Russian Faculty

• Victoria Juharyan, Senior Lecturer

Russian Course Descriptions

377.115-116 First Year Russian (FA3, FA4)
This course is designed for students who have no background in the language and wish to learn the language at an academic level, obtaining knowledge of the linguistic aspects of the language as well as skills needed to communicate in Russian. The goal of the course is the simultaneous progression of four skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) as well as familiarity with aspects of Russian linguistics and culture that are necessary for language competency in survival level. It is expected that, by the end of the spring term, students will have basic speaking and listening comprehension skills, a solid grasp of basic grammar, reading and writing skills. No Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. 4 credits.

377.215-216 Second Year Russian (H; FA3, FA4)
This course is designed for students who have finished AS.377.116 with C+ or above, or by a placement exam. The goal of the course is the simultaneous progression of four skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) as well as familiarity with aspects of Russian linguistics and culture that are necessary for language competency higher than that learned in First Year Russian.  Prerequisite: 377.115-116. 3 credits.

377.264 Disciplines Without Borders and Multidisciplinarity in Literature, Art, and Science (H,Q; FA1, FA2, FA3)
This introductory course will explore the intersections between literary texts, scientific discoveries, and art. We will study Geometry, Calculus, Probability Theory, Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Physics, Medicine, and Ecology in Russian Literature. We will read novels, poems, and plays by Goethe, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Akhmatova, and Nabokov, among others, with relevant chapters from Hegel, Literature, and the Problem of Agency by Allen Speight; The Mathematical Mind of F. M. Dostoevsky: Imaginary Numbers, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and Infinity by Michael Marsh-Soloway; Russian Literature and Cognitive Science edited by Tom Dolack, “which applies the newest insights from cognitive psychology to the study of Russian literature;” Medical Storyworlds: Health, Illness, and Bodies in Russian and European Literature at the Turn of the Twentieth Century by Elena Fratto; Jeff Love’s studies on Tolstoy’s use of calculus for the development of his philosophy of history, “Tolstoy’s Integration Metaphor from War and Peace” by Stephen T. Ahearn as well as other scientific studies that engage with literature such as Yuri Manin’s Mathematics as Metaphor, Sarah Hart’s Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature, and Carlo Rovelli’s Seven Brief Lessons in Physics. In addition to the reading materials, assignments will include expository writings as well as philosophical games and illustrations of the connections between science and art, mind and matter. We will also have guest lecturers from the departments of philosophy, mathematics, and cognitive science as we consider philosophy as science and science as art and explore multidisciplinarity and the many ways in which sciences can transform our understanding of art and literature and vice versa. No prerequisites either in humanities or sciences. 3 credits Not offered every semester.

AS.377.274 Philosophy of History and Science in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (H,Q; FA1, FA2, FA3)
This course is a study of philosophy of history and science primarily through a reading of Leo Tolstoy’s works and his epic War and Peace (1863-69). Over seven years, Tolstoy wrote a massive work that he refused to call a novel—but what was it? War and philosophy are more vital to it than peace or love stories. We entertain the idea that Tolstoy’s radical ideas on narrative have a counterpart in his radical ideas on history, causation, freedom and necessity, catastrophe, commitment, and the formation of a moral self. To frame War and Peace and our discussions of philosophy, we will read Jeff Love’s studies on Tolstoy’s use of calculus for the development of his philosophy of history, “Tolstoy’s Integration Metaphor from War and Peace” by Stephen T. Ahearn as well as excerpts from philosophers like Plato, Kant, and Hegel that Tolstoy addresses in his writings. We will also study shorter works by Tolstoy, fictional and non-fictional, written before and after War and Peace, which attempt to answer huge questions with succinct definitions free of irony or reservation: What is war? courage? human experience? family? love? art? faith? death? freedom? Before War and Peace, Tolstoy poses these questions covertly and searchingly. After 1880 he answers them overtly and categorically—so much so that no authoritative text was safe. In this context, we will also read Tolstoy’s philosophical works Confession (1882), On Life (1888), and Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy’s View of History. 3 credits Not offered every semester.

377.315-316 Third Year Russian (H; FA1, FA3 ,FA4)
This course offers advanced training in spoken as well as written Russian. It is designed for students who have basic Russian language proficiency acquired through AS.377.216 or equivalent. Advanced level of grammatical structures will be learned and practiced through communicative tasks. 3 credits

377.395-397 Readings in Russian Studies (H; FA1, FA3, FA4)
The course examines aspects of Russian culture through Russian literature. Readings include a wide range of texts. In this particular course, we will read a play by a Soviet writer and watch a video recording of a contemporary stage show by the Moscow Art Theater. Participation in the course would require reading authentic Russian texts, extensive classroom discussions, and frequent writing assignments. (All texts and videos are in Russian.) Pre-req: 377.315-316 or by permission. 2 credits