Russian Talk: Communication, Culture
& Health in Sochi, Russia
2009 Exploration Seminar in Russia
Program Director: Valentina Zaitseva ~ Slavic Department Dates of Instruction: August 24 - September 12, 2009
Course Website : http://faculty.washington.edu/vaz2
About Sochi: Palm trees and a subtropical climate do not usually come to mind when one hears the word “Russia.” Sochi is a popular health spa, located in the part of Russia between Georgia and Ukraine. The city displays rich demographic and ethnic diversity (over 100 nationalities and ethnic groups). Its population of 400,000 receives an additional 3 million visitors representing all strata of Russian society. As а rapidly developing site for the Olympics 2014, Sochi has set top standards for building health resorts, model sports facilities and ecolo gically sensitive transport infrastructure. The development outline also includes retryaining Sochi health personnel in ways of communicating with patients consistent with Western civil society standards. All this makes Sochi an ideal place for studying cross-cultural communication and social interaction.
Course description: Communication is a culturally embedded and complex process that involves verbal and non-verbal language, and certain patterns of communicative behavior. Unfortunately, even familiar looking features (pitch, smile, tone of voice) might be interpreted differently in different cultures: “you and I” is polite in English, but in Russian “I and you” that is more polite. Russian language imposes on its speakers some choices that English speakers don’t have to make, such as gender awareness: if you are a male, I will choose a different verb form talking to you about what you did). This undergraduate and graduate research course will help you analyze specific Russian ways of interpersonal interaction that differ from familiar patterns, including those that cause cross-cultural and intra-cultural communication failures or tension. Students with no or limited Russian speaking ability will be assisted by interns from a local university. Our field-work sites will be set primarily (but not exclusively) in the areas of education and health. We will  visit Russian schools and observe student/teacher interactions and classroom practices, and compare their observations with such practices in the U.S. A. We will observe doctor/ patient interactions, identifying which health behaviors and outcomes are rooted in the Russian socio-cultural context.
Learning goals:
Upon completion of the course the participants will:
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Demonstrate a basic understanding of the way speakers’ identities are affected in and by communication; demonstrate awareness of the range of possible consequences of interpersonal communication (from personal to medical or political).
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Demonstrate familiarity with theoretical approaches to key dimensions of interpersonal communication and with relevant research methods; apply theory to analysis of the data.
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Describe and analyze factors responsible for successful and “failed” communication (“cultural scripts,” linguistic elements, communicative strategies, other).
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In collaboration with local residents, identify characteristics of the culture that are reflected in educational and health care systems.
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Describe and analyze communicative genres in public space of a Russian city: the use of verbal and non-verbal communication in public transportation, market places, banks, restaurants, other.
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Compare and contrast interpersonal communication in Russia with interpersonal communication in the United States.
 Course organization:
The course will include language classes (crash/survival Russian for the beginners; a special course for Russian group in socio-cultural aspects of Russian language); seminar sessions discussing theoretical issues in communication and analysis of the data; intensive field work in real communication at workplaces (schools, sanatoriums, etc.) Prior to travel to Russia, there will be a 3-day orientation in Seattle to acquaint students with a broad outline of Russian history and current political arena as well as to familiarize them with basic frameworks for conversation analysis. When in Russia, students will be required to complete assigned readings, and keep log of their observations, field experiences, and basic communication with local residents. In the last week, there will be group oral presentations and a written term paper.
There will be intensive cultural programs related to the course, including guest lectures, trips to tourist attractions, hiking, films, theater performances and outings with the Russian participants.
 Faculty:
Dr. Valentina Zaitseva, Director, teaches first and second year Russian at the Slavic Department. She has a PhD from Harvard University in Slavic Linguistics, and a number of publications in semantics, pragmatics, and interpersonal communication. She also has vast experience in teaching Russian as a foreign language at all levels in such institutions as Harvard, NYU, and Georgetown universities. She is a native speaker of Russian and a native of Sochi.
Research Assistant:
Veronika Egorova, PhD. candidate, Slavic Department (
Slavic Linguistics, language pedagogy)
Students may sign up for the following credit options. Participants should check with their advisors to determine how these credits can count towards departmental requirements.
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RUSS 482 “Research Project in Russia” (VLPA)
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RUSS 486 “Russian Culture in Russia” (I&S/VLPA)
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RUSS 499 "Selected Topics in Russian" which is an elective in the Slavic Department
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RUSS 600 "Independent Study/Research" for graduate students
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NURS 499 (undergrads) or 599 (grads): Selected Readings in Nursing Science
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NMETH 590: Special Topics in Nursing Research Participants for graduate students
 Student costs:
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