Fall 2006

RUS 391 • Colloquium

Course Description

The course is planned as a colloquium open to any graduate student with an interest in Russian culture. Each participant will develop an individual reading list centered on a particular research project, in consultation with the instructor and other faculty having special expertise in the field. The seminar will meet weekly for presentations of "work in progress" as well as general discussions of supplementary survey readings in literary and cultural history. All topics are welcome: prose, poetry, theater, film, fine arts, performing arts, broader cultural issues, comparative or inter-disciplinary topics. The seminar offers the opportunity to students at any phase of graduate school, whether in the first semester or already at the dissertation, to concentrate on their individual research projects with a congenial study group.

The semester will be divided into two segments. During the first segment we will do background readings and hear preliminary presentations about the research projects of seminar participants. Background readings will be chosen by the seminar members from a list provided by the instructor, or as they themselves suggest. In the second segment of the course, we will develop the lines of interest presented by the seminar members by reading together selected primary and secondary sources that are at the center of each member's research project.

Grading Policy

Oral presentations 40% Final paper 40% Active seminar participation 20%

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