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Undergraduate
Program |
- a Russian concentration, providing at least four years of language training, and five
courses in Russian literature (two taught in Russian);
- a growing number of courses on Russian and East European culture, aimed at the general
student audience, and fulfilling graduation requirements;
- opportunities to complete the College language requirement in any of the following six
languages: Russian, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Ukrainian;
- expanding programs in Polish, Czech and Ukrainian, offering not only two or more years
of language training, but also courses in literature and culture;
- an intensive, year-long Russian language program, consisting of two eight-credit
courses, taking the student through and beyond the regular first and second year courses
in an accelerated-track immersion environment;
- an honors concentration, in which especially gifted undergraduates gain graduate-level
research and writing experience in the senior year.
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The Russian concentration aims to combine, in the best traditions of a liberal arts
degree, practical language learning with the study of culture through literature and
culture. It provides extensive language training and demanding courses in literary history
and analysis. Moreover, the Department firmly believes that serious language study offers
broad intellectual benefits in and of itself. In the upper-level Russian language courses,
it aims to develop linguistic self-consciousness and a basis for the study of linguistics
proper. In literary studies many undergraduates take not only the required courses (both
in translation and in Russian), but also elect more specialized courses such as
"monograph" studies of Dostoevsky (Russian 462), Chekhov (Russian 463), and
Tolstoy (Russian 464). Concentrators are required to complete part of the reading of these
courses in Russian.
Russian is also an especially rewarding second concentration when combined with
political science, history or another social-science discipline. Students who complete the
intensive year-long program in their first year are particularly well equipped to follow
the dual-concentration path.
After completing two years of Russian (or the equivalent), concentrators must take two
third-year language courses and then at least two of a range of four-hundred-level
language courses. Language courses are proficiency oriented, and make extensive use of the
multimedia resources available at Michigan (daily news broadcasts in Russian, films, and
so on). All language courses beyond Russian 202 are taught by teachers with native
proficiency. Several courses are designed to meet the needs of students intending to use
Russian in the business and professional world ("Business Russian" 413,
"Political Russian" 414).
During junior and senior years the concentrator also takes at least three of the four
survey courses offered annually ("Russian Literature to 1870"; "Russian
Literature 1870-1900"; "Russian Literature 1890-1921"; "Russian
literature 1921 to the present"). The survey classes typically combine lecture and
discussion, literary history and practical analysis. Students interested in graduate study
in the Slavic field will usually take at least one "monograph" course, and
sometimes "Fundamentals of Slavic Linguistics". The two sides of the
concentration meet in introductory courses to Russian literature which are taught in
Russian, with reading and writing assignments in Russian (Russian 351 and 352).
Students receive extensive personal attention and counseling, and, in the new
circumstances of post-Soviet Russia, are encouraged to spend at least one semester in
Russia itself. Counselors ensure that courses taken abroad fit into the concentration
program appropriately. Michigan Russianists are very competitive in applications to
professional schools, and place very well in graduate programs.
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Czech Language, Literature, and Culture
Prerequisites to the Academic Minor: Czech 241 or equivalent.
Academic Minor Program: 16 credits of courses, including Czech 242 (4 credits)
and 12 credits in courses selected
from the following two categories, with at least 6 credits from category B.
Category A: Courses on Central European Slavic Culture (no
more than 6 credits from category A may count in
the Academic Minor):
• Slavic 225 (Arts and Cultures of Central Europe)
• Slavic 312 (Central European Cinema)
• Slavic 423 (Central European Literature in the
Twentieth Century)
Students may count up to 3 credits of Third-Year Czech
(Czech 341 and 342) toward the Academic Minor.
Category B: Courses on Czech culture, literature, and
cinema (at least 6 credits are required from category B):
• Czech 480 (Supervised Czech Reading)
• Czech 483 (Czech Literature from the Middle Ages to the
Enlightenment)
• Czech 484 (Modern Czech Literature)
• Slavic 490 (Issues of the Cultures of Eastern Europe)
Polish Language, Literature, and Culture
Prerequisites to the Academic Minor: Polish 221 or equivalent.
Academic Minor Program: 16 credits of courses, including Polish 222 (4 credits),
and 12 credits in courses selected
from the following two categories, with at least 6 credits from category B.
Category A: Courses on Central European Slavic Culture (no
more than 6 credits from category A may count in
the Academic Minor):
• Slavic 225 (Arts and Cultures of Central Europe)
• Slavic 312 (Central European Cinema)
• Slavic 423 (Central European Literature in the
Twentieth Century)
Students may count up to 3 credits of Third-Year Polish
(Polish 321 and 322) toward the Academic Minor.
Category B: Courses on Polish culture, literature, and
cinema (at least 6 credits are required from category B):
• Polish 325 (Polish Literature in English, to 1900)
• Polish 326 (Polish Literature in English, 1900 to
present)
• Polish 432 (Topics in Polish Literature)
• Slavic 490 (Issues of the Cultures of Eastern Europe)
Russian Language, Literature, and Culture
Prerequisites to the Academic Minor: Russian 201 or equivalent.
Academic Minor Program: Russian 202 or Russian 203/RC Core 293, and 12
additional credits in courses selected
from among the following, with at least 6 credits elected at the upper level:
Russian 231, 301, 347, 348, 449, 450, 453, 462, 463, 464,
480, Slavic 240 and 313.
For more information contact Sylvia
Suttor (ssuttor@umich.edu)
and visit the LSA Minors
webpage.
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An honors program is available for especially gifted undergraduates. This program
requires seniors to work on a research project for a year, in close coordination with a
faculty member, and to write a fifty- to one-hundred-page thesis. Some support for
research trips and the like is available through the College Honors Program. Generally,
students interested in graduate school complete Honors Russian, thereby gaining extra
early experience of scholarly work.
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The Slavic Department actively supports the goal of competency-based foreign
language instruction to provide functional fluency in five skill areas (listening,
speaking, reading, writing, and cultural knowledge). With support from the University, the
Department's language instructors have participated in national certification proficiency
testing workshops. The Department was one of the first to have certified proficiency
testers in Russian.
As part of its commitment to proficiency-based language teaching and testing, the
Department uses proficiency-oriented texts at all levels of instruction in Russian. All
teaching assistants in Slavic languages are required to perform at the advanced level of
language proficiency and must take the Department's required course in language teaching
methodology (Methods of Teaching Russian) before they can teach language courses.
To increase student motivation toward rapid language acquisition, the Department
supports informal student activities such as the weekly russkii chai, the
biweekly Polish Club, etc.
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Michael Makin
3016 MLB
Tel: (734) 647-2142
For a concentration appointment,
please contact Sylvia Suttor.
3040 MLB
Tel: (734) 764-5355
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Application
Information
Go to the Undergraduate
Admissions Website for more information about how to apply.
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Updated 11/11/03
