Slavic Languages and Literatures

Return to: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences  

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers a major in Russian at the undergraduate level and minors in Russian and Russian Area Studies. The major combines thorough preparation in the Russian language with the study of Russian literature, art and culture. Particular emphasis is placed on developments in contemporary Russia. Students are required to study four semesters of Russian language as a prerequisite to the major. The major itself requires an additional three semesters of language study, three semesters of an advanced seminar on Russian culture (with varying content), and two elective courses, either in Russian literature and culture (in translation or Russian, depending on course scheduling) or in Russian Area Studies. The department also administers, together with the School of International Relations, a major in Central European Studies, which combines background in relevant languages (Russian plus either German or Polish or more intensive study of Russian) with course work in international relations and the history, culture and politics of the region. In addition, the department offers a doctorate in Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Taper Hall of Humanities 255
(213) 740-2735
FAX: (213) 740-8550
Email: slavic@dornsife.usc.edu
dornsife.usc.edu/sll

Chair: Thomas Seifrid, PhD

Faculty

Professors: Sharon Carnicke, PhD (Dramatic Arts); Sarah Pratt, PhD*; Thomas Seifrid, PhD*; Alexander Zholkovsky, PhD*

Associate Professors: Robert English, PhD (Political Science and International Relations); Colleen McQuillen, PhD; Roumyana Pancheva, PhD* (Linguistics)

Assistant Professors: Greta Matzner-Gore, PhD; Kelsey Rubin-Detlev, PhD

Professor (Teaching) of Russian: Tatiana Akishina, PhD*

Associate Professor (Teaching): Britta Bothe, PhD 

Assistant Professors (Teaching): John W. Arensmeyer,  Jr., PhD; Eve Lee, PhD

Emeritus: John Bowlt, PhD*; Gerhard Clausing, PhD; Marcus Levitt, PhD*

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

Graduate Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics (Specialization in Slavic Linguistics)

Application deadline: January 1

See Linguistics  in this catalogue.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  Central European Studies (BA)
• •  Russian (BA)

Minor

• •  Russian Area Studies Minor
• •  Russian Minor

Doctoral Degree

• •  Slavic Languages and Literatures (PhD)

Courses

Russian

• RUSS 120 Beginning Russian I

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSpSm

  ---

  Introduction to the Russian language with emphasis on basic conversational skills, major points of grammar and reading.
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 120
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• RUSS 150 Beginning Russian II

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSpSm

  ---

  Continuation of RUSS 120 .
  Prerequisite: RUSS 120 
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 150
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• RUSS 220 Intermediate Russian I

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSpSm

  ---

  Development of thematic conversational skills with emphasis on extended dialogue. Review of basic morphology with special attention to verbs of motion. Reading of authentic material is emphasized.
  Prerequisite: RUSS 150 
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 220
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• RUSS 250 Intermediate Russian II

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSpSm

  ---

  Continuation of RUSS 220 . Development of proficiency in conversation skills, reading and writing.
  Prerequisite: RUSS 220 
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 250
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• RUSS 260x The Trans-Siberian Experience

  Units: 2
  Max Units: 04
  Terms Offered: Sp

  ---

  Introduction to Russian language and culture by means of a study-tour on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
  Credit Restriction: Not available for major credit for students in Russian and Central European Studies majors
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 260
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• RUSS 310 Advanced Russian in Popular Culture

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSpSm

  ---

  Advanced conversation, reading, grammar and topical analysis of Russian press, films and other popular sources. Conducted in Russian.
  Prerequisite: RUSS 250 
  Duplicates Credit in former SLL 310
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  

Slavic Languages and Literatures

• SLL 020 Course in Reading Russian

  Units: 2
  For graduate students wishing to use Russian as a scholarly tool. Emphasis on basic grammar and reading skills.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 025 Course in Reading Russian

  Units: 2
  Continuation of SLL 020 . Reading of authentic materials from Russian press and students’ areas of interest.
  Prerequisite: SLL 020 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 110g Russia in the Modern Era

  Units: 4
  Terms Offered: FaSp

  ---

  Key moments in the development of Russian culture since its westernization in the early eighteenth century to the present day. Focus on works of literature, art and other products of the culture that have significantly influenced Russian self-understanding as well as the ways in which Russians perceive the rest of the world.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Instruction Mode: Lecture, Discussion
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 122 Elementary Polish I

  Units: 4
  Structure of the language, pronunciation, basic communication, and reading in modern Polish.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 130a Elementary Czech

  Units: 4
  Structure of the language, basic grammar, pronunciation, and oral communication. Readings in Czech; discussion of Czech history and culture.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 130b Elementary Czech

  Units: 4
  Continuation of SLL 130a .
  Prerequisite: SLL 130a .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 152 Elementary Polish II

  Units: 4
  Continuation of SLL 122 .
  Prerequisite: SLL 122 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 199 Chess and Critical Thinking

  Units: 2
  Analysis of significant chess games, reflecting societal attitudes toward science, competition, art, gender, psychology, politics, and technology.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 210 Masterpieces of the Russian Short Story

  Units: 4
  Critical reading of selected masterpieces of the Russian short story; works by Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Babel, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and others. In English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 222 Readings in Polish Literature I

  Units: 4
  Continuation of elementary Polish and introduction to outstanding works in Polish literature.
  Prerequisite: SLL 122  and SLL 152 .

   
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  

• SLL 252 Readings in Polish Literature II

  Units: 4
  Continuation of SLL 222 .
  Prerequisite: SLL 222 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 255 Business Russian

  Units: 4
  Language and culture course for intermediate Russian level students interested in business. Prepares students to communicate in Russian-speaking business settings in a linguistically sensitive manner.
  Prerequisite: SLL 220 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 270a Russian for Native Speakers

  Units: 4
  For native Russian speakers who cannot read or write Russian. Emphasis on essentials of grammar, vocabulary, and orthography, and the reading and writing of simple texts in Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 270b Russian for Native Speakers

  Units: 4
  Continuation of SLL 270a .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 299 Chess — Advanced Thinking Techniques

  Units: 2
  Development of advanced understanding of the game of chess. Critical analysis of games and of the problem-solving techniques applicable in various game situations.
  Prerequisite: SLL 199 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 300 The Russian Novel

  Units: 4
  The rise of the novel as the dominant form in Russian literature of the 19th century. Major works by Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and others. In English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 301 Russian Literary Avant-Garde

  Units: 4
  Russian modernism and the avant-garde: development of modern sensibility in literature and the arts from 1880 to 1930. Readings in Chekhov, Sologub, Bely, Mayakovsky, and others. Conducted in English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 302g Modern Russian Literature

  Units: 4
  Survey of the major developments in Russian literature during the 20th century, from modernism to the post-Soviet era. Readings in English.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 303 Contemporary Russian Literature

  Units: 4
  Developments in Russian Literature from the 1960s to the present. Literature of moral resistance directed against official cultural models. In English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 321 Russian Culture

  Units: 4
  Survey of Russian civilization from the beginnings to the Soviet period focusing on major cultural and artistic trends.
  Prerequisite: four semesters of Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 330gp Russian Thought and Civilization

  Units: 4
  Russian cultural identity from its beginnings until today. The Eastern Orthodox tradition, its traumatic confrontation with Western culture, and their continuous interaction.
  Concurrent Enrollment: Concurrent enrollment: MDA 140.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Satisfies Global Perspective in Category H: Traditions and Historical Foundations
  Satisfies Old General Education in Category II: Global Cultures and Traditions
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter, Discussion
  
  
• SLL 340 Intercultural Communication in Russian

  Units: 4
  Advanced language training focusing on specific issues of communication with Russians. Analysis and translation of literary texts. Advanced syntax. Conducted in Russian.
  Prerequisite: SLL 250 ;
  Recommended Preparation: SLL 120 , SLL 150 , SLL 220 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 344g Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist

  Units: 4
  Tolstoy’s major works in the context of his ethical views. Readings and lectures in English.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Satisfies Old General Education in Category V: Arts and Letters
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 345g Literature and Philosophy: Dostoevsky

  Units: 4
  Dostoevsky’s novels as psychological and philosophical analyses of modern alienated man. Readings in Dostoevsky and selections from Gide, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre. Conducted in English.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Satisfies Old General Education in Category V: Arts and Letters
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 346 Russian Drama and the Western Tradition

  Units: 4
  Representative plays from the 18th century to the present. Development of the Russian theater in the European context. Conducted in English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 348g The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov

  Units: 4
  Survey of Vladimir Nabokov’s novels written in Europe and America from the 1920s–1960s. Primary focus on the structure of the novels and their themes of art and emigration. Readings in English.
  Satisfies New General Education in Category B: Humanistic Inquiry
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 370 Advanced Russian for Native Speakers

  Units: 4
  For students with basic oral proficiency in Russian who need to develop native fluency in an array of genres and situations. Emphasis on advanced grammar, reading (literary and scholarly texts), written expression (scholarly, administrative, and business genres), spelling, and punctuation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 378 Modern Russian Art

  Units: 4
  Changing concepts of aesthetic value as expressed in the development of 19th and 20th century Russian art (painting and architecture).
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  Crosslisted as AHIS-378
• SLL 390 Special Problems

  Units: 1, 2, 3, 4
  Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 397 Literature and Film in Eastern European Historical Experience

  Units: 4
  Exploration of key moments in the recent historical experience of Eastern Europe through close readings of literature and film. Taught in English.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 465 Seminar in Russian Studies

  Units: 4
  Max Units: 12.0
  Readings and discussion in Russian of current topics in Russian culture, politics and society. Content varies each time offered.
  Prerequisite: SLL 250 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 490x Directed Research

  Units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
  Max Units: 12.0
  Individual research and readings.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 499 Special Topics

  Units: 2, 3, 4
  Max Units: 8.0
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 500 Topics in Advanced Russian

  Units: 2
  Max Units: 8.0
  Study of Russian required for graduate work and professional activities.
  Prerequisite: four years of college Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 501 Proseminar in Russian Literature

  Units: 3
  Introduction to graduate study of Russian literature: research methods, bibliography, transliteration, development of critical writing skills.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 510 Old Church Slavonic

  Units: 3
  Study of the earliest recorded Slavic language; linguistic interpretation of original texts; knowledge of a Slavic language or general linguistics will be helpful.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 512 History of the Russian Language

  Units: 3
  Phonetic, morphological, syntactical changes from common Slavic to the present. Russian literary language; influence of 19th century Russian authors and old church Slavic on contemporary Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 514 Structure of Modern Russian: Phonology

  Units: 3
  Articulatory phonetics, phonemics, morphophonemics, and intonational patterns of modern Russia.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 516 Structure of Modern Russian: Morphology

  Units: 3
  Essential issues in current linguistic description of the syntax and morphology of modern Russian. Considers word order, negation, verbal aspect.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 523x Methods of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language

  Units: 2
  Terms Offered: FaSp

  ---

  Introduces future Assistant Lecturers to the communicative method of teaching Russian and focuses on theories and methods of teaching the language, as well as key concepts of second language acquisition.
  Registration Restriction: Open only to doctoral students in Slavic Languages and Literatures
  Credit Restriction: Not available for degree credit
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 530 Early Russian Literature and Culture (11th–17th Centuries)

  Units: 3
  Major monuments of medieval Russian literature examined in their cultural, literary, and theological context, with special emphasis on issues of genre. Focus on problems of Russian cultural identity and Russia’s complex relationship to Byzantine and Western traditions.
  Prerequisite: SLL 510  and SLL 514 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 532 18th Century Russian Literature

  Units: 3
  Major works and genres of the 18th century. The development of a “modern” literary tradition, focusing on problems of Russia’s indigenization of Western literary movements (classicism and sentimentalism).
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 542 Symbolism

  Units: 3
  Russian symbolist literature; cultural and philosophical background of this late 19th and early 20th century movement.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 544 Russian Short Story

  Units: 3
  Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 545 19th Century Russian Poetry

  Units: 3
  Analysis of major works of 19th century Russian poetry in the context of developing aesthetic principles and cultural history.
  Prerequisite: SLL 501 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 546 The Russian Novel

  Units: 3
  Genre of the novel as exemplified in the works of one or more Russian authors. Readings from Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and others.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 548 History of Russian Literary Criticism

  Units: 3
  History and principles of literary criticism in Russia with attention to major periods and movements from the early 19th century through the Formalists.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 550 Russian Modernism

  Units: 3
  “Russian Modernism” subsumes theoretical ideas, practical achievements, and stylistic movements which contributed to Russia’s cultural renaissance between ca. 1890 and ca. 1925.
  Prerequisite: SLL 340 .
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 555 Soviet Literature I (1917–1953)

  Units: 3
  The course surveys the major writers and literary schools of Soviet literature in the crucial period from the Revolution to the death of Stalin.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 557 Soviet Literature II (1953–present)

  Units: 3
  De-Stalinization of Soviet culture, the reappropriation of Russia’s literary past, and new directions in contemporary literature.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 575 Socialist Realism

  Units: 3
  The course examines the origins, doctrine, and ideology of socialist realism, the predominant, and officially prescribed, aesthetic of Soviet literature.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 584 Russian Fiction and the West

  Units: 3
  A survey of major Russian fiction in the context of Western European literary movements from the late 18th through late 19th centuries. The course presumes the students’ basic acquaintance with the major monuments.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 585 20th Century Russian Literary Criticism

  Units: 3
  Relationship between practical and theoretical literary criticism: Formalism and Structuralism, Sociological school, and Bakhtin; theoretical approaches applied to specific literary texts.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 590 Directed Research

  Units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
  Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 599 Special Topics

  Units: 2, 3, 4
  Max Units: 8.0
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 650 Seminar in Russian Literature

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 9.0
  Detailed study of single literary period, movement or genre; two or more selected authors; specific school of literary criticism. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian;
  Recommended Preparation: one year of graduate study.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 660 Seminar on a Single Author or Work

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 9.0
  Theme varies from year to year. An author or major work will be selected for intensive study; research paper required. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian;
  Recommended Preparation: one year of graduate study.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 665 Seminar in Russian Culture and the Arts

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 9.0
  Subject varies from year to year. A trend or major figure will be studied in its cultural and artistic contexts. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different.
  Prerequisite: three years of college Russian;
  Recommended Preparation: one year of graduate study.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 670 Seminar in Eastern European Cinema

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 09
  Terms Offered: FaSp

  ---

  Topics in Eastern European cinema selected for intensive study. May be repeated with varying content.
  Recommended Preparation: two years of graduate study
  Registration Restriction: Open only to doctoral students
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• SLL 790 Research

  Units: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
  Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 794a Doctoral Dissertation

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of dissertation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 794b Doctoral Dissertation

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of dissertation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 794c Doctoral Dissertation

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of dissertation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 794d Doctoral Dissertation

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of dissertation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• SLL 794z Doctoral Dissertation

  Units: 0
  Credit on acceptance of dissertation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit