In addition to our existing Ph. D. curriculum, which stresses work in a single national language and literature, we have launched a new track which allows for comparative work in two Slavic literatures, enriched by an additional program of interdisciplinary study.

Slavic Literatures and Cultures [NEW Ph.D. Track]

This track is designed to allow students to pursue work in two East European literatures and cultures, enriched by interdisciplinary perspectives.

• The primary Slavic literature may be Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, Polish or Russian. 
• The second literature may be one of the above or another East European literature taught in the Department (e.g. Yiddish).
• The third component of a students' program will comprise relevant work in another discipline, e.g. History of Art or Architecture, Cinema, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Anthropology, History, or a Social Science.

During their first year of graduate study, students will develop an individualized plan of study, in consultation with faculty mentors, integrating the three components noted above into a coherent intellectual plan for studying the selected literatures in their cross-cultural contexts.

Questions? Please contact the Graduate Coordinator at (734) 764-5355, or slavic@umich.edu

I am delighted to welcome you to the website of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan. Let me take this opportunity to provide you with some information about our graduate program and its recent changes.

Our graduate program currently provides Russian Literature as its main track culminating in the Ph.D. (The M.A. degree is earned in progress to the Ph.D.) Russian literature has traditionally been one of our foci. Professor Olga Maiorova offers courses in the second part of the 19^th century; Professor Omry Ronen covers the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries; and, finally, Professor Michael Makin teaches in the area of the 20^th century, including contemporary literature. These colleagues also offer other courses, including monographic courses on Russian authors—such as Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Nabokov, Pushkin, Tolstoy—as well as courses in literary and cultural theory, thus defining the very solid backbone of the graduate program.

Besides a well-established focus on Russian literature and culture, the Department boasts major strengths in Polish and Czech studies. The Polish area is covered by Professor Carpenter, while Professor Jindrich Toman's specialty is Czech culture and literature, with a special focus on Czech modernism. Both fields enjoy significant support from my focus on East European film and film theory. These programs generate a broad range of enrichment activities, including the annual Workshop in Czech cultural studies and the yearly Copernicus Lecture in Polish studies.

Our latest program expansion is the addition of a tenure-track position in Jewish-Slavic cultural contacts. The position has been opened jointly with the Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, and since 2004 we are pleased to have Professor Mikhail Krutikov on this line. We foresee that this addition will strengthen the Department’s development to a home of comparative and interdisciplinary research.

You may well be aware that the Department also has a strong tradition in Slavic linguistics. Several years ago, the Department successfully opened a new line in its graduate program, a joint-degree doctoral program in Slavic Linguistics and General Linguistics. In doing so, the Department formally recognizes the relevance of linguistic education, including language pedagogy, beyond the traditional confines of Slavistics. The program is administered jointly with The University of Michigan’s Department of Linguistics, in which future students take some of their courses. Unfortunately, a temporary lack of teaching capacity has made us suspend this line in 2006/07.

We are able to provide funding for new graduate students in different forms and at different levels. In general, we offer a five-year funding package consisting of a combination of fellowship and teaching. Other sources of funding, such as the government-sponsored Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships program for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, is available on a competitive basis and prospective graduate students are encouraged to apply when they apply for admission. In late stages of their graduate careers students are eligible for a number of sources of support. Although many of these funds are awarded on a competitive basis, I should emphasize that our students have over the years been exceptionally successful in winning FLAS, Fulbright, Fulbright-Hayes, and other grants, including grants for travel abroad,. We are committed to providing comprehensive funding to our students and we automatically consider all accepted students for funding.

A useful source of information is The Slavic Scene, a departmental information newsletter. The most recent issue is sent out with application packets, and is also available on our website.

The Department has long been known for a breadth of courses few universities can match, as well as for its strong ties with other units across the University. In this connection, I am pleased to mention our close affiliation with the Center for Russian and East European Studies, a leading U.S. Department of Education-designated national Resource Center, where graduate students can meet professors and students from other fields and take part in stimulating interdisciplinary activities. I am confident that from among the Department and our associates you will easily find prominent scholars whose expertise will fit your interests.

If you have questions about the Department, don’t hesitate to contact me or my assistant Amanda Apostol at amccau@umich.edu, or (734) 764-5355.

Sincerely,

Herbert Eagle, Chair
hjeagle@umich.edu