BETH HOLMGREN, Chair
Beth Holmgren (10) Russian and Polish Literatures
Madeline G. Levine (4) Russian and Polish Literatures
Laura A. Janda (8) West Slavic Linguistics and Cognitive Linguistics
Lawrence Feinberg (3) Slavic Linguistics, Poetics
Christopher Putney (12) Russian Literature, Medieval Slavic Culture
Ivana Vuletic (13) Serbian and Croatian Language and Literature, Russian Literature
Radislav Lapushin (14) Russian Literature
Eleonora Magomedova, Russian Language
Paul Debreczeny
Vasa D. Mihailovich
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers graduate work leading to the degrees of master of arts and doctor of philosophy. The degree programs meet general requirements of The Graduate School plus certain departmental requirements.
For the degree of master of arts, a student may emphasize Russian literature and culture, comparative Slavic and East European literatures and cultures, or Slavic linguistics. All students are required to: take the department's proseminar, SLAV 700 (one credit hour); register for three credits of SLAV 993 (master's thesis credits); and to write and defend a master's thesis. In addition, the student must satisfy a language requirement (reading knowledge only) in one modern foreign language other than a Slavic language.
The master's candidate in Russian literature and culture is required to: a) take one course in either medieval or eighteenth-century Russian literature and culture; and b) take four courses to be distributed, with graduate adviser supervision, in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature and culture. S/he must also take two courses in Slavic linguistics, Evolution of Russian (RUSS 400), and Structure of Russian (RUSS 405), and pass or place out of Fourth-Year Russian Conversation and Reading (RUSS 412).
The master's candidate in comparative Slavic and East European literatures and cultures is required to: a) take three courses in Russian literature and culture; and b) take two comparative Russian and Slavic/East European literature and culture courses, or two exclusively non-Russian Slavic/East European literature and culture courses. S/he must also take two courses in Slavic linguistics, either Evolution of Russian (RUSS 400) or Structure of Russian (RUSS 405) and one other track-relevant linguistics course. The student must also complete two courses (one year) in a modern Slavic/East European language other than Russian.
The master's candidate in Slavic linguistics is required to take: (1) at least three courses in Slavic linguistics, including Evolution of Russian (RUSS 400) and Structure of Russian (RUSS 405); (2) two courses (one year) in a modern Slavic/East European language other than Russian; and (3) at least two courses in Russian or another Slavic/East European literature. S/he must take at least one course outside the department in linguistics, normally Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics (LING 525) or Linguistic Phonetics (LING 520). A master's candidate in Slavic linguistics must also either pass or place out of Fourth-Year Russian Conversation and Reading (RUSS 412). The student may take one elective course (three hours).
An admitted candidate must have received an MA degree from this University or be able to show that his or her previous studies have provided a knowledge of the Slavic field comparable to that required for the MA degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. A student may concentrate in Russian literature and culture or comparative Slavic and East European literatures and cultures.
All students who have completed the master's degree at UNC-Chapel Hill or at another institution and who wish to advance to PhD candidacy must take a qualifying comprehensive examination. The exam must be taken no later than the third semester of registration following completion of all master's degree requirements.
Detailed information about the written and oral PhD comprehensive examinations is available from the department in a separate handout.
Teaching experience is an essential part of professional training. Therefore, teaching assistant instruction equivalent to at least three contact hours a week for one semester is required of all PhD candidates.
Before advancing to candidacy, doctoral students are required to submit a written dissertation proposal and to defend it before their dissertation committee. In order to facilitate this process, students are required to earn the grade of "Satisfactory" in SLAV 960 (research and writing of the dissertation proposal).
Students must register for at least six credits of SLAV 994 (dissertation). The final step after writing the dissertation under the supervision of a faculty adviser is the oral defense of the dissertation, which will take place at least one week before the dissertation is to be submitted to The Graduate School and one month after it is submitted to the student's faculty committee.
The candidate in Russian literature must demonstrate a sound knowledge of Russian literature and culture and competence in one other Slavic literature and culture. Candidates for the doctorate in Russian literature and culture must have taken the seminar in Medieval and Baroque Russian Literature (RUSS 859) before they take their doctoral examinations. The candidate in a Slavic literature other than Russian must demonstrate a sound knowledge of that literature and competence in Russian literature.
40l, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY BULGARIAN (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Bulgarian. Fall and spring. Staff.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE BULGARIAN (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Bulgarian. Fall and spring. Staff.
405, 406 [105, 106] ADVANCED BULGARIAN (3 each). Advanced readings and discussion in Bulgarian in humanities and social science topics. Staff.
411 [111] BULGARIAN LITERATURE (3). Introduction to Bulgarian literature in English translation. Some readings in Bulgarian for students who can read the language. Staff.
401, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY CZECH (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Czech. Fall and spring. Janda.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE CZECH (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Czech. Fall and spring. Janda.
405, 406 [105, 106] ADVANCED CZECH (3 each). Advanced readings and discussion in Czech in humanities and social science topics. Janda.
411 [111] CZECH LITERATURE (3). Introduction to Czech literature in English translation. Some readings in Czech for students who can read the language. Staff.
401, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY HUNGARIAN (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern elementary Hungarian. Staff.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE HUNGARIAN (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction in modern intermediate Hungarian. Staff.
425 [125] TOPICS IN HUNGARIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE (3). Study of topics in Hungarian literature and culture not currently covered in any course. The specific topic will be announced in advance. Staff.
401, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY MACEDONIAN (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Macedonian. Fall and spring. Staff.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE MACEDONIAN (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Macedonian. Fall and spring. Staff.
405, 406 [105, 106] ADVANCED MACEDONIAN (3 each). Advanced readings and discussion in Macedonian in humanities and social science topics. Staff.
401, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY POLISH (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of language, and reading in modern Polish. Fall and spring. Holmgren, Levine.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE POLISH (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Polish. Holmgren, Levine.
405, 406 [105, 106] ADVANCED POLISH (3 each). Advanced readings and discussion in Polish in humanities and social science topics. Holmgren, Levine.
411 [111] NINETEENTH-CENTURY POLISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE (3). A survey of the major works of nineteenth-century Polish literature and culture in English translation. Some readings in Polish for students who can use the language. Holmgren, Levine.
412 [112] TWENTIETH-CENTURY POLISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE (JWST 412) (3). A survey of the major works of twentieth-century Polish literature and culture in English translation. Some readings in Polish for students who can use the language. Holmgren, Levine.
400 [100] THE EVOLUTION OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE (3). This course traces the development of Russian from Old Russian to contemporary Russian. Consideration is given to linguistic developments as well as cultural, social, and historical circumstances shaping contemporary Russian. Fall and spring. Feinberg, Janda.
405 [101] THE STRUCTURE OF MODERN RUSSIAN (3). Prerequisite, RUSS 406 or equivalent. Synchronic analysis of Contemporary Standard Russian phonology, morphology, and morphophonemics. Spring. Feinberg, Janda.
406, 407 [105, 106] ADVANCED RUSSIAN GRAMMAR (3). Prerequisite, RUSS 204. A comprehensive review of Russian grammar on an advanced level, emphasizing reading and writing skills. Fall and spring. Staff.
411, 412 [111, 112] ADVANCED RUSSIAN CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION (3). Designed to develop conversational and writing skills in a variety of situations and subjects. Russian used, except for a minimum of linguistic explanations or comments. Fall and spring. Magomedova.
413 [207] RUSSIAN STYLISTICS (3). Prerequisite, RUSS 412. Advanced Russian conversation and composition, with appropriate grammatical and stylistic explanations. Can be taken repeatedly for credit, but only counts once toward degree requirements. Fall. Magomedova.
414 [208] RUSSIAN STYLISTICS. Second semester. Prerequisite, RUSS 413. Continuation of RUSS 413 at a more advanced level. Spring. Magomedova.
425 [125] TOPICS IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE (3). Material not presently covered in any course. The specific topic is announced in advance. Staff.
431 [131] DANDIES AND DEAD SOULS: RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE, 1800-1850 (3). A survey of major works of Russian literature and culture in the first half of the nineteenth century. Readings in English translation. Some readings in Russian for qualified students. Putney, Levine, Holmgren.
432 [132] GREAT NOVELS AND "CURSED QUESTIONS": RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE, 1850-1881 (3). A survey of major works of Russian literature and culture in the Golden Age, an era of sociopolitical reform. Readings in English translation. Some readings in Russian for qualified students. Putney, Levine, Holmgren.
435 [135] LITERATURE AND MUSIC IN RUSSIA (3). Explores the use that Russian composers have made of literary works and motifs, as well as the response of Russian writers to musical compositions and composers, and to music as an art form. Spring. Feinberg.
441 [141] FROM DECADENCE TO REVOLUTION: RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE, 1881-1945 (3). A survey of major works of fin-de-siècle Russian and early Soviet literature and culture. Readings in English translation. Some readings in Russian for qualified students. Holmgren, Levine, Vuletic.
442 [142] FROM COLD WAR TO CAPITALISM: RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE, 1945-PRESENT (3). A survey of major works of Russian literature and culture from 1945 to the present. Readings in English translation. Some readings in Russian for qualified students. Holmgren, Levine, Vuletic.
462 [162] RUSSIAN POETRY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (3). Readings and lectures on nineteenth-century Russian poetry. Staff.
464 [164] DOSTOEVSKY (3). Study of major works of Dostoevsky and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his creative career. Readings in Russian for majors, in English for nonmajors. Fall. Levine, Putney.
465 [165] CHEKHOV (3). Study of major works of Chekhov and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his career. Readings in Russian for majors, in English for nonmajors. Spring. Holmgren, Putney.
471 [171] GOGOL (3). Study of major works of N. V. Gogol and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his creative career. Lectures and seminar discussions. Readings in Russian for majors, in English for nonmajors. Fall. Putney, Levine, Magomedova.
475 [175] LITERATURE OF RUSSIAN TERRORISM: ARSON, BOMBS, MAYHEM (PWAD 475) (3). Literary representations of Russian revolutionaries and terrorists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Readings by Dostoevsky, Chernyshevsky, Bely, Joseph Conrad, and by some of the terrorists themselves. Fall. Levine.
479 [179] TOLSTOY (3). Study of major works of Tolstoy and a survey of contemporary authors and literary trends relevant to his creative career. Readings in Russian for majors, in English for nonmajors. Spring. Levine, Vuletic, Putney.
486 [186] CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN WOMEN'S WRITING (WMST 486) (3). A study of Russian women's writing after World War II, including both fictional and nonfictional works analyzed in their socio-political context. Serves as an introduction to Russian women's studies. Holmgren.
493 [193] RUSSIAN SHORT STORY (3). An introduction to the Russian short story. The readings, in English for nonmajors and in Russian for majors, include works from the seventeenth century to the present. Fall and spring. Holmgren, Putney.
511 [211] RUSSIAN MASS MEDIA. Prerequisites, RUSS 411, RUSS 412 or equivalent. Module 1. Fifth-year Russian - to expand and master the knowledge of the language necessary for understanding deep ongoing changes in different spheres of Russian society (political, social, economical, cultural, etc.).
512 [212] RUSSIAN MASS MEDIA. Prerequisites, RUSS 411, RUSS 412 or equivalent. Module 2. Fifth-year Russian - to expand and master the knowledge of the language necessary for understanding deep ongoing changes in different spheres of Russian society (political, social, economical, cultural, etc.).
560 [160] RUSSIAN SENTIMENTALISM AND ROMANTICISM (3). Prerequisite, RUSS 407 or permission of the instructor. Survey of Russian sentimentalism and romanticism, with special attention to the intellectual currents of the period (c.1770 to 1850). Consideration of Western precursors (Rousseau, Sterne, Byron, et al.). Readings in Russian. Putney.
790 [190] TEACHING METHODS AND MATERIALS (1). For prospective teachers of Russian. Required of all teaching assistants. Fall. Magomedova.
851 [251] PUSHKIN (3). Study of major works of Pushkin. Fall. Staff.
859 [259] MEDIEVAL AND BAROQUE RUSSIAN LITERATURE (3). Literature from the advent of literacy to the late seventeenth century. Lectures on and interpretations of literature of Kievan Rus' down to Grand Muscovy. Readings in English for non-Slavic concentrators. Putney.
860 [260] RUSSIAN LITERATURE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (3). A survey of major movements and genres from Prokopovich to Karamzin. Emphasis on Russian formulations of European models of neoclassicism, sentimentalism, and pre-Romanticism. Putney.
866 [266] RUSSIAN SYMBOLISM (3). Prerequisite, reading knowledge of Russian or permission of the instructor. Introduction to the leading writers and works of the Symbolist movement in Russia. Feinberg, Vuletic.
867 [267] POST-SYMBOLIST POETRY (3). Prerequisite, reading knowledge of Russian or permission of the instructor. A study of the major poetic works of Gumilev, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva. Spring. Levine.
892 [292] RUSSIAN VERSIFICATION (3). A study of technical problems and thematic aspects in the development of Russian poetry. Spring. Feinberg.
950 [350] SEMINAR IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Seminar on selected topics in Russian literature.
401, 402 [101, 102] ELEMENTARY SERBIAN AND CROATIAN (3 each). Pronunciation, structure of the language, and reading in modern Serbian and Croatian. Fall and spring. Vuletic.
403, 404 [103, 104] INTERMEDIATE SERBIAN AND CROATIAN (3 each). Continuation of the proficiency-based instruction begun in Elementary Serbian and Croatian. Vuletic.
405, 406 [105, 106] ADVANCED SERBIAN AND CROATIAN (3 each). Advanced readings and discussion in Serbian and Croatian in humanities and social science topics. Vuletic.
411 [111] SERBIAN AND CROATIAN LITERATURE (3). Introduction to Serbian and Croatian literature in English translation. Some readings in Serbian and Croatian for students who can read the language. Vuletic.
405 [105] INTRODUCTION TO SLAVIC LINGUISTICS (3). The phonological history of Slavic languages from the late Indo-European to the split of the Common Slavic linguistic unity. Spring. Feinberg, Janda.
409 [109] COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS (LING 409) (3). Development of cognitive linguistics. Discussion topics: the bodily basis of meaning in language, categories and prototypes, and construal language change. Readings drawn from linguistics, psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and literary analysis of metaphor. Janda.
425H (125H) TOPICS IN SLAVIC LITERATURE (3).
463 [144] CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE SLAVS (3). Survey of the Christianization of Slavs from the ninth century to 1453. Themes include Byzantine missions, emergence of literary centers, and role of Balkans. Readings in English for non-Slavic concentrators. Putney.
464 [164] IMAGINED JEWS: JEWISH THEMES IN POLISH AND RUSSIAN LITERATURE (JWST 464) (3). "Imagined Jews" explores the fictional representation of Jewish life in Russia and Poland by Russian, Polish, and Jewish authors from the nineteenth century to the present. Holmgren, Levine.
465 [165] LITERATURE OF ATROCITY (PWAD 465) (JWST 465) (3). Literary representation - in fiction, poetry, memoirs, and other genres - of the mass annihilation and terror in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union under the Nazi and Communist regimes. Levine.
467 [167] LANGUAGE AND POLITICAL IDENTITY (PWAD 467) (3). The role of linguistic controversies in the polarization of ethnic relations in the former Yugoslavia. Topics: the Yugoslav idea, language and nationalism, ethnic tension, and the unleashing of ethnic conflicts. Janda.
469 [169] SLAVIC IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN LITERATURE (JWST 469) (3). Fictional and autobiographical expressions of the Slavic and East European immigrant experience in the twentieth century. Readings include Russian, Polish, Jewish, and Czech authors from early 1900s to the present. Holmgren, Levine.
470 [170] TWENTIETH-CENTURY RUSSIAN AND POLISH THEATER (3). A comparative survey of the major trends in twentieth-century Russian and Polish dramaturgy and theatrical production, with attention to aesthetic, professional, and political connections between the two. Holmgren.
490 [125] TOPICS IN SLAVIC LITERATURES (3). Material not presently covered in any course. The specific topic is announced in advance. Staff.
500 [100] OLD CHURCH SLAVONIC (3). An introduction to the language of the oldest Slavic texts. Translation, grammatical analysis, comparison of texts. Feinberg, Janda.
560 [160] READING OTHER CULTURES: ISSUES IN LITERARY TRANSLATION (CMPL 560) (3). Prerequisite, reading knowledge of one language other than English. Starting from the proposition that cultural literacy would be impossible without reliance on translations, this course addresses fundamental issues in the practice, art, and politics of literary translation. Spring. Levine.
580 [180] EAST EUROPEAN LITERARY CRITICISM (3). Survey of twentieth-century Slavic literary criticism: Russian Formalists, Bakhtin and his circle, Czech Structuralists, Soviet semiotics. Emphasis on the influence of Slavic criticism on development of Western literary criticism. Spring. Vuletic.
700 [200] PROSEMINAR IN SLAVIC LITERATURE (1). Prerequisite, graduate students only. A seminar that acquaints graduate students with the basic resources for conducting research in their field and trains them in various critical approaches to the analysis of Slavic literatures. Staff.
740 [240] READING COURSE (3 or more). (On demand.) Staff.
751 [251] EAST SLAVIC LINGUISTICS (3). Prerequisites, SLAV 405 and four years of study of any East Slavic language. An examination of the linguistic history and contemporary dialectology of the East Slavic languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian) with emphasis on Russian. Feinberg.
752 [252] WEST SLAVIC LINGUISTICS (3). Prerequisites, SLAV 405 and/or SLAV 500 and one year of any West Slavic language. An examination of the linguistic history and contemporary dialectology of the West Slavic languages (Polish, Czech, Slovak, Upper and Lower Sorbian, Kashubian, Slovincian, Pomeranian). Janda.
753 [253] SOUTH SLAVIC LINGUISTICS (3). Prerequisites, SLAV 405 and one year of study of any South Slavic language. An examination of the linguistic history and contemporary dialectology of the living South Slavic languages (Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian). Staff.
760 [260] TOPICS IN SLAVIC SOCIOLINGUISTICS (3). A seminar that acquaints graduate students with the variety of approaches to sociolinguistics research, with particular emphasis on the extant literature in Slavic sociolinguistics, language and identity, language and the nation. Fall and spring. Staff.
905 [305] SEMINAR IN SLAVIC LINGUISTICS (3). Selected issues in Slavic synchronic and diachronic linguistics. Staff.
960 [360] PRE-DISSERTATION RESEARCH (3). Staff.
993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3 or more). Staff.
994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3 or more). Staff.