Why study Slavic languages and literatures?
The Slavic peoples constitute the largest ethnic group in Europe and have made important contributions to the arts, sciences, and humanities throughout modern history. A student of Slavic languages, literatures, and cultures (Czech, Polish, Russian, Serbian and Croatian) encounters compelling works of art and fascinating philosophical perspectives. The works of such major Slavic writers and thinkers as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Czeslaw Milosz, Danilo Kis, and Milan Kundera enrich our understanding of human nature and prompt us to reflect on our preconceived attitudes toward politics, business, religion, and the arts.

Course work toward the B.A. in Russian Language and Culture or Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures also can serve as crucial preparation for jobs in government, business and industry, education, journalism, non-profit work, library and information sciences, and medicine; our recent graduates have successfully pursued jobs in most of these areas. The training we offer helps students develop the important writing and critical thinking skills that make our graduates attractive job candidates to many prospective employers. (For more information about career opportunities, see the list of job-searching web sites maintained by the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies.)

Although the Cold War is over, East Europe and Russia continue to exert a powerful impact on international politics and U.S. foreign policy. One cannot overstate the importance of knowing well the diverse languages and cultures of this region, especially in the light of the political/business challenges and opportunities presented by the post-soviet Slavic world.

Why major or minor in Slavic languages and literatures?
Our Department offers an enormous array of courses. Whether you are interested in learning one of the languages we teach (such as Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian-Croatian), or would like to study in-depth a particular writer or topic in Slavic literatures and languages, or want to simply learn more about the cultures and peoples of the Slavic world, you will find lots of tempting choices in our course offerings. Many of our courses are taught in English and require no foreign language training whatsoever.

Because our classes tend to be relatively small (with usually 20 or fewer students), you can expect to develop close and rewarding relationships with faculty and classmates. You will also want to join the Slavic Club, in which you will meet with others interested in the same things as you, while you enjoy meals together, watch and discuss outstanding Slavic films, and participate in a variety of activities (local cultural events, for example) that are connected to our field.

Our majors and minors not only learn much about topics in our particular disciplines, but they also receive invaluable training in conducting scholarly research, critical reading and thinking, descriptive and analytical writing, and oral communication skills.