German and Russian Studies
German Courses
GER 101 Introduction to German Language and Culture I (1 Credit)
This course, part of a yearlong sequence, introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students learn to speak, build vocabulary, and develop their listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills. GER 101 is only offered in the fall semester. GER 101 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. Conducted in German.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 102 Introduction to German Language and Culture II (1 Credit)
This course, a continuation of GER 101, introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students further develop their speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills. GER 102 is only offered in the winter semester. GER 102 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 101, or permission of the instructor.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 105 Germany and the "New Europe:" The Cultures of Central and East-Central Europe after 1989 (1 Credit)
In this course, students explore the historical and cultural relations between Germany, the most prominent political and economic power in Central Europe, and the countries of East-Central Europe. The coursework focuses on "New Europe," a group of post-communist countries after 1989, investigating how they are viewed in Germany and how they positioned themselves in relation to Germany. By analyzing a wide range of fictional and nonfiction texts, students integrate insights from historical, political, and artistic discourses in Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries to develop an understanding of the region's past, the current dynamics, the narratives that shape mutual perceptions and attitudes, and the ongoing processes of European integration. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C037, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 105
Instructor: Jakub Kazecki, Raluca Cernahoschi
GER 201 Intermediate German Language and Culture I (1 Credit)
Offered in the fall, this course is a continuation of GER 101-102. Students further expand their skills through sustained interactive practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as their cultural knowledge about the German-speaking countries through wide-ranging, authentic material. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 102, or permission of the instructor.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 202 Intermediate German Language and Culture II (1 Credit)
This course, offered in the winter semester, is a continuation of GER 201. Students further expand their skills through sustained interactive practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as their cultural knowledge about the German-speaking countries through wide-ranging, authentic material. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 201, or permission of the instructor.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 220 Narrating War: The “Great War,” Memory, and Remembrance in Europe (1 Credit)
The course focuses on how the experience of the First World War (1914-1918) changed established narratives of violence and armed conflict in Europe. It investigates how these new narratives became sites of memory, mourning, and remembrance in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, drawing on examples from the literature and art of Central and Eastern European countries. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 220
Instructor: Jakub Kazecki
GER 233 Advanced German: Reading, Writing, Analysis (1 Credit)
A topical course offered in the fall semester and designed to develop linguistic and cultural competency at the advanced level. The course focuses on analysis and critical thinking applied to a variety of written and audiovisual media from the German-speaking world. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 202, or permission of the instructor.
Modes of Inquiry: [GL], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 234 The Long Read: Text and Context (1 Credit)
Building on the skills of critical analysis, this topical course centers on the in-depth study of a single, longer text, which serves as a foundation for exploring the nuances of the German language and its cultural landscape. Students work intensively with the selected text, practicing close reading techniques to analyze its literary structure, stylistic choices, and thematic depth. Students also research the historical, social, and artistic contexts that produced and inform the text, along with its reception. Through reading and discussing the text and supplementary materials, engaging with relevant media, presenting in class, and completing writing assignments, students attain greater oral and written proficiency in German while deepening their understanding of German-speaking cultures. Offered in the winter semester only. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C024, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 245 Adaptation (1 Credit)
Why do some stories get told and retold across time? What gives them their staying power, but also, how do they reflect the interests, values, and desires of new audiences? The course considers both the features that change with adaptation and the conditions under which adaptations occur, paying attention to the dimensions of power and privilege in who gets to tell (sell?) the story, how, and to whom. Students create their own adaptations of an existing German-language text. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi
GER 252 Life Writing (1 Credit)
What does it mean to "write a life"? The course considers questions about the self-presentation of authors as narrators of their own or their families' stories, the relationship between disclosure and literary invention, and the contested area between truth and fiction in (auto)biographical forms. They investigate how "life-writing" and "self-writing" can be a literary genre that presents issues such as identity, belonging and Otherness, memory, and trauma. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C024, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
GER 253 Contemporary German Cultures (1 Credit)
This project-based course engages students in current topics in the German-speaking countries. Topics may include: food, language, social diversity and inclusion, climate change and environmentalism, the legacies of imperialism and authoritarianism, today’s popular and youth cultures, and entertainment. Students work in groups to define current trends and place them in a historical context. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233.
Modes of Inquiry: [GL], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Jakub Kazecki
GER 262 Rebels, Radicals, and Realists: Social Change in German Cinema (1 Credit)
This course examines the dynamic relationship between German cinema and social transformation from the early 20th century to the present. Focusing on key movements and filmmakers who have explored the intersecting spheres of art, politics, and social life, the course investigates how German films have both reflected and driven societal transformation. Students will study the radical innovations of Expressionist filmmakers in the Weimar era (1919-1933), the works of independent filmmakers of the New German Cinema in the 1960s and 1970s, the often-overlooked films of East-German cinema produced under the DEFA studio system, and the diverse voices of post-reunification Germany. The course highlights how cinema has responded to and influenced political shifts and social reforms. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C019, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 262
Instructor: Jakub Kazecki
GER 271 Black Germans: Literature and Film (1 Credit)
This course dives into evocative literature and film on Black Germans, featuring works by Black creators and others who bring these stories to life. Through novels, memoirs, poetry, essays, and films, students will grapple with nuanced themes of identity, race, and belonging within German cultural landscapes. Spotlighting artistic innovation and narrative craft, the course reveals how these works use storytelling, aesthetics, and creative expression to challenge, disrupt, and redefine mainstream visions of Black German worlds. Students will have the opportunity to take part in live virtual conversations with several of the authors and filmmakers featured in this course.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): (Africana: Diaspora)
Class Restriction: None
Instructor: Temitope Noah
GER 319 Imperial Imaginary: German Colonialism Revisited (1 Credit)
German imperialism extended across continents and timelines, linking late-19th-century overseas colonies in Africa and the Pacific with continental expansion in Europe. This course examines the complex history of German colonialism, focusing dually on overseas holdings (Africa, Pacific Islands, Qingdao) and the colonization of East-Central and Eastern Europe. Students explore how these distinct expansions operated through interconnected mechanisms and analyze how national identity, science, and culture justified colonial conquest. The course traces the legitimization of empire through literature and visual culture while examining local resistance. By engaging with literary works, historical documents, and film, the course investigates how colonial fantasies persist today and how artists and scholars engage in decolonial advocacy and contemporary debates on restitution. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.
Modes of Inquiry: [GL], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Jakub Kazecki
GER 341 Landscapes and Cityscapes in German-Language Media (1 Credit)
This course examines the construction of space in various historical and contemporary German-language media, answering questions such as: What landscapes and cityscapes contribute to a collective identity and how? How do geographical location, cultural particularity, and historical context contribute to (sometimes contested) discourses on these spaces? How is the construction of these spaces impacted by the historical diversity of cultures in Central Europe, as well as by modern migration to the area? And how have German speakers conceptualized and colonized spaces in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas? Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C057, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 350 Margins and Migrations (1 Credit)
What is German literature? The course examines this question through the lens of writers who are difficult to incorporate into a national narrative. The first part of the course focuses on texts produced in the context of the German and Austrian empires in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, while the second part studies the effects of postwar labor migrations and globalization on contemporary German-language literatures. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: [W2]
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 358 Literature and Film of the German Democratic Republic (1 Credit)
This course explores the ways in which literature and film reflect and refract the social and political experiments of the GDR (1949-1990). Topics may include coming to terms with the past, the emergence and problematization of new gender models, youth culture and generational tensions, the role of the individual in socialist society, censorship and artistic experimentation, conformity and resistance, popular culture and the artistic underground, international solidarity and notions of race, and industrialization and environmental concerns. Attention is given to the sociohistorical contexts of the examined works and the means and ends of literary and cinematic creations of (alternate) realities. Conducted in German. Prerequisite(s): GER 233 and one other 200-level course in German.
Modes of Inquiry: [GL], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi
GER 360 Independent Study (1 Credit)
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program, a course proposal, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
GER 457 Senior Thesis (1 Credit)
A capstone project, which may take the form of a written research paper, community-engaged project, translation project, or digital portfolio, is designed in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students register for GER 457 in the fall semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both GER 457 and 458.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: [W3]
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year, Sophomore, or Junior students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER 458 Senior Thesis (1 Credit)
A capstone project, which may take the form of a written research paper, community-engaged project, translation project, or digital portfolio, is designed in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students register for GER 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both GER 457 and 458.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: [W3]
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year, Sophomore, or Junior students
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Raluca Cernahoschi, Jakub Kazecki
GER S33 Central European Theater and Film (1 Credit)
A study of Hungarian and German history, politics, theater, and film since about 1945. Our focus is on the impact on theater and film of the cataclysmic social and political changes in Central Europe since the post-WW2 division of Germany and the Hungarian uprisings of 1956. Other seminal events bearing on this study are the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989, the reunification of Germany, and the subsequent rebuilding of politics and culture in the region up until today. In conjunction with our study of history, politics, drama, and film, students read an array of secondary sources on the social and cultural history of post-war Central Europe. Classes will be conducted as discussions, led by the Bates instructors and Hungarian, German, and other Central European artists and scholars. Students maintain a journal describing and analyzing the plays, readings, films, and other academic materials studied. Recommended background: one course in European studies, theater, politics, or German studies.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C019, C028, C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
GER S50 Independent Study (0.5 Credits)
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course proposal, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C071, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Russian Courses
RUSS 101 Elementary Russian I (1 Credit)
This course, offered in the fall semester as part of a yearlong sequence, introduces students to Russian language and culture with an emphasis on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students also engage with contemporary Russian culture and everyday life through a variety of authentic texts including music, film, and television. Conducted in Russian.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson, Marina Filipovic
RUSS 102 Elementary Russian II (1 Credit)
This course, offered in the winter semester, is a continuation of RUSS 101 with an emphasis on acquiring all four language competencies. The course continues to foster building basic fluency and ability to read simplified passages in Russian. Students continue their immersion in Russian culture through authentic materials including music, animation, film, and social media. Conducted in Russian.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Marina Filipovic, Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS 111 Protestors, Punks, and Pioneers: Youth in Eastern Europe (1 Credit)
This course examines the role of youth and student culture in shaping East European societies in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Course materials including film, literature, journalism, and music provide an introduction to East European cultural and social history and encourage students to explore themes of identity, activism, expression, and community. As students move from considering the role of youth in the Russian Revolution to contemporary student protests in support of human rights, class discussions bring new perspectives to the ways young people both navigate and foster change in the times and spaces they occupy. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C030, C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 111
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS 201 Intermediate Russian I (1 Credit)
This course, offered in the fall semester, is a continuation of Elementary Russian, with an emphasis on fostering all four language competencies. Students focus on more detailed study of grammatical issues; vocabulary building and intermediate fluency; reading more complicated, unedited Russian prose texts; and engaging in composing extended forms of written discourse. Students are immersed in contemporary Russian culture through a variety of authentic materials including music, animation, film, art, social media, and press. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 102.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Marina Filipovic, Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS 202 Intermediate Russian II (1 Credit)
This course, offered in the winter semester, is a continuation of RUSS 201 and completes students' introduction to the structure of the Russian language. Emphasis is placed on students' written and verbal communication skills with a focus on expressing opinions and perspectives. This course culminates in a research project and presentation exploring minority communities in the Russian Federation, synthesizing the language and cultural awareness students build in their first two years of Russian studies. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 201.
Modes of Inquiry: [CP], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson, Marina Filipovic
RUSS 230 Cold War Identities: Competing Images of Self and Society in the US and the Soviet Union (1 Credit)
Cold War Identities explores the ways the combative and competitive culture of the Cold War impacted discourses surrounding race, sexual and gender identities, and national and ethnic identities in the United States, the Soviet Union, and in their respective spheres of influence. Working with materials from across cultural, political, and commercial spheres, students will engage with a fundamental contradiction of the Cold War: the ways superpowers both self-represented as bastions or freedom and progress, while simultaneously using the context of international competition as a justification for persecution of minoritized people within their own countries. With a focus on primary documents, the course builds students’ skills in evaluating and understanding discussions and representations of identity and their impacts across a broad range of media and popular culture. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C037, C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 230
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS 233 Russian Myths and Legends (1 Credit)
The course analyzes many aspects of Russian folk and popular culture from pre-Christian to post-Soviet Russia and how folklore continues to influence contemporary Russian culture. The first part of the course concentrates on Russian folk belief as expressed through oral lore, visual arts, and music. The second part of the course focuses on the myth and folktale in the Soviet Union. The course concludes with the uses of folklore in Putin’s Russia and the interaction between the forms of traditional folklore and modern popular culture. Conducted in English. This course is not open to students who have completed RUSS S27.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C051, C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 233
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS 237 Indigeneity Today: Comparative Indigenous Identities in the US and Russia (1 Credit)
Indigenous movements for land, rights, and cultural preservation have spread to and originated in all corners of the world. However, the global nature of these movements at times obscures ways of being Indigenous in differing contexts. This course analyzes Indigeneity in both the United States and Russia today. Through reading and analyzing ethnography, theory, and literature, it focuses on Indigenous peoples in a comparative context. Rather than prioritizing concern with Indigenous peoples emerging from the US, it attempts to demonstrate what Indigeneity has been in both the United States and Russia and what it is and means today. It asks the following questions: what is Indigeneity and who is Indigenous; how is Indigenous identity constructed and by whom? Topics include: Indigeneity and the State, Revitalization and Resurgence, Indigenous People and Nature Protection, and Hemispheric and Global Indigeneities.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
RUSS 247 Contemporary Russia on Film (1 Credit)
The course engages students with contemporary Russia through cinema and discusses a European culture that is, at the same time, non-Western in its political make-up. Topics discussed include the colonial center and its contemporary political and cultural ambitions, imperial periphery and Russia’s "quiet others," the Russian Idea in New Auteurism, Putin’s blockbusters, Russia’s alterities (minorities, sexualities, taboo Russia), Global Russia (the United States, Europe, Russia, and Ukraine). Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C019, C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 247
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS 259 Against Happy Endings: Love in Russian Literature (1 Credit)
What happens when love doesn’t save anyone? This course invites students into the world of Russian literature, where stories of romance, adultery, betrayal, prostitution, and moral transgression probe the deepest tensions of Russian culture. Focusing on intimate relationships as sites of conflict, the course examines how love exposes social hierarchies and moral dilemmas while raising questions of power, class, and gender, as well as how Russian writers negotiated Russia’s relationship to Europe. Through scandalous plots and unforgettable characters, students explore why love and taboo became central concerns for Russia’s most influential authors and how these narratives challenged, shaped, and shocked their readers. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 259
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS 301 Advanced Russian I (1 Credit)
This course, normally offered in the fall semester, focuses on advancing students’ fluency in Russian in all four competencies. Students are exposed to a variety of unedited materials and registers and work closely with contemporary Russian culture. Emphasis is placed on engaging students in advanced language production and their critical analysis of major Russian cultural figures, trends, media, and politics. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 202.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Marina Filipovic, Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS 302 Advanced Russian II (1 Credit)
This course, normally offered in the winter semester, is a continuation of RUSS 301, in which students read and discuss texts in a variety of styles from literature to journalism. Students explore ways of interpreting and adapting a text, including making their own film adaptation of a work of literature. Conducted in Russian. This course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor. Prerequisite(s): RUSS 301.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [GL]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson, Marina Filipovic
RUSS 313 Hard and Soft Socialism: Literatures, Films, and Cultures of the USSR and Socialist Yugoslavia (1 Credit)
Were socialism and socialist art a uniform phenomenon across the USSR and Eastern Europe? This course examines the cultures of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia from their revolutionary beginnings through the Tito–Stalin split of 1948 to the breakup of both countries in the early 1990s. While the USSR claimed a monopoly on Marxism, Yugoslavia presented itself as an alternative socialist model, one that rejected Stalinist orthodoxy and promoted a more democratic, “West-friendly” vision of communism. Through literatures, films, and cultural debates, students will explore changing ideas of gender, sexuality, dissident cultures, internal and external exile, and the shifting aesthetics of socialism on the eve of its collapse in the early 1990s. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C027, C037, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Cross-listed Course(s): EUS 313
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS 317 Beyond Human: Cyborgs and Technology (1 Credit)
What is a cyborg, and how does this political and cultural concept evolve through various historical periods? How are transformative relations between humans, animals, and machines imagined across cultural texts? What is post- and transhumanism? The course examines changing ideas of constructing, enhancing, and technologizing body and mind in the Soviet Union and modern Russia. Students engage with ideas of the biopolitical remaking of humans, rejuvenating bodies surgically, prosthetically, pharmacologically, and digitally. Topics discussed include technologies of gender and gender technologies, identity politics, immortalization narratives, and geopolitics. Conducted in English. Recommended background: prior coursework in literature or film.
Modes of Inquiry: [AC], [HS]
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C094, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: Not open to: First Year students
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS 360 Independent Study (1 Credit)
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
RUSS S21 Puppets: Theory, Practice, and Play (0.5 Credits)
This interdisciplinary course examines the questions, concepts, and potential surrounding puppets through a combination of hands-on work and play with puppets, discussion, readings, and viewings of puppet performances. Readings and other materials offer perspectives on what puppets are, how they interact with audiences, and what makes puppet performance a distinct forum for exploring questions about bodies and identities. Students test these ideas together using actual puppets to see how theory and practice collide. The course concludes with a collective project using puppets to engage with the community at Bates and beyond. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C028, C029, C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Instructor: Cheryl Stephenson
RUSS S27 Myths and Legends in Russian Culture (0.5 Credits)
The course analyzes many aspects of Russian folk and popular culture from pre-Christian to post-Soviet Russia and how folklore continues to influence contemporary Russian culture. The first part of the course concentrates on Russian folk belief as expressed through oral lore, visual arts, and music. The second part of the course focuses on the myth and folktale in the Soviet Union. The course concludes with the uses of folklore in Putin’s Russia and the interaction between the forms of traditional folklore and modern popular culture. Conducted in English.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None
Instructor: Marina Filipovic
RUSS S50 Independent Study (0.5 Credits)
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term.
Modes of Inquiry: None
Writing Credit: None
Concentration(s): C069, C096
Department/Program Attribute(s): None
Class Restriction: None
Cross-listed Course(s): None