The major in Russian Language and Literature aims to provide a solid foundation in the Russian language and a broad, interdisciplinary introduction to the culture of Russian-speaking regions. Our particular strength is russophone literary culture during the Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods. The program grounds the study of literature and film in specific historical, social, and cultural contexts. It includes the study of elements of literary and cultural theory. The major also fosters a broad interdisciplinary perspective on the region by encouraging students to take relevant courses in such fields as history, philosophy, political science, art history, and music. Students may count up to two courses approved for the minor in Slavic and East European Studies toward the major in Russian.
Russian majors are expected to achieve a degree of language fluency that will enable them to enter into dialogue with regions where Russian is used, as readers, writers, and speakers of a language native to over 170 million people around the world. Coursework includes materials in the original ranging from literary classics to current journalism and other mass media.
We offer several tracks for minoring in Russian language and/or literature. We also offer one option for an interdisciplinary minor in Slavic and East European Studies, which includes the study of Polish, Russian, or another regional language.
We recommend that all students use summer study abroad to accelerate their fluency in the language(s) they are studying, and we make scholarship funding available to REELL students in case of need.
Major in Russian Language & Literature: Requirements
