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Russian: Language, Literature, Culture (including courses in English)

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  • CAS LR 111: First-Year Russian I
    An introduction to the fundamentals of Russian grammar. Extensive practice in orthography and pronunciation: oral drills, development of comprehension and conversation skills. Reading of simple texts. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS LR 112: First-Year Russian II
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LR 111.
    An introduction to the fundamentals of Russian grammar. Extensive practice in orthography and pronunciation: oral drills, development of comprehension and conversation skills. Reading of simple texts. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS LR 211: Second-Year Russian I
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LR 112.
    The fundamentals of Russian grammar and syntax. Development of reading and oral skills. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
    • The Individual in Community
  • CAS LR 250: Classics of Russian Prose (in English translation)
    Prose works that define the Russian literary tradition, including Pushkin's Queen of Spades, Gogol's Overcoat, Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS LR 280: Dostoevsky (in English translation)
    Dostoevsky's evolution as novelist and philosopher. Explore major novels, including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and Demons, within cultural and political contexts; consider the significance of literary innovations and meditations on questions of morality, personality, freedom, health, justice, and evil. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Aesthetic Exploration
  • CAS LR 281: Tolstoy (in English translation)
    Tolstoy's evolution as novelist and moral philosopher. Explore major works, including War and Peace and Anna Karenina, within cultural and political contexts; consider the significance of literary innovations and meditations on questions of morality, death, freedom, justice, meaning, and happiness. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Aesthetic Exploration
  • CAS LR 282: Russian Prose Classics of the Twentieth Century (in English translation)
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
    Introduction to the major writers of twentieth-century Russian prose and to the literary traditions that they represent through a close reading of selected texts. Authors include Chekhov, Tolstoy, Babel, Bulgakov, Kharms, Pasternak, Shalamov, Solzhenitsyn, Petrushevskaya, Sorokin. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing- Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS LR 288: Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov
    Close, careful study of Dostoevsky's masterpiece, with eye to historical, philosophical, theological, cultural, and literary significance; explores Dostoevsky's reinvention of the novel alongside questions of morality, justice, modernity, community, personality, and the meaning of life. Taught in English. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Aesthetic Exploration
  • CAS LR 289: Russian Culture (in English translation)
    Introduction (in English) to Russian culture. Traces its development from legendary beginnings to today, focusing on such topics as everyday life, pop culture, national identity, and the woman question. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS LR 311: Russian Youth Culture
    Explores the literature, culture, politics, and art of contemporary Russian youth throughout the former Soviet world; includes short stories, poems, paintings, photographs, and cinema. Consolidates and builds competencies in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Russian. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • CAS LR 312: Russia on Screen
    Watch original unabridged Russian films and read scripts. Intensive work on improvement of fluency and quality of expression in Russian; special attention to pronunciation. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS LR 327: Immigrant Women in Literature: Found in Translation?
    This course explores literature about migration created by women primarily from Eastern Europe. We read autobiographical narratives that focus on the shaping of transcultural identity with an eye to the problem of translation as a linguistic, cultural, and personal phenomenon. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS LR 355: Chekhov: The Stories and Plays (in English translation)
    Explores Chekhov's major plays and a wide selection from his prose (in English translation); studies the arc of his career, his aesthetic innovations, moral psychology, philosophical perspective. Includes practicum in which students produce a play composed of scenes from Chekhov. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS LR 401: Senior Independent Work
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of WLL Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • CAS LR 402: Senior Independent Work
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: approval of WLL Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • CAS LR 442: Russian Media
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one 300-level Russian language course or consent of instructor.
    A multimedia exploration of post-Soviet Russian mass media and pop culture. Engages in collaborative and in-depth study of contemporary Russian media sources (including print, music, television, film, and internet) while building and strengthening Russian proficiency. Taught in Russian. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS LR 445: Russian in Boston: Advanced Experiential Russian
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS LR 303; or consent of instructor.
    In this immersive experiential course, students connect classroom learning to hands-on work in the community. Students are expected to help and learn from members of the Boston Russian community, and to reflect creatively on real- life experiences. Taught entirely in Russian. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS LR 456: Topics in Twentieth-Century Russian Literature
    May be repeated for credit if different topic. Pre-requisites vary with topic. Topic for Fall 2018: The Russian Short Story. Introduces students to the Russian short story in the original through close reading of major writers: Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov. Discussions, readings, assignments in Russian. (Pre-requisite: CAS LR 212, or consent of instructor.)
  • CAS LR 457: Advanced Russian Language and Literature
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120)
    Introduces students to major works of Russian literature in the original: stories, poems, and prose excerpts from writers such as Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, Kharms, Shalamov, Petrushevskaya. Emphasis on speaking and writing. Discussions provide historical and cultural context.? Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS LR 491: Directed Study: Russian
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of department and CAS Advising.
    Application form available in department.

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