Slavic Languages and Literatures
2704 Hall of Graduate Studies, 432.1300, slavic.department@yale.edu
www.yale.edu/slavic/
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Acting Chair
Harvey Goldblatt
Director of Graduate Studies
John MacKay
Professors
Vladimir Alexandrov (on leave), Katerina Clark, Laura Engelstein (History), Harvey Goldblatt, Robert Greenberg (Adjunct), Benjamin Harshav (Comparative Literature), John MacKay, Tomas Venclova
Associate Professor
Hilary Fink
Assistant Professor
Kate Holland (on leave)
Senior Lector II
Irina Dolgova
Fields of Study
Fields include Russian literature, medieval Slavic literature and philology (by special arrangement), Polish literature (by special arrangement).
Special Admissions Requirement
An advanced-level command of the Russian language is required.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
All entering graduate students must pass departmental proficiency examinations in Rus-sian. During their residence, students specializing in Russian literature take a minimum of sixteen term courses (including three required courses) and are expected to acquire a comprehensive knowledge in all periods of Russian literature, a familiarity with medieval Slavic literature, a thorough command of the Russian language, and a mastery of a field of concentration within Russian literature. The student’s course work, with the approval of the director of graduate studies, may be selected from the offerings of the department and (if relevance can be demonstrated) any other department of the University. In addition, the student will be responsible for developing a minor field of specialization in one of the following: (1) a Western or non-Western literature; (2) film studies; (3) a topic in intellectual history; (4) one of the other arts; (5) another Slavic literature; (6) Slavic linguistics; (7) another discipline relevant to the student’s primary interests in Russian literature. A special curriculum may be arranged for students wishing to specialize in either medieval Slavic literature and philology or Polish literature. A reading examination in either French or German, administered and evaluated by the department, must be passed by all graduate students by the beginning of the fifth term of study. The qualifying examinations should be passed by the end of the sixth term of study. A dissertation prospectus must be submitted no later than September 15 of the seventh term of study. For additional details, see the director of graduate studies and the departmental Web site: www.yale.edu/slavic. Upon completion of all predissertation requirements, including the prospectus and its defense, students are admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D.
The faculty considers teaching to be an important part of the professional preparation of graduate students. Students in Slavic normally teach in their third and fourth years.
Joint Ph.D. Program with Film Studies
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures also offers, in conjunction with the Program in Film Studies, a joint Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures and Film Studies. For further details, see Film Studies. Applicants to the joint program must indicate on their application that they are applying both to Film Studies and to Slavic Languages and Literatures. All documentation within the application should include this information.
Master’s Degrees
M.Phil. See Degree Requirements. Additionally, students in Slavic Languages and Literatures are eligible to pursue a supplemental M.Phil. degree in Medieval Studies. For further details, see Medieval Studies.
Master’s Degree Program. The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures does not admit students for the terminal M.A. degree, nor does it award an M.A. en route to the Ph.D. degree. If, however, a student admitted for the Ph.D. leaves the program prior to completion of the doctoral degree, he or she may be eligible to receive a terminal master’s degree. He or she must have completed at least fifteen term courses in Russian literature and linguistics, chosen in consultation with the director of graduate studies. A grade of Honors in at least two term courses and an average of High Pass in the remaining courses must be attained. A reading knowledge of French or German is required, and candidates must pass departmental proficiency examinations in Russian.
Program materials are available upon request to the Chair, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Yale University, PO Box 208236, New Haven CT 06520-8236.
Courses
RUSS 605b, Topics in Russian Literature: From the Origins of East Slavic Writing to 1750. Harvey Goldblatt.
M 9.25–11.15
Representative works, selected from both “old” Russian “bookish writing” and the “new” Russian literature of the seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century, are examined against a broad comparative background to illustrate the development of various literary types and writing techniques. Special attention is devoted to (1) diverse historiographic and methodological approaches, (2) traditional and innovative theories of literary expression, and (3) the connections between writing activity and ideological trends.
RUSS 652a, Nineteenth-Century Russian Lyric Poetry. Tomas Venclova.
W 1.30–3.20
Textual analysis of selected poems from major nineteenth-century Russian lyric poets Zhukovskij, Batjushkov, Baratynskij, Tjutchev, Lermontov, Fet, and Nekrasov. As well as acquainting students with nineteenth-century Russian lyric poetry, the course aims at evolving a meaningful approach to poetry in general. Open to qualified undergraduates.
RUSS 666a, Pushkin. Alexander Dolinin.
Th 2.30–4.20
A survey of Pushkin’s poetry and prose with a primary focus on Evgenii Onegin, Boris Godunov, Malen’kie tragedii, and Kapitanskaia dochka.
RUSS 672b, Gogol. Irina Reyfman.
Th 1.30–3.20
A close study in the original of selected prose works, with particular attention to variations in Gogol’s narrative voice. The course also considers the impact of Gogol’s innovations in storytelling on subsequent Russian prose.
RUSS 679a, Nabokov. Alexander Dolinin.
T 1.30–3.20
A survey of Nabokov’s writings with a primary focus on the study of his poetics.
RUSS 689b, Russian Symbolist Poetry. Tomas Venclova.
W 1.30–3.20
Theory and history of symbolism. Close readings of poems by Bryusov, Blok, Ivanov, Annensky, and others.
RUSS 695a, Soviet Literature of the 1920s and 1930s. Katerina Clark.
W 9.25–11.15
The 1920s were both the most fertile and the most fateful period in Soviet literature. The period ended in 1932 with the imposition of Socialist Realism, but that resolution represented only a small fraction of the possibilities that had emerged during the decade. This course presents an historical overview, incorporating some of the main landmarks of the 1920s and 1930s including works by Pilnyak, Bakhtin, the Formalists, Eisenstein, Platonov, Mayakovsky, Bulgakov, and Zoshchenko.
RUSS 746b, Art and Ideology. Katerina Clark.
W 9.25–11.15, screenings T 7 p.m.
Examination of texts identified as ideological art, focusing on the relationship between the conventions they use and the ideology they seek to advance. The course considers theoretical works by Benjamin, Jameson, Lukacs, Bakhtin, Marx, Althusser, and Judith Butler; literary works by Balzac, Brecht, Tretiakov, Ostrovsky, Orwell, Koestler, and others; films by Eisenstein, Leni Riefenstahl, and others. Also CPLT 527b, FILM 828b.
RUSS 747a, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Vertov. John MacKay.
Th 7–8.50 p.m., screenings HTBA
An examination of all the major cinematic and theoretical works of Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin, and Dziga Vertov, centering on the period 1925–1945. We consider the films in light of the theories, the film makers in light of one another, and Soviet film and theory in light of contemporary developments. Attention is also paid to the international legacy of these film makers, and particularly their reception during the 1960s and 1970s (Godard, Marker, Barthes). No knowledge of Russian required. Also CPLT 919a, FILM 822a.
RUSS 833ab, Advanced Russian Conversation and Composition: Topics in Contemporary Russian Press and Media. Rita Lipson.
MW 2.30–3.45
A course designed to equip students with language skills necessary to comprehend complexities of contemporary Russia. Accompanied by a grammar review.
RUSS 851a, Proseminar in Russian Literature. Michael Holquist.
T 2.30–4.20
Introduction to the graduate study of Russian literature and to the academic profession. Topics include historical roots of twentieth-century Russian and Czech contributions to literary theory plus their modern evolution; aspects of modern European and American literary/cultural theory; research methods and problems, publishing, conferences, and other facets of professional life.
SLAV 754au,Old Church Slavic. Harvey Goldblatt.
T 9.25–11.15
The study of OCS and its place in the history of Church Slavic. The main features and the grammar of OCS. The Glagolitic and Cyrillic writing systems. Close readings from the “canon” of OCS literary monuments. OCS in relation to modern Slavic languages (especially Russian).
SLAV 784au,Language and Politics. Robert Greenberg.
TTh 4–5.15
This course explores political controversies surrounding issues of language planning and language policy. Consideration is given to how social and political actors differentiate languages and dialects, and how nationalist ideology has shaped language choices. Topics include the English-only movements in the U.S., the policy of official bilingualism in Canada, and language policies in Europe with emphasis on the Slavs.
SLAV 785bu,Language, Nationalism, and Ethnic Conflict in the Balkans. Robert Greenberg.
TTh 4–5.15
An exploration of the role of linguistic controversies in the polarization of ethnic relations within the former Yugoslavia. Topics include language and nationalism, the integration and disintegration of Yugoslavia, and the Balkans in the context of other charged ethno-linguistic controversies from the United States to India.
SLAV 900, Directed Reading.
By arrangement with faculty.
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