Slavic Languages and Literatures

Professor Justin Weir, Director of Undergraduate Studies

The concentration in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers an opportunity to develop proficiency in the Russian language and to apply that skill, through one of two concentration options, to the study of Russian culture and the crucial role it has played in the modern world.

The first option centers on Russian Literature and Culture. In addition to the two required Russian literature survey courses, students are encouraged to explore courses on a broad variety of subjects, including Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, the Russian avant-garde, Russian autobiography and essay, Russian literature and narrative theory, the culture of St. Petersburg, the culture of Medieval Rus', Russian women readers and writers, the Russian theater, Eastern European film, post-realist fiction, and Slavic science fiction. Many of these courses include aspects of Slavic critical theory (Formalism, Structuralism, Bakhtin, Cultural Semiotics), as well as non-Slavic contemporary theoretical approaches to literature. This option also allows students to take Russian and Slavic area courses on history, government, economics, and the arts. The sophomore tutorial takes the form of a half-course during the fall term and provides an introduction to the methodology and critical questions involved in the study of Russian literature. The junior tutorial, a full course given on a small-group basis, applies this knowledge to work on special topics in literary study. The senior tutorial involves individual work toward a thesis and is required only of honors candidates. A particular attraction of this option is the high ratio of full-time faculty to concentrators, which offers students personal attention in both courses and tutorials. The junior and senior tutorials in this option are taught exclusively by full-time faculty.

The second option is the concentration in Russian Studies, designed for students whose interest in Russia centers on such fields as history, government, economics, and sociology, in addition to language and literature. Students are expected by graduation to have done work for concentration in three cooperating departments. The general examination reflects the multidisciplinary nature of this option. The sophomore tutorial is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of Russian culture and is taught jointly by members of the Slavic and History or Government Departments. The junior tutorial may, with the permission of the Head Tutor and/or Director of Undergraduate Studies involved, be taken in Slavic, History, and/or in Government-as may senior tutorial in the case of honors candidates.

Note: Students wishing to pursue a plan of study that involves a Slavic language and culture other than Russian may do so with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

The department gives prizes for superior honors theses in both concentration options. Both options require a general examination at the end of the senior year, for which students prepare by means of the courses they take or by mastering works on reading lists that are available in the Department office. Both options encourage study abroad under the auspices of the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR), or one of the many new programs that have arisen since 1991. These organizations sponsor programs in a variety of Russian and East European cities. Entrance to the programs is competitive, but Harvard students have done well. Credit toward concentration requirements is granted to those who successfully complete the programs; but in order to receive credit for this or any other external study, the student must receive permission in advance from the Faculty's Committee on Education Abroad.

The department welcomes students with an interest in Russian language and culture and is prepared to accept late transfers so long as the applicants have already begun language study (though the doubling of the sophomore and junior tutorials is more feasible in the Russian Literature and Culture option than in the Russian Studies option). The department emphatically does not intend its undergraduate concentration to be merely or principally a conduit to graduate study. It seeks to provide intellectual stimulation along with certain linguistic and analytic skills, and while a few students each year opt for graduate study in Slavic, the majority follow careers in other areas-among them medicine, law, business, and government-finding the concentration easily compatible with such interests.

OPTIONS

Russian Literature and Culture
Russian Studies

REQUIREMENTS
Russian Literature and Culture
Basic Requirements: 12 half-courses

1. Required courses:
1. Five half-courses in Russian language above the first-term level. Appropriate substitutions may be made by the Director of Undergraduate Studies for students with advanced language preparation who must take a minimum of two courses of language, the rest being in literature.
2. Three half-courses of tutorial (see item 2).
3. Two of the following survey courses: Slavic 145a, Slavic 145b, Literature and Arts C-28, Literature and Arts C-30, Literature and Arts C-50, Literature and Arts C-51, Foreign Cultures 72; and two additional half-courses in Russian language, literature or linguistics. Two of these may be in another Slavic language or literature.
2. Tutorials:
1. Sophomore year: Slavic 96 (one term) required. Letter-graded.
2. Junior year: Slavic 98 (two terms) required. Letter-graded.
3. Thesis: None.
4. General Examination: Written examination required of all seniors.
5. Other information:
1. Russian language, literature, and linguistics courses include any Slavic Department language, literature or linguistics course at the 100-level or above; Foreign Cultures 72; Literature and Arts A-45, A-60, C-28, C-30, C-50, C-51; Comparative Literature 160, 164, 168, 169, 260, 261, 262, 275; Literature 128, 138; Linguistics 250, 252; a relevant Freshman Seminar.
2. Other relevant courses and Independent Study arrangements may be counted toward the concentration if approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
3. Pass/Fail: All courses for concentration must be graded, except courses at the 200 level which may, with permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, be taken Pass/Fail.

Russian Literature and Culture
Requirements for Honors Eligibility: 14 half-courses

1. Required courses:
1. Same as Basic Requirements.
2. Four half-courses of tutorial (see item 2).
3. Same as Basic Requirements.
4. One additional half-course in Russian language and literature. (A second term of Slavic 99r may count for this requirement.)
2. Tutorials:
1. Sophomore year: Same as Basic Requirements.
2. Junior year: Same as Basic Requirements.
3. Senior year: At least one term of Slavic 99r. A second term is optional. Graded SAT/ UNS.
3. Thesis: Required. A student who does not complete a thesis may receive credit for Slavic 99r by submitting a substantial paper.
4. General Examination: Written examination required.
5. Other information: Same as Basic Requirements.

Russian Studies
Basic Requirements: 12 half-courses

1. Required courses:
1. Five half-courses in Russian language above the first-term level.
2. Four half-courses of tutorial (see item 2).
3. One of the following survey courses: Slavic 145a, Slavic 145b, Literature and Arts C-28, Literature and Arts C-30, Literature and Arts C-50, Literature and Arts C-51, Foreign Cultures 72; and two additional half-courses, chosen from a yearly list of approved offerings, to make up a total of twelve half-courses (including tutorial) which will represent work in three fields. Typically, these fields will be Slavic, History, and Government, although alternatives may be made available. Slavic 99r, History 99, and Government 99 may count towards this requirement.
2. Tutorials:
1. Sophomore year: Slavic 97 (two terms) required. Letter-graded.
2. Junior year: Slavic 98 (two terms) required or, with the approval of the Head Tutor and/or Director of Undergraduate Studies in Slavic and the cooperating department, junior tutorial in History or Government. Letter-graded. [N.B.: Russian Studies concentrators must take at least one term of Slavic 98.]
3. Thesis: None.
4. General Examination: Written examination required of all seniors. The examination covers three fields, typically literature, history, and government.
5. Other information: Same as Basic Requirements for Russian Literature and Culture option.

Russian Studies
Requirements for Honors Eligibility: 14 half-courses

1. Required courses:
1. Same as Basic Requirements.
2. Five half-courses of tutorial (see item 2 below).
3. Same as Basic Requirements.
4. One additional half-course from the yearly list of approved courses. (A second term of Slavic 99r may count for this requirement.)
2. Tutorials:
1. Sophomore year: Same as Basic Requirements.
2. Junior year: Slavic 98 (or alternative). Same as Basic Requirements.
3. Senior year: At least one term of Slavic 99r or alternative. A second term is optional. Graded SAT/UNS.
3. Thesis: Required. A student who does not complete a thesis may receive credit for Slavic 99r by submitting a substantial paper.
4. General Examination: Written examination required.
5. Other information: Same as Basic Requirements.

ADVISING

The Director of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for advising the concentrators in all three years. Concentrators meet with the Director individually at the beginning of each term to discuss their Plans of Study and their progress through the concentration, and thereafter as desired.

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE

Consult Professor Justin Weir, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Barker Center 326 (617-4963737).

ENROLLMENT STATISTICS

Number of Concentrators as of November