subject RES, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
RES 100YElementary Russian5
The four-skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) introduction to the Russian language with the focus on communicative skills development. Major structural topics include pronunciation and intonation, all six cases, all tenses and verbal aspect. By the end of the course, students are able to sustain conversation on basic topics, write short compositions, read short authentic texts, as well as develop an understanding of Russian culture through watching, discussing and writing on movies, short stories, folk tales and poems. This is a full-year course. Yearlong courses cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester.
RES 126Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature: Madmen, Conmen and Government Clerks4
Populated with many unique and eccentric characters--from revolutionary socialists to runaway human noses--nineteenth-century Russian literature displays a startling experimentation and innovation that advanced Russia to the vanguard of Western literature. Encompassing poetry, fiction and journalism, this survey explores how authors such as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov positioned literature at the center of public discourse, as a venue for addressing important philosophical, political, religious and social issues, including gender and class relations; personal and national identity; and the role of the writer in public life. Conducted in English. No previous knowledge of Russian is required. {L}
RES 127Manuscripts Don't Burn: Literature and Dissent Under Stalin4
Explores how Russian literary culture responded to the tumult and upheaval of the twentieth century, an epoch encompassing the Bolshevik Revolution, two World Wars, the ascent of Stalin, and the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as unprecedented aesthetic innovations. While spanning key artistic movements of the period (including the avant-garde and other modernist tendencies, Socialist Realism, conceptualism and postmodernism), the survey focuses on Stalinism and its aftermath, considering how Soviet writers developed strategies of dissent and protest in literature. Conducted in English, no previous knowledge of Russian required.
The first half of a two-semester sequence. Students practice all four language modalities: reading, listening, writing and speaking. The course incorporates a variety of activities that are based on a range of topics, text types and different socio-cultural situations. Authentic texts (poems, short stories, TV programs, films, songs and articles) are used to create the context for reviewing and expanding on grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Prerequisite: RES 100Y or equivalent. {F}
The second half of a two-semester sequence. Students continue to practice all four language modalities: reading, listening, writing and speaking. The course incorporates a variety of activities that are based on a range of topics, text types and different socio-cultural situations. Authentic texts (poems, short stories, TV programs, films, songs and articles) are used to create the context for reviewing and expanding on grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Prerequisite: RES 221 or equivalent. {F}
RES 223Modern Literatures of Siberia and Central Asia4
The Soviets claimed to control “a sixth of the world,” a landmass stretching from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean, and sought to cultivate a national consciousness of the ethnic minorities and Indigenous peoples of the former Russian empire—while simultaneously promoting Russian as the shared language of international socialism. This course surveys the literature and culture that made up this project, focusing on 20th-c. Central Asia and Siberia. The course considers the anti-colonial and neoimperialist dynamics of RussoSoviet culture, tensions between Soviet modernization and Indigenous lifeways, Cold War-era cultural diplomacy across the Bering Strait, and more. (E) {H}{L}
RES 275Avant-Garde as Lifestyle: Cinema and Socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe4
Explores the avant-garde film traditions of Eastern and Central Europe, including works from the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The course focuses on how avant-garde filmmakers engaged with the socialist project in the USSR and Eastern Bloc, and its call for new forms, sites and life practices. The course investigates how avant-garde cinema represents everyday life amidst the public and private spaces of socialism. In approaching the relationship between cinema and space, students consider examples of architecture (Constructivist, Functionalist, Brutalist), as well as theoretical writings by and about the avant-garde. Conducted in English, no prerequisites. {A}{H}{S}
RES 300LTSeminar: Advanced Topics in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies- Lev Tolstoy and the Narrative Shape of History4
The fiction of Tolstoy is unrivaled in its psychological insight, lyrical beauty and epic scope, prompting Russian author Isaac Babel to claim that when he read Tolstoy, he felt as if the world was writing itself. This course examines works spanning Tolstoy’s literary career, from his early writings to his late stories and essays, including War and Peace, his monumental account of the Napoleonic Wars. Analysis of Tolstoy’s fiction focuses on the relationship between history and literary form, and the way Tolstoy’s narrative technique, illuminated by Russian Formalist literary theory, enriched his representation of human agency and subjectivity. Priority given to RES majors. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission required. {A}{H}{L}
This course aims at expansion of students' vocabulary and improvement of reading, writing and speaking skills. The course is intended for students who have completed at least four semesters of Russian or the equivalent. Heritage learners of Russian (those who speak the language) also benefit from the course. With a strong emphasis on integrating vocabulary in context, this course aims to help students advance their lexicon and grammar, increase fluency and overcome speaking inhibitions. The class reads and discusses a variety of texts in the original Russian including articles, short stories and poems. Prerequisite: RES 222 or equivalent. Instructor permission required. {F}
RES 341Fourth-Year Russian through Culture, Literature, and History I4
This course is designed for advanced students of Russian and heritage speakers seeking to improve their proficiency in the language. The course prioritizes the development of communicative skills in speech, writing, reading, and general cultural competency. The examination of cultural, social, and historical issues, as well as study of advanced syntax, grammar, register, and style, is based on authentic texts from a variety of sources, including fiction, journalism, memoirs, historical documents, and cinema. The overarching focus and materials may change from semester to semester, depending on enrollment and student interests. Taught in Russian. Prerequisite: RES 332 or equivalent. Instructor permission required. (E) {F}
RES 342Fourth-Year Russian through Culture, Literature, and History II4
Continued work on the improvement of language proficiency for advanced students of Russian and heritage speakers. This course prioritizes the development of communicative skills in speech, writing, reading, and general cultural competency. The examination of cultural, social, and historical issues, as well as study of advanced syntax, grammar, register, and style, is based on authentic texts from a variety of sources, including fiction, journalism, memoirs, historical documents, and cinema. The overarching focus and materials may change from semester to semester, depending on enrollment and student interests. Taught in Russian. Prerequisite: RES 332 or equivalent. Instructor permission required. (E) {F}
