A history of ballet from its origins in the French courts through its development into a large-scale theatrical spectacle in the 19th century and its modernist re- and de-formation. Emphasis will be placed on seminal dancers, choreographers, and composers, nationalist tradition, and socio-political context.

The nightmare is familiar to all of us, but we rarely reflect on its significance. This course will investigate the cultural, social, psychological and aesthetic levels of meaning of the nightmare by taking a close look at a wide array of its depictions in literature, taking us from German Romanticism through Russian Realism all the way to 1930s Persia. Our main focus will be on Slavic depictions of the nightmare in the works of such writers as Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev and Kharms, but we will also attempt to understand them as part of a wider dialogue with other literary and cultural traditions, including the psychological (Freud, Rank).

The course offers an overview of the Ukrainian literature in terms of catastrophic thinking and representation of highly traumatic events of the twentieth century, such as war, revolution, Holocaust, Famine, and nuclear disaster. The aim of the course is to examine how trauma influences the literary and cultural imagination and to consider the role of testimony, documentary and afiction in presenting catastrophic events. Among the topics to be discussed are fiction and nonfiction as a means of representing catastrophe, the role of apocalyptic imagination, and transgenerational effects of trauma.

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.

Born of debates between Westernizers and Slavophiles, Russia's astounding religious-philosophical flowering ran parallel to that in literature, and lived on in Europe and North America in the wake of the Revolution. These thinkers confronted modernity in ways that were both radically innovative, yet firmly grounded in the centuries-old traditions of Eastern Orthodox theology. Topics to be discussed include: personhood, freedom, and evil; iconography and artistic creativity; the transformative power of love; tensions between knowledge and faith; and ethics in a universe in which every person and event is "once-occurrent."

In this language/literature course we will read works by Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoevsky, as well as poems by 20th century authors, in which St. Petersburg plays a central role. We will trace the dualities and paradoxes of Petersburg's cultural myth and will discuss the links that unite these literary works into a single "Petersburg Text of Russian Literature" (the idea introduced by V. Toporov). Readings, discussions, oral presentations, and written papers in Russian. Special emphasis is placed on active use of language and expansion of vocabulary.

The Junior Seminar is designed to prepare students to undertake independent research in Slavic Languages and Literatures. We will look at different methodological approaches within our field, formulate successful research questions, and develop the research skills necessary to write the Junior Paper. We will also devote one session to library resources and bibliographic citations.

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.

The purpose of the course is to examine key texts of the twentieth century that established the fundamental connection between language structures and practices on the one hand, and the formation of selfhood and subjectivity, on the other. In particular, the course focuses on theories emphasizing the role of formal elements in producing meaningful discursive and social effects. Works of Russian formalists and French (post)-structuralists are discussed in connection with psychoanalytic and anthropological theories of formation.

The purpose of this course is to help graduate students prepare for the twentieth-century section of the general exam. Texts are selected from the list of required reading and discussions concern the significance of the works as well as the main approaches to them.

The first part of the class deals with a general survey and description (physiology) of Russian realism as a cultural movement. In the second part, we focus on Russian Realists' ideological struggle against Romantic values and an unpredicted result of this struggle -- "spectralization" of social and political realities they claimed to mirror in their works and creation of the image of Russia as a house haunted by numerous apparitions: ghosts of the past and guests from the future, tormented women and suffering children, afflicted peasants and demonic nihilists, secret societies and religious sects.

A practical course required of graduate students who are teaching Beginner's Russian. The course covers all issues relevant to the teaching of the language: phonetics, grammar presentation, efficient use of class time, class and syllabus planning, writing quizzes and tests. In addition to weekly meetings with the instructors, students are expected to meet as a group to develop best practices for covering each week's material. An important part of the course is instructor supervision of teaching.

The purpose of the course is twofold: to cover some of the essential texts of the Russian literary and critical tradition and to acquaint students with the range of topics and approaches taught by the faculty. Offered once every two years, it is team-taught, with each faculty member taking a two-week segment. The course is mandatory for all graduate students in the department, who take it either their first or second year of study.