Slavic Languages and Literatures

The department teaches the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Slavic nations. The Russian language is spoken by more people than any other language except Chinese and English; in addition there are some one hundred and fifty million speakers of Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, and Ukrainian. These are vehicles of some of the world's great cultures and are of increasing importance as a key to communication in trade and technology. Courses are offered in Slavic languages, literatures, and cultures, and Slavic linguistics. A concentration is offered in Russian, and the undergraduate curriculum is designed primarily to provide competence in Russian and a knowledge of Russian literature and civilization.

The curriculum provides the language training prerequisite to specialization in a variety of careers (e.g., government, diplomacy, international trade, teaching), and offers an enriching cultural and linguistic background to non-concentrators, especially those interested in the ethnic heritage of the Slavic peoples.

Placement Information for Introductory Language Courses. Students with high school training in Russian are required to take both the reading and listening (CEEB) Russian tests to evaluate their language proficiency. The results of the placement test determine the proper placement level, subject to the following conditions:

1. Students with two years of Russian in high school may not elect Russian 101 for credit.
2. Students with three years of Russian in high school may not elect Russian 101 or 102 for credit.
3. Students with four years of Russian in high school may not elect Russian 101, 102, or 201 for credit.

Russian Tea. Students of Russian are invited to attend Russian Tea, sponsored and organized by the Slavic Department and the Residential College For more information, contact Professor Tempest, tempest@umich.edu.

Intensive Program. The Slavic Department and the Residential college jointly sponsor a proficiency oriented program of intensive Russian, consisting of a sequence of two eight-credit courses (Russian 103 and 203) equivalent to the regular first- and second-year program, plus a four-credit Readings Course (RC Core 323) enabling a student to reach advanced proficiency in all four language skills in three terms. The program also includes daily Russian Language Table and weekly Russian Tea. For more information contact the RC's main office at 647-4363.

Study Abroad. The Department encourages qualified students to participate in selected study abroad programs in Slavic countries and is affiliated with the CIEE Cooperative Russian Language Program at St. Petersburg State University. The program is administered by the Office of International Affairs.

Language Resource Center. The department uses the Language Resource Center facilities (2011 Modern Languages Building). This laboratory gives students an opportunity to improve their command of the spoken language by listening to and repeating textual materials taped by native speakers. Cassette tapes are also available to students for use at home. Certain courses require regular use of taped materials. The laboratory also monitors Russian T.V. and makes this programming available at multiple outlets. Video tapes of films and programs in a number of Slavic languages are also available.

Courses in English. The department offers a series of courses in English translation designed to survey the Slavic literatures and cultures for concentrators in Russian and for non-concentrators. These courses include Russian 222, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 461, 462, 464, 465; Slavic 225, 240, 312, 313; Polish 425, 426, 432, and 435; Czech 480 and Serbo-Croatian 436 and 437. Russian concentrators who elect Russian 462, 463, 464, 465, or 466 are expected to read Russian texts.

Half-Term Information. The Summer Language Institute, conducted during Summer Half-Term, offers intensive Russian (1st-4th year). See the Time Schedule for specific information.