Russian

Overview

Taking Russian at St. Olaf means more than just taking a language. The study of Russian introduces you to one of the great cultures of the world -- the culture of Tchaikovsky, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Kandinsky, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and many others. Russian language is the key to reading more than one-fourth of all the published scientific literature in the world. Russia continues to be a major player in the global community in many different areas: politics, economics, space-age technology, and the development of new computer software. As the new Russia opens itself to the outside, college graduates with Russian language skills are increasingly sought after for positions in government service, business and investment, journalism, education, and social service.

The department offers a major in Russian language as well as courses on Russian literature taught in English. The literature courses in English count towards a major in Russian Area Studies and satisfy Area A distribution and Cross-Cultural Component requirements. Through the ACM, the department participates in an exchange program with the Kuban State University in Russia. Upper level students may participate in the CIEE program in St. Petersburg.

General Education Credit

Russian courses that fulfill General Education requirements are listed in the Class and Lab Schedule.

Comprehensive/Distribution Credit

Russian 231 or a higher numbered course taught in the Russian language, or demonstrated proficiency satisfies the foreign language requirement for all students. Semester courses numbered above 255 fulfill the Area A literature graduation requirement only if so designated in the Class and Lab Schedule for that semester.

Special Programs

For information on semester programs in the former U.S.S.R., see Off-Campus Programs in the Index.

Requirements for the Major

Russian 111, 112, 231, 232, 251, 254, 372, plus two additional courses taught in Russian.

Courses

111 112 Beginning Russian I, II: An introduction to grammar and reading through oral and written work, supplemented by reading of graded Russian prose. Russian 111 or equivalent is prerequisite to 112.
231 232 Intermediate Russian I, II: Students continue their grammar, oral, and written work with an emphasis on conversation and reading selections from classical and contemporary Russian authors. Russian 231 or equivalent is prerequisite to 232.
251 Conversation and Composition: This course will facilitate oral and written use of the language through conversation, and composition, English to Russian translation, selections from Russian literature, and original themes. Prerequisite: Russian 232.
254 Russian Culture and Civilization: A survey of Russian culture and civilization utilizing original Russian texts on history, the arts, religion and education, as well as documentary films and selections from literature. The course is designed to foster the acquisition of the language of Russian cultural and intellectual discourse.
261 Selections from Russian Literature (in English translation): The development of Russian literature from its medieval beginnings to the end of the 19th century. We will study a variety of genres including sagas, the novel, the short story, and lyric poetry. Major authors to be studied include: Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Taught in English. No prerequisites.
265 Introduction to Russian and Soviet Film (in English translation): A course on masterworks of Russian and Soviet cinema from the Bolshevik revolution to the present. We will pay attention to significant Russian contributions to world cinema. Readings and topics will include basic cinema analysis, Russian cinema criticism, and Russian film theory. No prerequisites.
298 Independent Study
371 Dostoevsky (in English translation): Reading and discussion of Dostoevsky's major novels from Poor Folk through Brothers Karamazov. Russian majors may take an additional section in the Russian language for major credit in this course.
372 The Russian Press: Since perestroika the Russian press covers a variety of topics that are both culturally and intellectually challenging. The goal of this course is to acquire the language of sophisticated Russians through the treatment of complex issues in the press. Prerequisite: Russian 254. Taught in Russian.
398 Independent Research

Faculty

Pin P. Wan (Chair)
Associate Professor of Chinese, 1987-
B.A., M.A., Fu-Jen Catholic University; M.A., Oregon, 1978; Ph.D., Washington
Chinese language and literature

Marc Robinson
Assistant Professor of Russian, 1991-
B.A., Purdue; M.A., Ph.D., Illinois
Russian literature

Irene Walter
Instructor in Russian, 1986-
B.A., M.A., Leningrad State Herzen Pedagogical Institute; M.A., Connecticut
Russian language