Basic vocabulary and grammar for practical conversation and comprehension. Emphasis on communication. Development of reading and writing skills. Introduction to Ukrainian culture, history, and society through guided exposure to popular culture and media. Internet language modules complement in-class learning. Intended for students with little or no knowledge of the language.

The basic features of the grammar of the Macedonian literary language. Acquisition of essential vocabulary for practical conversation and for comprehension. Development of reading and writing skills. Open only to students with little or no knowledge of the literary language. (Offered in alternate years).

The course is aimed at a wide range of students with a general interest in Polish who have already completed SLA106H or who have comparable basic knowledge of Pol. A communicative based approach will be used throughout the course, where all four skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) will be practised, with the main emphasis on speaking. Students will engage in interactive language activities, participating in group and pair work according to a syllabus based on systematic grammatical progression.

Russian Cultural History in Twelve Images An introductory survey of Russian cultural history through key images, exploring the historical, intellectual, artistic, and mythical significance of these images in Russian cultural identity and in foreign perceptions. Among the images are: Rublev’s “Trinity,” The Bronze Horseman, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and Tatlin’s Tower. Taught in English, readings in English. No prior familiarity with Russian language or culture is expected.

How does one cope with loss, be it a nose, a leg, a pet, a name, a lover, a battle, a fortune, or one’s sanity? Through literary texts from Central and Eastern Europe, we explore the trauma and poetics of losing, and the mechanisms of coping with and compensating for the lost object. Taught in English, all readings in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

In the mid-nineteenth century, European and American fiction became obsessed with the subject of criminals. This course examines this preoccupation and its literary and social ramifications. We discuss the changing image of the criminal in British, French, Russian and American fiction. Readings by Dickens, Dostoevsky, Balzac, Zola, Poe, Stevenson and Lombroso. Reading and discussion in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

This course examines the function of travel within texts and films depicting journeys through Eastern Europe. We will distinguish various types of journeys, the narrative and cultural expectations they imply, and the ways that travel relates to individual identity, raising questions about nationality, race, gender, sexuality, and the Other. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An object or a thing always has a collective history. It speaks of the political and the social conditions under which it was made. In this course, objects of war – the material culture of conflict – from the 20th and 21st centuries will be critically and historically examined. How do these objects speak of violence, politics, and culture, but also rewrite and influence the arenas within which they circulate? Some objects include: canned food, drones, the journalists’ hotel, helmets, tents. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Almost 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, what can we understand about its culture and people, and its impact on the popular imagination in the West? To answer these questions, the course introduces students to canonical literary and cinematic works from the post-Stalin era to the present, with particular attention to the literary and cultural peripheries. Some of the topics will include: Gulag, or Return of the Repressed, Counter-Culture, Space Race, Immigration, Gender, Perestroika, and Putin’s Russia. All readings in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

What makes literature ‘visible’? How do the verbal and the visual coexist? This seminar explores the relationship between words and images, texts and pictures through history, in Russia and the West. Special attention will be paid to the figure of the artist. Is it a writer’s alter ego, the incarnation of creativity, or just a character among others? Literary texts (mainly short stories) from Balzac and Gogol to Chekhov and O. Henry, Maugham and Bunin, Nabokov and Camus will be studied along with the paintings of some major 19th-20th century artists. The comparative dimension of the course will help students contextualize Russian literature and think about its relationship with the Western canon. We will also watch some 21st century films about artists (such as Julie Taymor’s Frida [2002], Milos Forman Goya’s Ghosts [2006], and Mike Leigh Mr. Turner [2014]). All texts will be in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

In its long history Russia has fought numerous wars, both defensive and offensive, and these wars have inspired a rich, complex, contradictory poetic response. We examine Russian war narratives starting with the medieval period and ending with the Second World War and including epic poetry, songs, stories, novels, paintings, and films. We will study the depiction of war and the image of the soldier (or warrior) in different genres and time periods, as well as the historical circumstances in which the different works were produced and the respective audiences for which they were intended. All texts will be in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

The course examines the genesis and evolution of the image of the Jew, central to all European cultures, from the theology and psychology of Christian anti-Judaism to their reflection in folklore, visual, plastic, and verbal arts, and to the survival of the imaginary Jew in secular forms. Special attention is given to the Jews of Slavic and East European imagination. All readings are in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Slav singers of heroic tales about war, lust, honour and revenge have made a special contribution to our appreciation of classical literature and mythology. We will compare Slavic epics and African-American rap songs to reveal the connection between Homer's Iliad and Nas's iconic Illmatic, between the mythical image of the pagan goddess Aphrodite and the mystique of Nicki Minaj, Lauryn Hill, and other iconic singers today. As we read The Iliad closely, we will study songs from the Russian, Bosnian Muslim, Croatian and Serbian traditions. Employing new performance formulaic theory, we will learn that they share much, in melody and message, with the work of today's hip-hop artists, whose roots of rap "flowing" reach back to the beginnings of Western literature and the epic singers of ancient Greece. Students will have the opportunity to interact with a unique online multimedia edition of an epic song by a traditional Slavic singer.

No knowledge of languages other than English is required. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

The Central European Region of Galicia gave rise to a remarkable array of literary representations -- Austrian, Jewish, Polish, and Ukrainian -- animating fantastic creatures, powerful myths, deviant pleasures, and sublime stories. Bruno Schulz created shimmering peacocks, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch seized ecstasy through pain, and Ivan Franko investigated the effects of avarice and social decay. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Introduction to the issues of the interaction between cultural expression and political life, with a historical focus on 1968 in Central and Eastern Europe. The mutually influential relationship between artistic activity and political dynamics in modern societies is examined through literature, visual arts, drama, music, and film. Taught in English, all materials in English.

A survey of Slavic and East European civilizations through literature, art, architecture, and film. Key moments in the development of the cultures of Slavic and Baltic countries are examined in a comparative framework, juxtaposing the varied historical, cultural, linguistic, religious, social, and political developments of the countries involved. Taught in English, all readings in English.

Literature about the Jewish community in Slavic countries. How do these Jewish minorities perceive and identify themselves? How are they perceived by others? Taught in English, all readings in English.

The role of forgery in cultural, national, and personal identities. A scholar “discovering” an “ancient” manuscript, a noblewoman in disguise joining the army, an impostor conning a provincial town, a writer faking political loyalty. Literary texts from Central and Eastern Europe expose the porous boundaries between authenticity and lies, highlighting the artificiality and vulnerability of social and cultural conventions. Taught in English, all readings in English.

Using selected texts of diverse styles, this class surveys Czech grammar and introduces various aspects of syntax, composition and translation. Special attention will be paid to oral practice.

Students who completed SLA106H1 and SLA116H1 or who have comparable basic knowledge of Polish further develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills by revising, consolidating and building on their knowledge. Upon completion, they will be able to communicate in more advanced everyday situations and have substantial familiarity with Polish grammar.

Students with a general interest in Polish who have completed SLA206H1 or who have a comparable level of Polish further develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills by revising, consolidating, and building on their knowledge. Upon completion, they will be able to communicate in more advanced everyday situations and have substantial familiarity with Polish grammar.

Development of proficiency in speaking, reading, listening, and writing. Mastering grammar and syntax and expanding vocabulary in key practical communication areas (such as family, travel, education). Exposure to contemporary Ukrainian culture and society through annotated literary texts, mass-media materials, and popular culture (song, film and TV, news). Internet language modules complement in-class learning.

This course completes the basics of Macedonian grammar including the wide variety of past tenses, complex sentence structures, and word formation.

This course is designed for students with Russian background, students raised in homes where Russian is/was spoken, who speak or merely understand basic Russian but are otherwise illiterate in Russian (cannot/have difficulty reading or writing). This course helps heritage learners of Russian develop/maintain writing and reading skills as well as develop cultural literacy. (Online course in 2011-2012).

Emphasis on expansion of vocabulary, developing conversational and listening skills, and intensive practice in real-life situations. Offered as part of Summer Program in Russia. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Introduction to the Russian novelistic tradition at the height of its creative power. We examine the Russian novel’s universal appeal and influence, and its impact on modern art and thought. Authors may include (depending on instructor) Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Belyi, Nabokov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn. Taught and read in English.

This course explores Macedonian culture as read through its literature, film, cuisine, music, folklore, architecture, and new media.

A course for students of Czech and Slovak, BCS and Russian. Improve your writing skills in a group of different Slavic language learners. Learn simple creative writing in different genres. This course presents a catalogue of different methods and strategies for individual learners at various stages of writing in a foreign language. Complements rather than substitutes for intermediate and advanced levels of the languages taught.

Some of the most important features of Czech and Slovak cultural history are introduced in a survey of the national myths, traditions and cultural trends. (Offered every three years)

Major cultural traditions, historical processes, myths, and figures that have shaped and redefined Polish civilization and national identity are problematized and contextualized with the help of works of literature, history, philosophy, political science, music, visual and performing arts. Readings in English (also available in Polish). (Offered in alternate years)