RUSS 399 Russian Crisis Through Contemporary Texts

RUSS 399 Russian Crisis Through Contemporary Texts, 1-4 credits, 98wi

Readings are in Russian, discussions both in Russian and English. This course is offered in conjunction with the Ford Foundation Foreign Language Across the Curriculum [FLAC] project at UO.

Instructor Oleg Khripkov (EMAIL OR tel. x4077) describes course:

How do Russians think and feel today, in the era of radical changes in all spheres of Russian life? This new experimental course will introduce students to the painful problems of today's Russia. We will examine the following issues:

	national identity in contemporary Russia
	the ways of Russia's development: economic marketization vs. social welfare
	religious search and the role of the Orthodox Church in social and cultural life
	the crisis of morals and the growth of crime as reflected in the media
	women's lot under the new conditions
	"Soviet people" as the lost generation and the rise of the "new Russians"
	"cultural decay" and/or "cultural revival"
	imitating the West vs. returning to Russian roots

Students will learn about these issues from contemporary literary texts and criticism, published in Russian thick journals. We will also read and discuss social criticism in newspaper articles, interviews and pamphlets. Through free exchange of opinion and lively discussion students will acquire the skills of reading and analyzing authentic Russian texts. We will learn the specific Russian vocabulary relevant to these topics.

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