This course offers a history of Eastern Europe in the modern era, from the age of Enlightenment and the French revolution in the late 18th century through the present. It covers the territory between today's Italy and Russia, including Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Topics include: Enlightenment, Romanticism, nationalism, socialism, Zionism, fascism, Nazism, communism, the Holocaust, genocides, Cold War, and post-1991 Europe. The course will incorporate a variety of primary sources, including novels, memoirs, diaries, and the arts as well as several films.

"An examination of the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Soviet Union and that Union's eventual collapse. Topics include: the invention and unfolding of single-party revolutionary politics, the expansion of the machinery of state, the onset and development of Stalin's personal despotism, the violent attempt to create a noncapitalist society, the experiences and consequences of the monumental war with Nazi Germany, and the various postwar reforms. Special attention paid to the dynamics of the new socialist society, the connection between the power of the state and everyday life, global communism, and the 1991 collapse."

This course features literary and philosophical works on the conflict between the individual and the state. We begin with theories of civil disobedience in ancient Greece and modern America, with readings from Plato, Sophocles, Thoreau, and Martin Luther King. What tools of resistance can be deployed in combating state injustice? We then examine the Russian and Soviet experiences. A rich tradition of prison writing (e.g. Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn) explores the clash between a powerful state and an embattled individual. What survival strategies (physical and spiritual) emerged in the Russian and Soviet contexts? All readings in English.

This is an introductory course, conducted entirely in English, on the classics of nineteenth-century Russian literature. No previous knowledge of Russian language, literature, culture, or history is expected. The focus of the course is on close readings of individual works. At the same time, we will pay attention to the way a distinctively Russian national tradition takes shape, in which writers consciously respond to their predecessors. All of these works have a firm position in the Russian cultural memory, and they have significantly contributed to Russian national identity.

This course examines the complex, often subversive world of Eastern European and Russian cinema, where filmmakers navigated censorship to tell stories of war, love, and political upheaval. We'll explore how directors used style and narrative to reflect and challenge their societies. Classes include weekly screenings (with English subtitles), discussions, and opportunities for creative projects, offering students a deeper understanding of the region's cinematic and cultural legacy. Ideal for those interested in film, history, and critical analysis.

This seminar will examine 20th-century Eastern European history through literary works from a number of countries in the region, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to present-day Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belarus, Ukraine and the Balkans. Readings will generally consist of one novel per week, but we will also look at a number of other genres, including the short story, poetry, the journal, and reportage. While discussing the historical and political dimensions of this period, we will consider the limits of what literature can depict, and a range of possible ethical and aesthetic responses to authoritarianism.

The course introduces students to stories that every Russian is exposed to as a child. Seemingly simple, these narratives bear deep cultural significance. We will sample a dozen of Russian fairy tales belonging to the oral tradition. We will also read and discuss two fairy tales by Alexander Pushkin, as well as short excerpts from the works by the foremost Russian scholar of folklore Vladimir Propp. Readings and discussion will be in Russian. This course is envisioned as both a language and literature course.

The goal of the course is to acquaint students with the evolution of Dostoevsky's writings. A multi-faceted approach is used for coming to grips with the works. The focus is on stylistic, ethical, religious, philosophical, and political dimensions of his art as well as on ways in which Dostoevsky fits into the cultural milieu of his time. Both non-Slavic Department and Departmental students are welcome.