Slavic Languages and Literatures

An introduction to the Bosnian-Croation-Serbian (also called Serbo-Croatian) language that develops the four major language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Class time is devoted to mastering conversational skills, grammar explanations, oral drills, 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. Five classes.

Introductory course designed to teach the basic aspects of Czech grammar, vocabulary, and communication in a variety of situations. The course aims to teach all four language skills: reading, writing, listening comprehension, and speaking. Five classes.

A beginner's course that introduces the student to four areas of competence in Polish: speaking, grammatical knowledge, listening and reading comprehension, and writing. Emphasizes active language targeted at concrete practical contexts and communicative situations. Previous knowledge of other Slavic languages is advantageous, but not mandatory. Classes combine lectures, recitation, and drill formats. Five classes.

Introduction to the essentials of Russian grammar. Presentation of grammar reinforced by oral practice of grammatical patterns. One hour per week devoted specifically to development of oral skills. Five classes

A continuation of BCS 101. This course continues to develop and refine the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), concentrating on conversational practice, advanced grammar points, oral drilling, increased reading (BCS literature, folklore, and expository prose, including works chosen according to students' interests), and viewing films. Prerequisite: BCS 101. Five classes.

A continuation CZE 101. This course continues to develop and refine the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing), teaching all fundamental aspects of Czech grammar and basic communication skills in a variety of situations. As the course progresses, the rich Central European culture of Bohemia and Moravia will be sampled through poetry, film, and fictional as well as expository prose. Prerequisite: CZE 101. Five classes.

A continuation of PLS 101. This course continues to develop and refine the four language skills (speaking, grammatical knowledge, listening and reading comprehension, and writing). Emphasize active language targeted at concrete practical contexts and communicative situations. Classes combine lectures, recitation, and drill formats. Prerequisite: PLS 101. Five classes.

A continuation of 101. Introduction to the essentials of Russian grammar. Presentation of grammar reinforced by oral practice of grammatical patterns. One hour per week devoted specifically to development of oral skills. Five classes.

Advanced grammar topics, building of vocabulary through studying Czech word formation and reading challenging samples of Czech literature (prose, poetry, drama). Continuing practice in oral communication. Prerequisite: CZE 102 or instructor's permission. Three classes supplemented by required discussion sections, tutorials, and language lab.

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 or placement test at Princeton. Five classes.

Advanced grammar topics, building of vocabulary through the study of Czech word formation and reading challenging samples of Czech literature. Continuing practice in oral communication. Prerequisite: CZE 105. Three classes supplemented by required discussion sections, tutorials, and language lab.

A continuation of 105. 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: 105. Five classes.

A content-based language course designed to develop speaking and reading proficiency through reading the texts on prominent figures of contemporary Russian culture: journalists, actors, sports people, and political activists. Special emphasis is placed on communicative activities. Review of grammar: cases, numbers, verb aspect, verbs of motion, subjunctive, participles, verbal adverbs, and conjunctions. Prerequisite: RUS 107 or instructor's permission. The course is not open to heritage speakers. Four classes.

The course focuses on key events of 20th century Russian history as they are reflected by major Russian poets and writers. Reading and discussion of poems by Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam, and a short story by Vladimir Nabokov. A continuation of 207, this course is designed to further develop speaking and reading proficiency, writing skills and substantial expansion of vocabulary. Prerequisite: RUS 207 or instructor's permission. The course is not open to heritage speakers. Four classes.

This is an introductory course, conducted entirely in English, on the classics of nineteenth-century Russian literature. No previous knowledge of Russian language, literature, culture, or history is expected. The focus of the course is on close readings of individual works. At the same time, we will pay close attention to the way a distinctively Russian national tradition takes shape, in which writers consciously respond to their predecessors. All of these works have a firm position in the Russian cultural memory, and they have significantly contributed to Russian national identity.

A survey in English of Russian literature from mid-19th century to Soviet literature. Authors read include, among others, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Nabokov, and Bely. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Knowledge of Russian not required.

A survey in English of Soviet literature from 1917 to 1965 against the background of major social and political developments. Readings include works by Zamyatin, Babel, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and other representative authors. Two lectures and preceptorial. Knowledge of Russian not required.

In Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment a character says about St. Petersburg: "It's rare to find a place where so many murky, sharp and strange influences have their effect on human soul as in Petersburg." We will read Gogol and Dostoevsky's Petersburg stories, focusing on all kinds of influences the city has on its inhabitants: physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual, and moral. Additionally, we will explore Gogol's literary influence on Dostoevsky. The entire course is conducted in Russian and special emphasis is placed on active use of the language. All readings are in Russian. Prerequisite: RUS 208; for heritage speakers RUS 108

A detailed survey of Russian national and international composers. Topics of discussion and analysis will include magic opera, realism, orientalism, the relationship between composers and poets of the Russian Symbolist era, the World of Art movement and the Ballets Russes, Soviet film music, Soviet arts doctrine, and musical aesthetics (especially as they pertain to authorship and identity). Prerequisites: MUS 105 or permission of instructor.

Introduction to major dramatic works of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Pushkin, Gogol, Chekhov, Shvarts, and Vampilov. Readings, discussions, oral and written reports in Russian. Two 90-minute seminars. Prerequisite: RUS 207 or instructor's permission.

Exploration of the quest for moral values in Soviet and post-Soviet Russian cinema of the 1960s to the present. Topics include, among others, the effects of Stalinism; the struggle for freedom of individual conscience under totalitarianism; the artist's moral dilemmas in Soviet and post-Soviet society; materialism versus spirituality. Films of Andrei Tarkovsky, Nikita Mikhalkov, and others. One three-hour seminar. Knowledge of Russian not required.

A practical approach to advanced Russian grammar and structure through reading and translation of Russian prose texts with special focus on difficult grammatical constructions. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 207 or 208.

A basic introduction to Russian sentence structure with special emphasis on word order, use of participles and gerunds, impersonal sentences, negation, voice, and long/short form adjectives. The course includes substantive readings of Russian texts and their syntactic analysis. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 207 or 208.

The course presents six films, all of which are well known in Russia and have become classics. Three of them are based on literary works (Mikhail Bulgakov's comedy, Leo Tolstoy's story, and Alexander Ostrovsky's drama). The class discussion will center around various cultural, social, historical, and literary topics. Prerequisite: RUS 208

The course aims to familiarize students with the basic techniques of translation from English into Russian, so students can learn how to anticipate translation problems before they arise. Classroom time is divided between discussions of excerpts from literary works by American and British authors published in Russian and translation exercises focusing on various grammatical and lexical difficulties. The acquisition of practical translation skills will help students to achieve a higher level of proficiency in oral and written Russian. Prerequisite: RUS 208 for heritage speakers, RUS 108 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

A survey (in English) of three influential schools of 20th-century Russian literary criticism: the major Russian formalists (1920s); Mikhail Bakhtin (1920s-70s), and the cultural semiotics of Yury Lotman and his "Tartu School" (1960s-80s). The course will include both primary and secondary texts; major essays will be read in conjunction with sample literature that illustrates the critical approach. Two 90-minute seminars.

Topics include: Russian literature and the city; Russian literature and the intellectual; the search for moral value in post-Communist literature; satire; Russian literature and music; 20th-century Russian poetry, Russian émigré literature.

Topics include: Russian literature and the city; Russian literature and the intellectual; the search for moral value in post-Communist literature; satire; Russian literature and music; 20th-century Russian poetry, Russian émigré literature.

An introduction to Pushkin's works with attention to a number of genres (lyric, long poem, drama, short story). Readings in Russian with discussions in Russian or English, depending on students' preference. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: RUS 207 or instructor's permission.

The course is primarily about War and Peace, framed by some earlier and later fiction and by Tolstoy's essays on art and religion. Tolstoy's radical ideas on narrative have a counterpart in his radical ideas on history, causation, and the formation of a moral self. Together, these concepts offer an alternative to "The Russian Idea," associated with Dostoevsky and marked by mysticism, apocalypse, and the crisis moment. To refute this idea, Tolstoy redefined the tasks of novelistic prose. Seminar.

A consideration of Dostoevsky's major works with particular emphasis upon their relation to the political, social, religious, and literary currents of his time. Knowledge of Russian not required. One three-hour seminar.

An examination of Nabokov's major accomplishments as a Russian/American novelist in the context of the Russian literary tradition and the cultural climate of emigration. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The senior thesis (498-499) is a year-long project in which students complete a substantial piece of research and scholarship under the supervision and advisement of a Princeton faculty member. While a year-long thesis is due in the student's final semester of study, the work requires sustained investment and attention throughout the academic year.

The senior thesis (498-499) is a year-long project in which students complete a substantial piece of research and scholarship under the supervision and advisement of a Princeton faculty member. While a year-long thesis is due in the student's final semester of study, the work requires sustained investment and attention throughout the academic year.