RUSSIAN, EAST EUROPEAN, AND EURASIAN STUDIES
2019-2020
RUSSIAN, EAST EUROPEAN, AND EURASIAN STUDIES FACULTY
The Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies (REES) program offers an interdisciplinary range of courses in Russian language, history, politics, literature, culture, and film, as well as in the culture and society of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. We encourage students to study abroad; our students have done research in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries in the area. Russia continues to play a major role in global affairs, and the study of Russia occupies an important place in the Wesleyan curriculum, for both majors and nonmajors.
The major in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of contemporary Russian culture and society, its history, its political and economic institutions, and its place in the world. Students are strongly encouraged to spend a semester or a summer in Russia (or another country in the area, if appropriate). At the end of their studies students should have achieved an advanced level of fluency in the language and should be able to work with Russian sources to conduct original research in their chosen area of specialization. They should be able to read or watch Russian media and understand the historical and cultural references that frame Russians' understanding of their world. Students should also have a basic familiarity with the historical, cultural, social, and political developments of the other post-Soviet states beyond Russia and have the opportunity to explore these countries in more detail if they so desire. The major prepares students for careers in research and cultural analysis, education, law, artistic production, diplomacy and public service, business, and communication.
Students normally declare a major in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies in the spring of sophomore year. Interested students should begin their study of Russian language as early as possible and should consult a REES faculty member before declaring the major. To be accepted into the program, students must have a minimum overall average of B in courses related to the major.
There are two possible concentrations in the REES major.
- Language, literature, and culture. Majors must complete three years of college-level Russian or the equivalent, as well as five more courses, three of which must be in literature or culture, one of which must be in either politics and economics or history and religion, and one of which must be either a course or a full-credit tutorial conducted in Russian. If a student places out of one or more semesters of language, he or she must take enough courses in REES to add up to a total of 11. For example, a student who places out of two semesters of first-year Russian would take four more semesters of language plus seven more courses.
- Social sciences. Majors must complete two years of college-level Russian or the equivalent, as well as seven more courses chosen in consultation with an advisor. These courses must include at least one in the category of politics and economics, one in the category of history and religion, and one in the category of literature and culture. If a student places out of one or more semesters of language, he or she must take enough courses in REES to add up to a total of 11. For example, a student who places out of two semesters of first-year Russian would take two semesters of language plus nine more courses.
REES COURSES
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Politics and Economics | ||
| GOVT274 | Russian Politics | 1 |
| History and Religion | ||
| HIST219 | Russian and Soviet History, 1881 to the Present | 1 |
| RELI271 | Secularism: Godlessness from Luther to Lenin | 1 |
| RELI239 | Modern Shamanism: Ecstacy and Ancestors in the New Age | 1 |
| RELI289 | Indigenous Religions: Politics, Land, Healing | 1 |
| RELI393 | "If there is no God, then everything is permitted?" Moral Life in a Secular World | 1 |
| HIST353 | The Communist Experience in the 20th Century | 1 |
| RELI299 | Imagining Communities: National Religions and Political Rituals | 1 |
| Literature and Culture in English | ||
| REES205 | Murder and Adultery: Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and the 19th-Century Russian Novel | 1 |
| REES206 | A Matter of Life and Death: Fiction in the Soviet Era | 1 |
| REES208F | Otherness & Belonging (FYS) | 1 |
| REES220 | Speak, Memory: The Russian Memoir | 1 |
| REES233 | Introduction to Russian and Soviet Cinema | 1 |
| REES235 | Queer Russia | 1 |
| REES240 | Reading Stories: Great Short Works from Tolstoy to Petrushevskaya | 1 |
| REES251 | Dostoevsky | 1 |
| REES252 | Tolstoy | 1 |
| REES254 | Nobel Laureates: The Politics of Literature | 1 |
| REES255 | Prague, Vienna, Sarajevo: 20th-Century Novels from Central and Eastern Europe | 1 |
| REES256 | The Soviet Century | 1 |
| REES263 | Nabokov and Cultural Synthesis | 1 |
| REES267 | Parody: Humor, Artistic Evolution, and Restoration of the Sacred | 1 |
| REES277 | Gogol and His Legacy: Witches, Con Men, and Runaway Noses | 1 |
| REES321 | Moscow/Berlin: Socialist Modernity and the Transnational Avant-Garde | 1 |
| Literature in Russian | ||
| REES260 | Dostoevsky's BRAT'IA KARAMAZOVY | 1 |
| REES284 | Pushkin | 1 |
| Language | ||
| RUSS101 & RUSS102 |
Elementary Russian I and Elementary Russian II |
3 |
| RUSS201 & RUSS202 |
Intermediate Russian I and Intermediate Russian II |
2 |
| RUSS301 & RUSS302 |
Third-Year Russian I and Third-Year Russian II |
|
Any student who intends to earn the minor in REES should speak with the program chair by the end of the junior year at the latest.
The minor in REES consists of six courses, in which the student must achieve a GPA of B. These courses must include RUSS101 and RUSS102 or two semesters of Russian language study at the appropriate level and four more REES courses, of which one must be taken in each of the three areas of politics and economics, history and religion, and literature and culture (see course list). The fourth course may be in any of the three areas or may be a semester of intermediate or advanced Russian. Two of the courses may be taken during study abroad (with prior approval). All courses except RUSS101 and RUSS102 must be taken for a grade. Students should plan the minor in consultation with REES faculty.
Satisfactory completion of the minor will be certified by the program.
Majors are strongly encouraged to participate in either a summer or a semester program of study in Russia, for which academic credit will be given. Students may study in Eastern Europe or Central Asia as long as the program includes a language component. For a semester of study abroad on an approved program, four credits will count toward graduation, of which two will count toward the REES major. For a summer of study abroad on an approved program, two credits will count toward graduation, of which one will count toward the REES major.
To qualify to receive honors or high honors in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies (REES), a student must write a senior thesis that will be evaluated by a committee consisting of the tutor, a second reader from the REES faculty, and one additional reader either from REES or from the faculty at large. This committee makes the final decision on departmental honors. Only a two-semester senior thesis may be submitted for honors in REES.