Class Schedules

Continuation of RUSS 101; further development of the same skills. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 101 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Continuation of RUSS 101; further development of the same skills. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 101 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Continuation of RUSS 101; further development of the same skills. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 101 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Continuation of RUSS 203; further development of the same skills; added emphasis on reading and discussing simple texts. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Students are usually prepared for study in Russia after they have completed Intermediate Russian II. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 203 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Continuation of RUSS 203; further development of the same skills; added emphasis on reading and discussing simple texts. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Students are usually prepared for study in Russia after they have completed Intermediate Russian II. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 203 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Continuation of RUSS 203; further development of the same skills; added emphasis on reading and discussing simple texts. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. Students are usually prepared for study in Russia after they have completed Intermediate Russian II. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 203 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

When communication takes place across language barriers, it raises fundamental questions about meaning, style, power relationships, and traditions. This course treats literary translation as a particularly complex form of cross-cultural interaction. Students will work on their own translations of prose or poetry while considering broader questions of translation, through critiques of existing translations, close comparisons of variant translations, and readings on cultural and theoretical aspects of literary translation. Prerequisite(s): Advanced proficiency in a second language required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The Russian word for crime literally means “overstepping,” in the sense of crossing a boundary. What happens, however, when that boundary shifts? Or what if the society that defines the criminal is itself “wrong”? Throughout its history, Russian literature has returned almost obsessively to the theme of transgression. We will take a cross-cultural approach as we juxtapose Russian texts with those from other literary traditions, bringing out similar and contrasting views of wrongdoing in Russian culture and that of “the West” against which Russia has traditionally defined itself. Readings will introduce course participants to an intellectual axe murderer, a female serial killer, demonic hooligans, men pushed over the edge by classical music, and others on the wrong side of the law. Central to the course will be the question of how fiction writers present crime and how their artistic choices influence the way readers think of such seemingly self-evident oppositions as good and evil, right and wrong. Our course will address such themes as: the motives for and the moment of crossing over into crime; the criminal act as a work of art; the relationship between gender and crime; the (in)justice of punishment and the spectacle of state power. We will apply ideas arising from our readings to current events, studying the means by which contemporary instances of wrongdoing are represented in the mass media, and analyzing how true-life stories are turned into allegory and myth. No knowledge of Russian required; all readings, lectures, and discussions will be in English. This course counts toward the Legal Studies Concentration.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Russia’s relations with the West often overshadow its deep connections with its eastern neighbors. From the 17th century onward, Russia - and later the Soviet Union - developed strategic approaches to control Siberia and the so-called Far East and assert its power in the Pacific, where it confronted other regional powers, such as China, Japan, and Korea.Given the current shifts in the global political order, understanding the historical connections between Russia, China, Japan, and Korea is more important than ever. This course examines the complexities of these relationships, with a particular emphasis on foreign policy.Key course themes include imperial Russian expansion into the Pacific region; colonization of indigenous populations; modernization projects (the Trans-Siberian Railway as a geopolitical tool); the clash of imperial interests in the Far East; the Russo-Japanese War; the 1917 revolution and its effect on China, Korea, and Japan; the White Movement in the Far East; the Soviet Union and Mongolia; the Pacific front during WWII; the Korean War and later relations with South and North Korea; Sino-Soviet relations in the 1960-80s; and the fragile partnerships after the fall of the Soviet Union.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A structured introduction to the basics of the Russian sound system and grammar, as well as speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Some exposure to Russian culture. For beginning students. No prerequisites. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A structured introduction to the basics of the Russian sound system and grammar, as well as speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Some exposure to Russian culture. For beginning students. No prerequisites. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A structured introduction to the basics of the Russian sound system and grammar, as well as speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Some exposure to Russian culture. For beginning students. No prerequisites. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

In the second year of Russian, students learn to operate in basic social and cultural environments. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 102 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

In the second year of Russian, students learn to operate in basic social and cultural environments. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 102 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

In the second year of Russian, students learn to operate in basic social and cultural environments. Conversational skills needed on the telephone, public transport and other daily situations, listening and reading skills such as television, newspapers, and movies, and various modes of writing are studied. Russian language classes aim at perfecting all four linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Intermediate and advanced courses are taught in Russian as much as possible. This course meets three times per week with two additional weekly sessions (labs) devoted specifically to oral proficiency. These conversation sessions are taught by Russian native speakers. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 102 with a grade of C- or better, or consent of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Russia presents an excellent case study for the topic of political violence. Terrorism as a means of political persuasion originated in the land of the tsars; Russian history features an incendiary cycle of repressions, revolts, and reprisals. Studying the origins and depictions of these events in works of art reveals how culture mediates between the world of ideas and the sphere of action. We will consider the tactics and motives of revolutionary conspirators as well as the role that gender and religion played in specific acts of terror. We will explore the ways in which Russian revolutionary thought and action served as a model for radicals around the world. The Russian case will provide a framework for in-depth study of examples of terrorism from Algeria, Ireland, Germany, the U.S., and the Middle East. Texts will include novels, poems, manifestos, letters, journalistic accounts, and films, as well as readings in cultural history and political theory. Taught in English.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

The Russian Revolution took place in 1917. But can we reduce the Russian revolutionary experience and its role in Russian and world history to this year? This course explores the nature of the revolutionary process in late imperial Russian and Soviet history from the late nineteenth century to the 1990s. We will trace the development of the revolutionary processes in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries (modernization, the revolutionary movement of the 19th century, 1917, Stalin’s Revolution, the Quiet Revolution, and Gorbachev’s Perestroika) and how ordinary people experienced them. We will focus on the relationship between revolutionary dreams and everyday realities, the coercive nature of revolution, and its attempts to introduce equality and participatory mechanisms.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

How did gender beliefs influence the development of modern science? How did women shape modern science? This course explores the intersection of gender and science from the early modern period to the late twentieth century. It focuses on the Western scientific tradition, with special attention to Russian and Soviet experiences. In this course, we will examine the following topics: early modern beliefs about nature, science, and gender; women’s participation in modern science; the development of modern scientific institutions; and biographies of women scientists.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course introduces students to cross-cultural collaboration and community engagement in educational settings. Students explore how communities build belonging, connection, and shared meaning across differences. The course takes a project-based and strength-based approach. Students will reflect on their strengths - teaching, communication, language, artistic, technical, or organizational - including insights from the CliftonStrengths assessment, and apply them to a real-world project.In Fall 2026, students will partner with the American Russian Center, a non-profit serving diverse and multiethnic Russian-speaking communities in the Twin Cities, including Russians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Jews, Uzbeks, and others from across the post-Soviet space. Through this partnership, students will design and implement projects such as creating language activity kits, facilitating an intergenerational learning event, designing a family literacy night, and more.This unique course bridges academic studies and community engagement while building skills in teamwork, communication, and project design. Open to all students; no knowledge of Russian is required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Russia’s relations with the West often overshadow its deep connections with its eastern neighbors. From the 17th century onward, Russia - and later the Soviet Union - developed strategic approaches to control Siberia and the so-called Far East and assert its power in the Pacific, where it confronted other regional powers, such as China, Japan, and Korea. Given the current shifts in the global political order, understanding the historical connections between Russia, China, Japan, and Korea is more important than ever. This course examines the complexities of these relationships, with a particular emphasis on foreign policy. Key course themes include imperial Russian expansion into the Pacific region; colonization of indigenous populations; modernization projects (the Trans-Siberian Railway as a geopolitical tool); the clash of imperial interests in the Far East; the Russo-Japanese War; the 1917 revolution and its effect on China, Korea, and Japan; the White Movement in the Far East; the Soviet Union and Mongolia; the Pacific front during WWII; the Korean War and later relations with South and North Korea; Sino-Soviet relations in the 1960-80s; and the fragile partnerships after the fall of the Soviet Union.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials