Slavic Languages and Literatures

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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
• •  RUSS 150 Beginning Russian II
• •  RUSS 220 Intermediate Russian I
• •  RUSS 250 Intermediate Russian II
• •  RUSS 260x The Trans-Siberian Experience
• •  RUSS 310 Advanced Russian in Popular Culture

Slavic Languages and Literatures

• •  SLL 020 Course in Reading Russian
• •  SLL 025 Course in Reading Russian
• •  SLL 110g Russia in the Modern Era
• •  SLL 122 Elementary Polish I
• •  SLL 130a Elementary Czech
• •  SLL 130b Elementary Czech
• •  SLL 152 Elementary Polish II
• •  SLL 199 Chess and Critical Thinking
• •  SLL 210 Masterpieces of the Russian Short Story
• •  SLL 222 Readings in Polish Literature I
• •  SLL 252 Readings in Polish Literature II
• •  SLL 255 Business Russian
• •  SLL 270a Russian for Native Speakers
• •  SLL 270b Russian for Native Speakers
• •  SLL 299 Chess — Advanced Thinking Techniques
• •  SLL 300 The Russian Novel
• •  SLL 301 Russian Literary Avant-Garde
• •  SLL 302g Modern Russian Literature
• •  SLL 303 Contemporary Russian Literature
• •  SLL 321 Russian Culture
• •  SLL 330gp Russian Thought and Civilization
• •  SLL 340 Intercultural Communication in Russian
• •  SLL 344g Tolstoy: Writer and Moralist
• •  SLL 345g Literature and Philosophy: Dostoevsky
• •  SLL 346 Russian Drama and the Western Tradition
• •  SLL 348g The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov
• •  SLL 370 Advanced Russian for Native Speakers
• •  SLL 378 Modern Russian Art
• •  SLL 390 Special Problems
• •  SLL 397 Literature and Film in Eastern European Historical Experience
• •  SLL 465 Seminar in Russian Studies
• •  SLL 490x Directed Research
• •  SLL 499 Special Topics
• •  SLL 500 Topics in Advanced Russian
• •  SLL 501 Proseminar in Russian Literature
• •  SLL 510 Old Church Slavonic
• •  SLL 512 History of the Russian Language
• •  SLL 514 Structure of Modern Russian: Phonology
• •  SLL 516 Structure of Modern Russian: Morphology
• •  SLL 523x Methods of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language
• •  SLL 530 Early Russian Literature and Culture (11th–17th Centuries)
• •  SLL 532 18th Century Russian Literature
• •  SLL 542 Symbolism
• •  SLL 544 Russian Short Story
• •  SLL 545 19th Century Russian Poetry
• •  SLL 546 The Russian Novel
• •  SLL 548 History of Russian Literary Criticism
• •  SLL 550 Russian Modernism
• •  SLL 555 Soviet Literature I (1917–1953)
• •  SLL 557 Soviet Literature II (1953–present)
• •  SLL 575 Socialist Realism
• •  SLL 584 Russian Fiction and the West
• •  SLL 585 20th Century Russian Literary Criticism
• •  SLL 590 Directed Research
• •  SLL 599 Special Topics
• •  SLL 650 Seminar in Russian Literature
• •  SLL 660 Seminar on a Single Author or Work
• •  SLL 665 Seminar in Russian Culture and the Arts
• •  SLL 670 Seminar in Eastern European Cinema
• •  SLL 790 Research
• •  SLL 794a Doctoral Dissertation
• •  SLL 794b Doctoral Dissertation
• •  SLL 794c Doctoral Dissertation
• •  SLL 794d Doctoral Dissertation
• •  SLL 794z Doctoral Dissertation