Russian Courses

Courses by Category

  • SLAV 1001 - First-Year Russian I (1st Year)
  • SLAV 1002 - First-Year Russian II (1st Year)
  • SLAV 1003 - Second-Year Russian I (2nd Year)
  • SLAV 1004 - Second-Year Russian II (2nd Year)
  • SLAV 1012 - Intensive Basic Russian I (1st Year)
  • SLAV 1013 - Russian for Heritage Speakers I
  • SLAV 1014 - Russian for Heritage Speakers II
  • SLAV 1034 - Intensive Basic Russian II (2nd Year)
  • SLAV 2005 - Intermediate Russian I (3rd Year)
  • SLAV 2006 - Intermediate Russian II (3rd Year)
  • SLAV 2007 - Russia Today: Topics in Advanced Russian I (4th Year)
  • SLAV 2008 - Russia Today: Topics in Advanced Russian II (4th Year)
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Please note: Languages courses may not be audited or taken Pass/No Pass. 


Explanation of Course Numbers

  • Courses in the 1000s are primarily introductory undergraduate courses
  • Those in the 2000s to 4000s are upper-level undergraduate courses that also may be taken for graduate credit with permission and additional work assigned
  • Those in the 6000s and 8000s are for master’s, doctoral, and professional-level students
  • The 6000s are open to advanced undergraduate students with approval of the instructor and the dean or advising office

SLAV 1000. Dean's Seminar. 3 Credits.

The Dean’s Seminars provide Columbian College first-year students focused scholarship on specific intellectual challenges. Topics vary by semester; see department for more details.

SLAV 1001. First-Year Russian I. 4 Credits.

Fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian. Heritage speakers require permission to register. Laboratory fee.

SLAV 1002. First-Year Russian II. 4 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 1001. Fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian. Prerequisite: SLAV 1001. Heritage speakers require permission to register. Laboratory fee.

SLAV 1003. Second-Year Russian I. 4 Credits.

Fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian.Heritage speakers require permission to register. Prerequisite: SLAV 1002.

SLAV 1004. Second-Year Russian II. 4 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 1003. Fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian. Heritage speakers require permission to register. Prerequisites: SLAV 1003 or placement test.

SLAV 1012. Intensive Basic Russian I. 8 Credits.

Intensive course in fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian (equivalent to SLAV 1001– SLAV 1002). Recommended for majors. Heritage speakers require permission to register. Laboratory fee.

SLAV 1013. Russian for Heritage Speakers I. 3 Credits.

Prepares heritage speakers of Russian for advanced study in Russian at the third-year level and beyond, including content courses in literature and area studies. Prerequisite: a placement test.

SLAV 1014. Russian for Heritage Speakers II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 1013.Prepares heritage speakers of Russian for advanced study in Russian at the third-year level and beyond, including content courses in literature and area studies. Prerequisite: a placement test.

SLAV 1017. Russian Rock Music: A Cultural History. 3 Credits.

Russian rock and its role in the cultural and political history of the Soviet Union and modern-day Russia. Emphasis on the role of rock music in the time leading up to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, as well as current-day trends. In English.

SLAV 1034. Intensive Basic Russian II. 8 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 1012. Intensive course in fundamentals of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Russian (equivalent to SLAV 1003– SLAV 1004). Recommended for majors. Prerequisite: SLAV 1002 or SLAV 1012 . Heritage speakers require permission to register. Laboratory fee.

SLAV 1099. Variable Topics. 1-36 Credits.

SLAV 1391. Introduction to Russian Literature I. 3 Credits.

Russian literature and society from 1800 to the 1860s, with a focus on the Golden Age of Russian literature; poems and stories by Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, and Turgenev.

SLAV 1391W. Introduction to Russian Literature I. 3 Credits.

Russian literature and society from 1800 to the 1860s, with a focus on the Golden Age of Russian literature; poems and stories by Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, and Turgenev. Includes a significant engagement in writing as a form of critical inquiry and scholarly expression to satisfy the WID requirement.

SLAV 1392. Introduction to Russian Literature II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 1391. Russian literature and society on their way to modernity; great works of prose and drama by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Bunin.

SLAV 2005. Intermediate Russian I. 5 Credits.

Practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at the intermediate level. Prerequisites: SLAV 1004 or SLAV 1034; or permission of the instructor.

SLAV 2006. Intermediate Russian I. 5 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 2005. Practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at the intermediate level. Prerequisites: SLAV 1004 or SLAV 1034; or permission of the instructor.

SLAV 2007. Russia Today: Topics in Advanced Russian I. 3 Credits.

Practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at the advanced level. Prerequisites: SLAV 2006 or permission of the instructor.

SLAV 2008. Russia Today: Topics in Advanced Russian II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 2007. Practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at the advanced level. Prerequisites: SLAV 2006 or permission of the instructor.

SLAV 2015. Readings in the Russian Press I. 3 Credits.

Reading and analysis of current Russian periodicals. For departmental majors and graduate students with a reading-language proficiency requirement.

SLAV 2016. Readings in the Russian Press II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 2015. Reading and analysis of current Russian periodicals. For departmental majors and graduate students with a reading-language proficiency requirement.

SLAV 2310. The Russian Media Since Communism. 3 Credits.

The Russian media as a prototype for media in a totalitarian state (the Soviet Union), an emerging democracy (1987 to 2000), and an authoritarian state (2000 to present). Taught in English. Prerequisites: for students seeking to satisfy Russian major program requirements, SLAV 2006.

SLAV 2320. The Social History of Modern Russian Music. 3 Credits.

The development of Russian modern music from the 1960s to the present and its cultural, political, and social consequences. Origins as a protest phenomenon and government efforts to co-opt the movement. Taught in English with translated materials.

SLAV 2361. Russian Culture. 3 Credits.

Survey of Russian cultural heritage from its ancient origins through the early nineteenth century. Architecture from the medieval period through the end of the Empire style. Iconography, the influence of the Church, and effects of the West on Russian culture.

SLAV 2362. Russian Culture. 3 Credits.

Survey of Russian culture from the nineteenth century through the present, including intellectual movements; realism in music, art, and theatre; ballet; avant-garde painting; and effects of Soviet policies and of Perestroika.

SLAV 2365. Twentieth-Century Russian Literature to World War II. 3 Credits.

Russian literature and culture of the first half of the twentieth century: the impact of the revolution on writers and literature; avant-garde, socialist realism, and emigre literature (Nabokov)—in English.

SLAV 2366. Russian Literature from World War II to the Present. 3 Credits.

Literature in wartime and in postwar years from Solzhenitsyn to the latest trends: the "thaws," village and urban prose, post-Soviet literature, Russian postmodernism-in English.

SLAV 2471. Nineteenth-Century Russian Prose. 3 Credits.

Reading and discussion of selected prose texts of the nineteenth century from Pushkin to Chekhov—in Russian. Prerequisites: SLAV 2006 and SLAV 1391 and SLAV 1392.

SLAV 2472. Nineteenth-Century Russian Poetry. 3 Credits.

Reading and discussion of selected poetry of the nineteenth century (Pushkin, Lermontov, Nekrasov, and others)—in Russian.

SLAV 2473. 20th-Century Russian Prose. 3 Credits.

Reading and discussion of selected prose of the twentieth century from Bunin to Solzhenitsyn—in Russian.

SLAV 2474. Twentieth-Century Russian Poetry. 3 Credits.

Reading and discussion of selected poetry of the twentieth century from Blok to Brodsky—in Russian. Prerequisites: SLAV 2006 and SLAV 2365 and SLAV 2366.

SLAV 2785. Introduction to Russian Cinema I. 3 Credits.

(In English; all films subtitled.) From Russian silents to the introduction of sound and color (1896–1946). The great revolutionary directors—Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Dovzhenko.

SLAV 2786. Introduction to Russian Cinema II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 2785. (In English; all films subtitled.) From post-war to post-perestroika cinema (since 1946): war films, adventure, films about youth.

SLAV 3099. Variable Topics. 1-12 Credits.

SLAV 4595. Special Topics. 3 Credits.

May be repeated for credit provided the topic differs.

SLAV 4595W. Special Topics. 3 Credits.

SLAV 4597. Senior Honors Thesis I. 3 Credits.

Senior honors thesis on a topic related to Russian language, literature, or culture. Required of honors students in the Russian languages and literature program. Restricted to honors students in the Russian languages and literature program.

SLAV 4598. Senior Honors Thesis II. 3 Credits.

Continuation of SLAV 4597. Senior honors thesis on a topic related to Russian language, literature, or culture. Required of honors students in the Russian languages and literature program. Restricted to honors students in the Russian languages and literature program.

SLAV 5099. Variable Topics. 1-99 Credits.