Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies Minor
Minor Description
The Minor in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REES) offers students a nuanced, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary Russia and other post-Soviet states, their culture, society, history, politics, and economic institutions. The REES minor consists of six courses including language study, social sciences, and literature and culture – providing insights into other worldviews and social systems. Study abroad is encouraged.
Admission to the Minor
Any student who intends to earn the minor in REES should speak with the program chair by the end of the junior year at the latest.
Minor Requirements
The minor in REES consists of six courses, in which the student must achieve a GPA of B. These courses must include RUSS101 and RUSS102 or two semesters of Russian language study at the appropriate level and four more REES courses, of which two must be taken in the areas of social sciences and/or literature & culture (see course list). The remaining two courses may be in either of the two areas or in Russian language. Two of the courses may be taken during study abroad (with prior approval). Students should plan the minor in consultation with REES faculty.
If a student places out of one or more semesters of language, they must take enough courses in REES to add up to a total of 6.
Students who wish to fulfill the language requirement by studying a language of Eastern Europe or Central Asia other than Russian may do so, subject to approval by the chair.
Satisfactory completion of the minor will be certified by the program.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | ||
| GOVT274 | Russian Politics | 1 |
| HIST151 | Introduction to History: The "Russian World" Past and Present | 1 |
| HIST219 | Russian and Soviet History, 1881 to the Present | 1 |
| HIST353 | The Communist Experience in the 20th Century | 1 |
| HIST318 | The Politics of Death: The Living, the Dead, and the State | 1 |
| HIST395 | "If there is no God, then everything is permitted?" Moral Life in a Secular World | 1 |
| RELI225 | Socialist Utopias: Transcendence and Religion in Communist States | 1 |
| RELI225F | Socialist Utopias: Transcendence and Religion in Communist States (FYS) | 1 |
| RELI271 | Secularism: Godlessness from Luther to Lenin | 1 |
| RELI239 | Modern Shamanism: Ecstasy and Ancestors in the New Age | 1 |
| RELI289 | Indigenous Religions: Politics, Land, Healing | 1 |
| RELI299 | Imagining Communities: National Religions and Political Rituals | 1 |
| Literature and Culture | ||
| MUSC121 | Queering Russian Music | 1 |
| MUSC296 | Soundscapes of Islam | 1 |
| MUSC297 | Music of Central Asia: From Throat-singing to Heavy Metal | 1 |
| REES205 | Murder and Adultery: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and the 19th-Century Russian Novel | 1 |
| REES208F | Otherness & Belonging (FYS) | 1 |
| REES220 | Speak, Memory: The Russian Memoir | 1 |
| REES223 | After Communism: Animals, Avatars, Hybrids | 1 |
| REES224 | Performing Russian Culture: From Peter the Great to the Russian Revolution | 1 |
| REES233 | Introduction to Russian and Soviet Cinema | 1 |
| REES235 | Queer Russia | 1 |
| REES240F | Reading Stories: Great Short Works from Gogol to Petrushevskaya (FYS) | 1 |
| REES251 | Dostoevsky | 1 |
| REES254 | Nobel Laureates: The Politics of Literature | 1 |
| REES252 | Tolstoy | 1 |
| REES255 | Prague, Vienna, Sarajevo: 20th-Century Novels from Central and Eastern Europe | 1 |
| REES256 | The Soviet Century | 1 |
| REES267 | Parody: Humor, Artistic Evolution, and Restoration of the Sacred | 1 |
| REES268 | Nabokov | 1 |
| REES276 | Contemporary Russian Literature | 1 |
| REES279 | Chekhov: Prose vs. Drama | 1 |
| REES277 | Gogol and His Legacy: Witches, Con Men, and Runaway Noses | 1 |
| REES321 | Moscow/Berlin: Dreamworld and Catastrophe | 1 |
| Courses Conducted in Russian | ||
| REES260 | Dostoevsky's BRAT'IA KARAMAZOVY | 1 |
| CGST234 | Introduction to Russian and Soviet Cinema (CLAC.50) | 0.5 |
| CGST330 | Reading Tolstoy in Russian (CLAC .50) | .5 |
| CGST350 | Twentieth-Century Russian Poetry (CLAC .50) | .5 |
| CGST352 | The Communist Experience in the Soviet Union (CLAC.50) | .5 |
| Language | ||
| RUSS101 | Elementary Russian I | 1.5 |
| RUSS102 | Elementary Russian II | 1.5 |
| RUSS201 | Intermediate Russian I | 1 |
| RUSS202 | Intermediate Russian II | 1 |
| RUSS301 | Third-Year Russian I | 1 |
| RUSS302 | Third-Year Russian II | 1 |