Courses by Term

See below for the courses being offered in East European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies this term, including the meeting times and course instructor. To see all of the courses offered by the EEERS Department this academic year, please check the left hand tabs. You may also check what courses have been taught the last several academic years in order to see the range of courses we have offered, some of which will be offered again in the near future. For courses descriptions for all courses, please see the ORC on the Registrar's website, in particular the sections for East European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies courses; Russian Language courses; and Ukrainian Language courses.

COURSES OFFERED FALL 2025:

EEER 10 Understanding Russia An examination of Russia as a cultural, national, and historical entity part of and yet apart from both Europe and Asia. Russia is a continental power of vast proportions whose traditions, character, national myths, and forms of political organization often seem a mirror-image to those of the United States. After a brief survey of Russian history, the course will examine certain determinants of Russian culture, including Christianity, multinationalism, and the status of Russian civilization on the periphery of Europe. The course will then deal with the art, music, and popular literature of Russia, and conclude by examining certain contemporary issues, including the complex coexistence of Russian and Soviet culture. Open to all classes. - Plagmann. WCult:CI, 12. Course Syllabus.

EEER 32 Reading Red: 20th Century Russian Fiction This course examines the major works of 20th century Russian literature. During that century, the people of Russia experienced a series of cataclysmic events including two World Wars; the overthrow of the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty and the triumph of the Bolshevik revolution; a Civil War; the mass trauma of collectivization; the Great Terror of Stalinism; and the collapse of the Soviet Union. As we read and discuss novels, stories, poems, and plays written by the Russian writers of that time, we will consider the correlations and tensions between the Russian sociohistorical reality and artistic expression. In addition to readings from literary and historical sources, we will watch films created by some of the most celebrated Russian filmmakers as a well as the recent controversial documentary The Soviet Story produced by Latvian director Edvins Snore. -Somoff. LIT; WCult:W, 2A.

EEER 38.24/JWST 34.05 Jewish Folklore What makes stories and songs necessary to our identity, dignity, and spirituality? This course attempts to answer these questions through the study of Jewish folklore. We'll focus mostly on stories and songs, but also address bordering genres (riddles, proverbs, folk drama). Along with studying Jewish folklore, we will experience it by singing songs and enacting a folk-play.  This dual approach stems from the backgrounds of the co-teachers, one a scholar, the other a Grammy-nominated songwriter. -Gronas. INT or LIT; WCult:W, 2.

EEER 50.04/HIST 57.01 Behind the Iron Curtain: The Cold War From the Other Side This course explores the Cold War from "Behind the Iron Curtain," including both the global political struggle for ideological and strategic primacy and the reflection of this struggle in domestic cultural and material developments from the end of World War Two until the Soviet collapse in 1991. We will examine how "Cold War competition" played out in a variety of interlocking spheres, from expansionist foreign policies that first divided Europe and gradually extended to the entire global south, to urgent economic competition in both military technology and domestic consumer products, to ideological and cultural competition. -Finkel. SOC; WCult:W, 10A. Course Syllabus.

RUSS 1 Introductory Russian An introduction to Russian as a spoken and written language. None of these serves in partial satisfaction of the Distributive or World Culture Requirements.  -Apresyan, 9L. Course Syllabus.

RUSS 27 Intermediate Russian I A continuation of the 1-2-3 cycle, this course is the first of the intermediate language courses offered by the Department. The course prepares the student for further upper-level study of the language. It includes intensive review, introduction to new grammatical topics, as well as reading, composition and conversation. -Plagmann, 10. Course Syllabus.

RUSS 41 Advanced Conversation and Composition The language-learning goal of the course is to expand the students' vocabulary, work with new vocabulary and idioms, to review and reinforce certain grammatical and stylistic subtleties. Students will be introduced to Russian cultural traditions and some specifically Russian attitudes in an exploration of problems of cross-cultural communication and miscommunication. There will be films, short stories, and articles for discussion. -Gronas, 10.

UKRA 11 Intensive Ukrainian Immersive study of Ukrainian language and culture that combines Ukrainian 1 and 2 into a single term. The course emphasizes oral communication while developing basic listening, reading, and writing skills. Students partner with their peers in Ukraine for conversational practice and project work. Upon successful completion of the course, students can take UKRA 003. This is an accellerated Language (LACC) course. -Somoff, 11.