The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers a minor program in East European/Eurasian Languages and/or Cultures with emphases in Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, or Polish. Students who wish to major in these languages should consider the applicable program track available through the Slavic Languages and Literatures Department major program.
Declaring the Minor
Students considering a minor track involving language requirements must see the undergraduate student services adviser early on to have their minor study list plan reviewed and approved; referral for language proficiency screening, placement, and potential language course credit for heritage or native speakers is required. Final approval for a minor rests with the major adviser. The paperwork for the minor, called an L&S Confirmation of Minor form, is completed with the undergraduate student services adviser no later than the semester before the student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT).
Other Minors Offered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but are not noted on diplomas.
General Guidelines
All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions. To declare a minor, contact the department advisor for information on requirements, and the declaration process.
All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.
A minimum of three of the upper division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.
Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which you plan to graduate. If you cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, please see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)
Lower Division Prerequisites
Course List
Code
Title
Units
Select one first-year language sequence or equivalent:
Two semesters of one of the languages of the area at a continuing level, or equivalent. Students with prior knowledge of the language should see the Undergraduate Advisor.1
If language requirements are passed by examination, five upper-division area-relevant courses chosen from the Slavic Department offerings listed.
Advising
Programmatic and individual advising services is provided to prospective and current students who are pursuing major and minor tracks in the department. Advisors assist with a range of issues including course selection, academic decision-making, achieving personal and academic goals, and maximizing the Berkeley experience.
If you are looking to explore your options, or you are ready to declare a major, double major, or minor, contact the undergraduate student services adviser.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
An introduction to Armenian language and culture, aiming to give students basic competence in all four skills and an introduction to traditional and contemporary Armenian culture. Introductory Armenian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A: None. 1B: 1A or equivalent; consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of session per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
An introduction to Armenian language and culture, aiming to give students basic competence in all four skills and an introduction to traditional and contemporary Armenian culture. Introductory Armenian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A or equivalent; consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of session per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
The purpose of this course is to further develop students' Armenian proficiency in all four language skills, using discussion, oral presentations, written assignments, and a variety of readings (literature, non-fiction, folklore, newspaper articles, etc.) chosen partly for their cultural significance and partly based on student needs and interests. Emphasis on particular skills (e.g. reading) depending on student needs and interests. Continuing Armenian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A-1B or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
The purpose of this course is to further develop students' Armenian proficiency in all four language skills, using discussion, oral presentations, written assignments, and a variety of readings (literature, non-fiction, folklore, newspaper articles, etc.) chosen partly for their cultural significance and partly based on student needs and interests. Emphasis on particular skills (e.g. reading) depending on student needs and interests. Continuing Armenian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 2A-2B or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2017
Selected readings in Armenian drawn from a wide range of texts—literature, history, journalism, politics, law, science and technology, business and economics, etc.—tailored to the academic interests of students enrolled.
The course is designed to further develop students’ language skills and to link language competence to the study of the contemporary politics, culture, and society in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2016
This course covers selected works and topics in Armenian literature treated in a broad socio-cultural context. In addition to introducing students to some of the Armenian literary masterpieces, the course offers a lens through which to view the socio-political issues and historical legacies that shape Armenian culture and identity, in Armenia and in diaspora, in today’s globalized world. Lectures, readings and discussions in English. No knowledge of Armenian language is required (students with knowledge of Armenian read in the original). Armenian Literature in Social Context: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2017
This course examines issues in Armenian culture (folklore, literature, architecture, visual arts, and film), with particular attention to Armenian cultural identity and socio-political movements in today’s Armenia and in diaspora. Lectures, readings and discussions in English. No knowledge of Armenian language is required (students with knowledge of Armenian read in the original). Armenian Culture and Film: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Armenian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2017
Selected readings in Czech drawn from a wide range of texts—literature, history, science, media and journalism, politics, business and economics, etc.—tailored to the academic interests and language proficiency of students enrolled.
The course is designed to further develop students’ language skills and to link language competence to the study of the contemporary politics, culture, and society in the Czech Republic and, more broadly, Eastern Europe.
The course is taught in a small group setting. The course requires considerable independent reading at home.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
Practical instruction in the Hungarian language. The course can be taken for either 3 or 4 units; the additional unit involves language laboratory work and additional written reading assignments. Introductory Hungarian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A is prerequisite to 1B; consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Hungarian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
Practical instruction in the Hungarian language. The course can be taken for either 3 or 4 units; the additional unit involves language laboratory work and additional written reading assignments. Introductory Hungarian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1A is prerequisite to 1B; consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students who have taken 5 units of 10A will receive no credit for 1A. Students who have taken 10 units of 10A will receive no credit for 1B.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Hungarian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019
The purpose of this course is to further develop the student's language proficiency in reading, speaking and writing by using interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communicative modes. Exploration of fascinating aspects of Hungarian culture including elements of literature, contemporary and historical events, pop-culture, and folklore. Students will be able to influence topic selections according to their personal goals and interests. Readings in Hungarian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Hungarian 1A and 1B or consent of instructor, based on in-person assessment
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Hungarian/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019
Reading and composition course based on works of Russian and other Slavic writers, either written in English or translated into English. As students develop strategies of writing and interpretation, they will become acquainted with a particular theme in Russian and/or Slavic literatures and their major voices. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R5B satisfies the second half. Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Summer 2020 8 Week Session, Summer 2020 Second 6 Week Session
Reading and composition course based on works of Russian and other Slavic writers, either written in English or translated into English. As students develop strategies of writing and interpretation, they will become acquainted with a particular theme in Russian and/or Slavic literatures and their major voices. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R5B satisfies the second half. Reading and Composition: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 freshmen. Freshman Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Spring 2012
Readings in English of representative texts from the Russian literary tradition. Variable topics. Great Books of Russian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2017
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2012
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 25. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2004, Spring 2001
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 25. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2009
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 25. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2012, Spring 2012
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 25. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2013
Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 25. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
Nineteenth-century Russian literature, including Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov.
The class is taught in English, on the basis of English translations; students with knowledge of Russian are encouraged to do at least some of the reading in the original.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018
Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet literature from the 1900 to the present viewed in a socio-cultural and political context.
The class is taught in English, on the basis of English translations; students with knowledge of Russian are encouraged to do at least some of the reading in the original.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020
Books written for children emerge from specific and complicated social and historical contexts, as do the children (and adults) who read these books. In recent years, the world of children's books has been rocked by productive debates about the kinds of stories told and the identities of the voices telling those stories. In this class, we will read a wide assortment of books written (both long ago and very recently) for children, with particular attention paid to books addressing the experiences of Native, Latinx and African American children in the United States. We will also read scholarly, critical, and theoretical articles as we engage with our texts. Assessment will be based on class participation, written papers, and exams. Children's Literature in the Context of American Cultures: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2020 8 Week Session, Spring 2020, Summer 2019 8 Week Session
This course introduces students to the cultures of the peoples of the former Soviet bloc (Russia and other areas of the former Soviet Union, including Central Asia and the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe), from early times to the present, with the emphasis on cultural identity. Readings in history, fiction, folklore, viewing of films, and art. Thematic units include formation of the Russian civilization, Slavic nationalism in the Romantic era, empire and identity in Eastern/Central Europe; Soviet and post-Soviet daily life, Jews in Slavic lands, the former Yugoslavia; multi ethnic lands. Required of majors in Russian/East European/Eurasian cultures, the course is also aimed at a broad audience. Knowledge of the areas' languages not required. Introduction to Russian/East European/Eurasian Cultures: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2019, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Group study of selected topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses. Directed Group Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Freshman or sophomore standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Supervised independent study for lower division students with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Individual Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 3.0 GPA
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019
An overview of various aspects of cultural history, literature, language, and society of Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe. Variable topics. Course readings include primary texts (literature, film, popular culture, journalism) and scholarly studies. Course work emphasizes students' research. Final research paper or project required. Seminar: Russian, East European, and Eurasian Cultures: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018
Additional readings in the original language to be coordinated with an appropriate upper division lecture course with readings in English offered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. This includes all courses in the Slavic 130, 140, 150, 160, and 170 and Armenian 120 series. Supervised by the instructor of the lecture course in which the student is also enrolled. Attend lectures and do all assigned written work in the main lecture course and also perform additional work by reading all or some of the primary texts in the original language. Advanced Readings in Russian, East European and Eurasian Languages: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Knowledge of an appropriate Slavic, East European or Eurasian language with approval of the instructor. Concurrent enrollment in an upper-division class in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 1 time.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of reading per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Special research project to be coordinated with an appropriate upper division lecture course offered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. (This includes courses in the Slavic 130, 140, 150, 160, and 170 series and Armenian 120 series). Supervised by the instructor of the lecture course in which the student is also enrolled. Students attend lectures and do all assigned written work in the main lecture course and also perform additional research. Research in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Concurrent enrollment in an upper-division class in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 1 time.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Spring 2010, Spring 2007
Introduction to the cultures of East Slavic peoples in the Middle Ages, including history, mythology, Christian religious culture, literature (writing), icon painting, and architecture. The Culture of Medieval Rus': Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
A lecture course examining Russian literature and culture in the 20th century. The course will focus on the interaction of literature, other artistic forms (painting, photography, or film), and broader social and ideological changes in one of the key transitional periods of the 20th century. Periods to be examined include the transition to Communism in the post-revolutionary 20s and the retreat from Communism (the perestroika 80s and the post-Communist 90s). No knowledge of Russian is required. Literature, Art, and Society in 20th-Century Russia: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2012, Spring 2004
A reading of novels by Dostoevsky and Tolstoy along with some relevant English novels. We will look at how the Russian and English novels respond to each other, resemble each other, and differ from each other, especially in their treatment of childhood, family, love, social theory, spirituality, and narrative. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and the English Novel: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2018, Spring 2017
Study of major Russian and Western (European and American) 19th- and 20th-century novels, and their interrelations. Variable reading list. See Department announcement for description. The Novel in Russia and the West: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 8 units.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2009, Fall 2006
Gogol's fiction and plays, treated in relation to his life and to developments in Russian and European literature. Extensive outside reading required for this course. Gogol: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
A survey of the writer's principal artistic works, treated in relation to his life and to developments in Russian and European literature. Extensive outside reading required for this course. Dostoevsky: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
A survey of the writer's principal artistic works, treated in relation to his life and to developments in Russian and European literature. Extensive outside reading required for this course. Tolstoy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2015
Studies in the innovative master of modern narrative forms: short story, drama, letter. Extensive exposure to the life and times of Anton Chekhov. Practice in critical approaches to literature and theater. Writing-intensive course. Chekhov: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2015
A thorough examination of Nabokov's work as a novelist, critic, and memoirist. Explores Nabokov's fiction from his European and American periods, his (imagined) relation to literary predecessors, and his construct of an authorial self. Extensive outside reading required for this course. Nabokov: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2014
A reading of major works by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in the context of Russian and European philosophy and religious thought. Extensive outside reading required. Variable content. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2015, Fall 2010
Special topics in Russian literature and its international context. Variable subject matter; see Department announcement for description. Extensive outside reading required for this course. Studies in Russian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020
This course offers a cultural history of encounters between Russia and Asia in literature, film and visual art. The lenses of Orientalism, Eurasianism and Internationalism will be used to analyze Russian interactions with three spaces: the Caucasus, Central Asia, and East Asia. We will discuss works by classic Russian writers and artists (including Tolstoy, Blok and Platonov) that address the question of Russia’s engagement with Asia and consider Russia’s ambiguous spatial identity between Europe and Asia. We will also examine responses to Russian culture and the Russian/Soviet state in the literature and culture of China (Lu Xun, Xiao Hong), Japan (Kurosawa), Central Asia (Aitmatov) and the Caucasus (Sadulaev). All readings in English. Russia and Asia: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2013
An introduction to best practices in applying linguistic analysis to Slavic languages. Development of critical thinking and analytical skills. Introduction to Slavic Linguistics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: A year or more of a Slavic language or consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Slavic Languages and Literatures C137/Linguistics C137 after taking Slavic Languages and Literatures 137; a deficient grade in Slavic Languages and Literatures 137 may be removed by taking Slavic Languages and Literatures C137/Linguistics C137.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course will examine the Russian contribution to film history and theory, with particular attention paid to the role of the cinema in Soviet culture and Russian films complex ties to literary and political movements. Variable topics. Topics in Russian and Soviet Film: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2019
This course explores the literary and visual culture that emerged in post-Soviet societies following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Students will learn how literature and cinema transformed during a period of dramatic and even traumatic change, in the context of intense debates over national identity, the relationship to the socialist past, and the inter-relations of art, politics and commerce. While our focus will be on the literature, cinema and popular culture of post-Soviet Russia, we will also consider texts and films produced in other post-Soviet spaces: Ukraine, Armenia, and Central Asia. Post-Soviet Cultures: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Spring 2010, Spring 2006
Linguistic background and the general principles of language spread. Mechanisms of language spread, including creolization-decreolization, language planning, and the role of bilingualism. Case studies in language spread, including Austronesian, Indo-European, Amerindian, Uralic, African, Sinitic, and Australian languages. Relationship of language spread to immigration and culture spreads. Language Spread: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Fall 2008
The course will examine the Russian and East European contribution to the practice and theory of the performing arts, especially (but not exclusively) theater. The course emphasizes the involvement of the performing arts in the social and cultural fabric. The Performing Arts in Russia and Eastern Europe: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2016, Fall 2012
Folktales, epic songs, customs, and beliefs of Russians and Ukrainians. East Slavic Folklore: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2014
Folktales, epic songs, customs, and beliefs of the South Slavs and other Balkan peoples. Balkan Folklore: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2013, Spring 2011, Spring 2009
This course examines various dimensions of Russian culture--social, political, artistic, literary--in public and private life. The theory and method of cultural studies will be addressed, as well as concrete historical material pertaining to Russia. Topic and period variable. Instruction and texts in English, but students with a working knowledge of Russian are encouraged to do some reading in the original. Topics in Russian Cultural History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2011
A survey of the major writers, works, and trends of the Polish literary tradition from the Middle Ages to the present. Special attention devoted to the Renaissance, the age of Romanticism, and the modern period. No knowledge of Polish required. Polish Literature and Intellectual Trends: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2010, Fall 2009
Selected readings in Polish tailored to the academic interests of students enrolled. Readings in Polish Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 115A
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This course examines various dimensions of different East European and Eurasian (Central Asia, the Caucasus, Siberia) cultures (history, society, languages, literature, art). Variable topics. Instruction and readings in English; students with knowledge of the languages of the area are encouraged to do some reading in the original language. Topics in East European/Eurasian Cultural History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2018
Outline of major developments in Serbian (including Montenegrin) and Croatian (including Dalmatian) literatures from the beginnings to the present. No knowledge of Serbian/Croatian required. Survey of Yugoslav Literatures: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Fall 2011
Selected readings in Serbian/Croatian, tailored to the academic interests of students enrolled. Readings in Yugoslav Literatures: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 117A
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2015, Fall 2014
Studies in Serbian/Croatian literatures, linguistics, or conversation, depending on the needs of the students enrolled. Topics in Serbian/Croatian: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 117A (may be taken concurrently)
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
This four-week travel/study course will focus on legacies of war, exemplary moments of peaceful coexistence, and historical challenges to peace in the former Yugoslavia over the long 20th century. Taught in English, no prerequisites, open to Berkeley undergraduate students in all majors. Balkan Bridges: Contested Histories, Shared Commitments: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Summer: 4 weeks - 20 hours of lecture and 25 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019
Study and analysis of the development of the Russian literary language and short fiction from the eighteenth century to the present. Readings in Russian Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 103A (which may be taken concurrently)
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2012, Spring 2010
A survey of the writer's principal artistic works, treated in relation to his life and to developments in Russian and European literature. Pushkin: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 103A (which may be taken concurrently)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2004, Spring 2002
Course conducted in Russian. Reading, analysis, and interpretation of representative authors from the nineteenth century to the present. Russian Prose: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Russian 103B (may be taken concurrently)
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 8 units.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Spring 2017
Based on a wide range of sources from the 19th and 20th centuries--works of fiction, publicistics, personal documents--the course will trace the formation and historical transformation of Russian cultural identity, including issues in national identity, ethnicity, position in relation to state, gender, and sexuality. The class is aimed at students with advanced knowledge of Russian, both Americans studying Russian and Russians living in America. All readings, lectures, and discussions in Russian. Russian Culture Taught in Russian: Country, Identity, and Language: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Advanced Russian, at least three years of college level or equivalent with consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Study and research on a topic selected by the student in consultation with the faculty adviser, to culminate in the writing of a thesis. See departmental description of the Honors Program. Honors Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Overall and major grade point average of 3.3
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Supervised cooperative study of topics (in Slavic and East European languages and literatures) not covered by regularly scheduled courses. Supervised Group Study for Undergraduates: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have completed 60 units of undergraduate study and have a minimum GPA of 3.0
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Slavic Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.
Faculty
David A. Frick, Professor. Slavic languages and literatures. Research Profile
Lyubov (Luba) Golburt, Associate Professor. Pushkin, Russian literature and art of the 18th and 19th centuries, Derzhavin, Turgenev, history and literature, historical novel. Research Profile
Darya Kavitskaya, Associate Professor. Phonological theory, opacity, contrast, Slavic phonology, phonetics/phonology interface, field linguistics (Slavic, Turkic, Uralic). Research Profile
Eric Naiman, Professor. Sexuality, history, comparative literature, Slavic language, ideological poetics, history of medicine, Soviet culture, the gothic novel. Research Profile
Anne Nesbet, Associate Professor. Culture, film studies, Slavic languages, early Soviet culture, Sergei Eisenstein, silent film, Soviet film, GDR history, children's literature and Stalinism, the Soviet Union, American minority movements. Research Profile
Irina Paperno, Professor. Russian language and literature, intellectual history. Research Profile
Harsha Ram, Associate Professor. Russian and European romanticism and modernism, Russian and European avant-gardes, Russian, European, Near Eastern and South Asian poetic traditions, Indian literature, Italian literature, Georgian history and literature, theories of world literature, literary theory, comparative poetics, genre theory, literary history, comparative modernisms and modernities, vernacular and high culture, cultural and political history of Russia-Eurasia and the Caucasus, postcolonial studies, theories of nationalism, imperialism and cosmopolitanism, the city and literature . Research Profile
Edward Tyerman, Assistant Professor. Early Soviet culture, Soviet internationalism, cultural connections and exchanges between Russia and China, Russian and Soviet Orientalism, theories and experiences of post-socialism, politics and aesthetics, subjectivity and self-narration . Research Profile
Lecturers
Myrna Douzjian, Lecturer.
Ellen R. Langer, Lecturer.
Anna Muza, Senior Lecturer.
Antje Postema, Lecturer.
Eva Soos Szoke, Lecturer.
Katarzyna Zacha, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
Ronelle Alexander, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, Balkan Slavic dialectology, Balkan linguistics, language contact, oral tradition, Parry-Lord theory of oral composition, South Slavic epic singers, issues of language and identity. Research Profile
Joan Grossman, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, Russian symbolism and decadence viewed especially as a cultural process, questions of literary evolution, and Russian modernism . Research Profile
Olga Hughes, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, literature and culture of the 20th century, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Remizov, autobiographical prose, history and literature of Russian emigration, Russian literary developments and cultural life of the early 20th century . Research Profile
+ Robert P. Hughes, Professor Emeritus. Critical theory, comparative literature, Slavic languages and literatures, Pushkin, Russian and European modernism, Russian poetry, Nabokov, Russian prose in the 1920s, Khodasevich's poetry, forms of autobiography, Andrei Belyi. Research Profile
Olga Matich, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, Russian symbolism and post-Stalin literature, women in Russian literature, Zinaida Gippius, Russian emigre literature, conceptualization of love in Russian culture, theory and practice of private life. Research Profile
Johanna Nichols, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, Slavic languages, syntax, historical linguistics, typology, including historical typology, linguistic geography and areal linguistics, languages of northern Eurasia, particularly languages of the Caucasus. Research Profile
Walter Schamschula, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, influences of cultural contacts on Czech literatures, especially Germanic, movement and migration of literary themes and topics in Europe, Czech cultural history and theory of literature, theory and practice of translation. Research Profile
Alan Timberlake, Professor Emeritus. Slavic languages and literatures, descriptive grammar of Russian, chronicles. Research Profile
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