After learning the Russian alphabet and handwriting in just a few days, we'll continue with daily lessons using original materials - each day covering a basic aspect of Russian grammar and building incrementally. Special emphasis will be placed on learning to express your own feelings and ideas in natural, idiomatic Russian, preparing you to engage with Russian speakers and real Russian texts, and delving into Russian culture, history, music, and literature as we go, learning the language in its own unique and incredibly rich cultural context. The year will end with a sampling of Soviet prose and poetry in the original.

This course is intended for students with a Russian-speaking family background who seek to acquire / improve their Russian reading, writing, and speaking skills, as well as to learn more about Russian/Soviet culture, literature and history. All main linguistic concepts (orthography, word formation, case system, verb conjugation, aspect, etc.) will be taught through literary texts by 19th and 20th century Russian authors, articles from the current Russian media, and excerpts from films. Students who complete this course in combination with RUS 108 satisfy the Language Requirement.

Using original textbooks that focus on the Imperial period of Russian culture by incorporating literature and paintings from the period, we will look at more advanced grammar topics, such as prefixed verbs of motion and de-verbal forms (verbal adjectives, adverbs and nouns), that are essential for reading literary Russian. Later in the semester, we will read a selection of classical Russian poetry and prose, from such authors as Pushkin, Lermontov, Chekhov, Nekrasov, and Tolstoy. All readings will be done in the original, with extensive vocabulary and notes provided.

An expansion of skills in Russian grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension. Work with three films made after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which have won many national and international awards. The class discussion will center around a broad spectrum of cultural, social, historical, and literary topics.

The course aims to improve students¿ written and spoken proficiency in Russian through an in-depth study of the major functional styles of Russian: artistic, scientific, publicistic, official, and colloquial. Students will refine their reading, writing, and speaking skills by analyzing and discussing texts drawn from prose works, poetry, drama, mass media, scientific articles, critical essays, and business documents. They will learn to recognize different registers of language and will write compositions in various genres. The course is fully conducted in Russian.

This course focuses instruction on skills required to perform in a Russian-speaking academic context across core subject areas of literary analysis and cultural studies. The targeted language skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening - will be tied with the specific needs of students (e.g., reading and writing proposals, presentations for conferences, academic articles, and correspondence). In addition, students get acquainted with various academic sub-styles and genres as well as differences in academic standards (citation, bibliography). The course includes a comprehensive review of Russian grammar and syntax.