Language Courses

Continuation of BCS 401, BCS 402, BCS 403; reinforces basic grasp of language and enlarges both vocabulary and command of grammatical patterns through the reading of contemporary short stories in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian. First in a sequence of three. Prerequisite: 2.0 in BCS 403.

Introduction to Bulgarian phonology and grammar in terms of the modern spoken language. Writing conventions of literary Bulgarian. First in a sequence of three.

This three-term sequence (401-402-403), running from Autumn through Spring, is intended as an intensive introduction to the Czech language. Because of the small size of the classes, courses move at a faster pace than the normal introductory language sequence. The general objective is that at the completion of the one-year sequence students should be able to be creative with the language at the sentence level, handle basic everyday life situations, read simple connected texts dealing with basic personal and social needs, write short simple letters, postcards, diary entries, take down simple notes (e.g., phone messages), etc. The goal is to move from Novice to Intermediate Low/Mid level on the ACTFL Proficiency Scale.

The second-year sequence in Czech language is designed as a completion of the formal study of the grammar of the language, supplemented by extensive readings from a variety of areas, emphasizing cultural and ethnic heritage. Emphasis is placed upon oral and compositional skills. The student is expected to write brief reports and to prepare oral classroom presentations. Prerequisite: 403 or permission of instructor.

Polish 404-406 is a three-quarter sequence of second-year Polish. After the whole year the students should be able to successfully handle most uncomplicated communicative tasks and social situations: initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation, read simple connected texts, write short simple letters, postcards, diary entries, etc. The goal is to move from Novice High to Intermediate Mid/High level on the ACTFL Proficiency Scale. There are also opportunities to volunteer at UW Polish Studies Endowment Committee events.
Please note that first-year and second-year Polish language courses are taught alternate years.
First-year Polish will be offered Fall 2014.

During this course students will learn the basic skills necessary for communicating in Russian (speaking, listening, reading, and writing). Students will also learn about the Russian culture and increase their ability to use effective strategies for language learning and communication. In addition to becoming proficient speakers of Russian, students taking this course will become skilled language learners as they develop a curiosity about Slavic cultures. No prerequisites.

The second-year sequence in Russian (RUSS 201-202-203) is a comprehensive review of grammar with continuing oral and compositional practice. Emphasis on oral presentation, composition, and conversation with careful attention to grammatical and idiomatic usage and vocabulary development. Prerequisite: RUSS 103, 150, or permission of instructor.

The third-year sequence in Russian (RUSS 301-302-303) is intended to provide the student with extensive practice in spoken and written Russian based on a variety of prose readings. Intensive review and supplementation of strategic grammatical concepts, such as verbal prefixation, aspect, impersonal sentences, conditional mood, word order, indefinite pronouns, and reflexive verbs. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite: RUSS 203, 250 or permission of instructor.

Translation techniques with emphasis on development of vocabulary and reading skills. Primarily for Russian regional studies majors. Credit/no-credit only. Prerequisite: either RUSS 203 or RUSS 250.

The fourth-year program in Russian (RUSS 401-402-403) begins the analysis of styles in the literary language. Readings are chosen from a variety of classical and contemporary works, from belles-lettres and poetry, and from journalism and non-artistic prose. Attention is especially paid to syntax, particularly the composition of compound and complex sentences and peculiarities of word order. Rhythm and intonation are stressed in oral recitation. One day per week is devoted to developing advanced written comprehension and translation skills. Prerequisite: RUSS 303, 350 or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to spoken and written Slovene language. First in a two-course sequence. Prerequisite: either BCS 403, BULGR 403, CZECH 403, POLISH 403, ROMN 403, RUSS 103, RUSS 150, UKR 403, or status as a heritage speaker of Slovene.

Consolidates knowledge of Slovene language through advanced grammatical topics, exercises, reading, composition, listening, and conversation. Prerequisite: SLVN 404

Literature and Culture in English Translation

Introduction to Russian culture and history from pre-Christian times to the present, as seen through literary texts, music, film, visual art, and historical works. All lectures and written materials in English. No prior knowledge of Russian language, literature or history is required. Crosslisted with EURO 110.

Note to majors: this course is intended as an introductory course.

From czars to comrades and to new Russians, from Alexander Pushkin and Fyodor Dostoevsky to Boris Akunin and Alexandra Marinina, the course will cover more than two centuries of Russian crime writing. Other featured writers include Anton Chekhov and Vladimir Nabokov. It’s all about who is good, who is evil, who is up, who is down, and, of course, who dunnit. All readings, lectures, and discussions will be in English. No prior knowledge of Russian, Russian literature or history is required to take this course. No prerequisites.

The course is devoted to the films of Sergei Eisenstein, one of the most influential movie directors of the 20th century. The films will include Battleship Potemkin, October, Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. The course will focus on his film-making experience in Moscow and Hollywood and will also feature his autobiographical and scholarly writings.

This course is a genre-based study of Russian comic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Through the readings we will examine the nature and functions of comic forms such as satire, parody, farce, jokes and anecdotes, and the absurd. Discussion of how comic literature relates to comic theory (Plato, Freud, Bergson, et al.) will attempt to answer the burning question, “But is it funny?” Now counts toward RUSSIAN MAJOR and RUSSIAN AND SLAVIC LITERATURE MINOR.

What is “disability”? What is “health”? What is “normal”? What is a “body”? The course will first examine how these questions have historically been answered in American culture. We will discuss and critique Disability Theory, the Disability Rights Movement and the representation of the disabled. Armed with these “Western” concepts and insights, we then turn our attention to Russia and its cultural productions involving disability (i.e., works about the disabled or made by disabled artists), focusing on 19th and 20th century literature/art. Among our topics: the grotesque, the “holy fool”, the “cult of suffering.” What role have paganism, Orthodox Christianity, nationalism, communism and World War II played in Russia’s answers to our initial questions? We conclude with a consideration of the disabled in late/post-Soviet Russia – a (still-ongoing) historical moment in which discourses of disability have reached unprecedented levels – and ponder the future of disability rights in Russia. In addition to a course packet and at least three films, we will read the following: Omon Ra by Victor Pelevin, Skunk by Pyotr Aleshkovsky and School for Fools by Sasha Sokolov.

This course examines the ways in which Russia’s search for a national identity from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth has been reflected in, and sometimes conducted through, philosophy, literature and the arts. The course will involve discussion of the concepts underlying the complex and not always clearly understood idea of “national identity”.

From the early experimental films of the 1950s that are still being studied in film schools all over the world, such as the famous Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958) — which Roman Polanski directed as a second-year-student — to the 2002 The Pianist, a winner of the Academy Award for the Best Director, and his newest The Ghost Writer (2010) and Carnage (2011), the films of Roman Polanski have attracted a world-wide audience and made Polanski himself one of the most well known and best regarded contemporary directors. This course will explore Polanski’s remarkable and cosmopolitan oeuvre which by now spans more than five decades. We will focus on Polanski’s most successful films, starting with his experimental Polish shorts, proceeding to his highly acclaimed English productions such as Repulsion, his Hollywood classics like Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown, his post-Hollywood multinational productions which include films such as The Tenant and Frantic, his 1990s’ Bitter Moon and Death and the Maiden, his acclaimed The Pianist, and his most recent films. The course will look into how Polanski’s movies adopt a number of different genres and different aesthetic approaches to deal with some of Polanski’s recurrent themes, such as solitude, victimization, the separation from the society, and the idiosyncratic worldview of an isolated individual.

This course examines the origins and development of animated film in Russia and the former Soviet sphere (especially Czechoslovakia, Poland and Estonia). Long considered a children’s medium, animation served as a vehicle for state propaganda but also – throughout its history in these closed, authoritarian societies – for politicized and even critical expression. More broadly, the course examines how popular culture interacts, reinforces and at times resists hegemonic structures. Artists covered include Wladislaw Starewicz, Nikolai Khodataev, Jan Švankmajer, Yurii Norstein, Fyodor Khitruk, Vyacheslav Kotenochkin and Yurii Kulakov. All films and readings in English translation.

Bulgarian cultural heritage is unique in its combination of Slavic and Balkan features. In Bulgarian epic songs, music, folk costumes, calendar, customs, etc., survive myths, heroes and motifs – evidence from the deep and forgotten historical past. During the 19th century numerous folklorists with romantic enthusiasm have discovered this heritage, gathering songs, tales and legends. Among them are Shafaric, the Miladinov brothers, Verkovic and Shishmanov. In the 20th century we see a different process – modern authors exercised attempts to establish individual style, incorporating Bulgarian folklore in various genres. This tradition is seen even earlier, established by Karavelov, Botev and P. R. Slavejkov, although the folklore-based-modernity is typical for Vazov, P. P. Slavejkov, Yavorov, Yovkov, Elin-Pelin. In music such authors are Vladigerov and Stajnov; in painting – Markvichka and Vl. Dimitrov-Majstora. This course introduces students to fundamental issues about Bulgarian folk culture. In addition it looks at this transformation – from customs and everyday practices to modernity, which is in fact a combination of Western and some Eastern influences in South-Eastern Europe.

Slavic Linguistics

SLAV 351, required for all EELLC majors and Slavic Language minors, and RUSS 451, required for all RUSSIAN majors, now have a prerequisite: LING 200 available in the Linguistics Department. RUSS 451 is offered each Winter quarter. SLAV 351 is offered each Spring quarter. If you are planning on enrolling in RUSS 451 or SLAV 351, you will need to have taken the prerequisite LING 200 before being admitted to either course.
Visit http://depts.washington.edu/lingweb for information on LING 200.

This course introduces the basic concepts of Slavic linguistics, addresses the origin of the Slavs and the major stages of their linguistic history, and considers the Slavic languages and their peculiarities in detail. Course taught in English.

Independent Undergraduate Study

Graduate Courses