School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Slavonic Studies

Russian Level 3
(Course Code 124D, 60 credits)
(September 2007 to June 2008)
(normally four hours per week at times to be arranged)

Russian Language Level 3
(Course Code 2JJW, 30 credits )
(September 2007 to June 2008)
(normally three hours per week at times to be arranged)

ENROLMENT MEETING: Tuesday 25 September 2007 at 11.00 am, in Rm 133, Level 1, Hetherington Bldg, Bute Gdns.

Aims
This course is intended to:

1. provide students with a thorough knowledge of modern standard Russian;
2. develop translation skills, as well as the skills of oral and written communication in Russian to a high level;
3. impart to students an in-depth knowledge of Russian literature and culture, especially as regards selected works of literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and some of the main literary trends and movements of those periods;
4. increase students’ ability to work effectively, as well as to further the acquisition of generic and transferable skills which will be of value in later life.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course students will be able to:

1. produce with confidence written and oral Russian on a wide range of topics of academic or general interest, demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of grammatical structures, stylistic register and vocabulary, as well as a high level of practical competence;
2. translate from and into Russian, with or without access to works of reference, texts of some complexity and sophistication;
3. demonstrate understanding of oral and written Russian taken from a wide range of sources and reflecting a wide range of grammar, style and vocabulary;
4. make effective use of dictionaries and other works of reference;
5. demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of some of the literary trends in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature, as exemplified in selected texts;
6. demonstrate a close reading of selected Russian works of literature;
7. discuss and to write critically on a wide range of aspects of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature;
8. make effective use of works of literary criticism, both in English and in Russian;
9. make effective and appropriate use of audio, video and computer-based technology;
10. produce by stated deadlines carefully structured, cogently argued, appropriately documented and well-written pieces of written work;
11. apply the analytical skills acquired through the study of language and literature to a wide range of problems which may confront them in different situations and contexts;
12. apply their knowledge and understanding of Russia and their acquired inter-cultural skills, gained both through their period of residence in Russia, as well as through their studies in Glasgow, in a wide range of situations and contexts.

a) Practical language class: it is centred round material relating to post-Soviet Russia. The materials will be used for improving knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and will form the basis for translation exercises and short essays in Russian.

b) Writing Project in Russian: students are required to submit a writing project by a set date on a subject of their choice. Detailed student guidelines relating to the writing and assessment of this project will be distributed in class. Students will be required to submit several drafts of the writing projects prior to submitting the final version. The drafts will be assessed for formative purposes and returned to the student. The writing project must be submitted to the Slavonic Studies Office by mid-May 2007.

c) Conversation class: one hour per week. This is a continuation of Russian Level 2 oral work involving conversation practice on selected subjects, plus discussion of various current cultural, political and social issues in Russian with the Russian Lektor. Students are also encouraged to use video- and audio-cassettes available in the Language Centre Library.

Prescribed works for language
T L B Wade, A Comprehensive Russian Grammar , Blackwell, 1992;
T L B Wade, A Russian Grammar Workbook , Blackwell, 1996;
Oxford Russian Dictionary;
Exeter Language Tapes;
Russian Dialogues and other videos.

Literature element of the module
Each fortnight there will normally be a one-hour lecture and one individual consultation session with a member of staff. Students will be required to submit three Literature Projects in the course of the session. The first of these will be due at the beginning of the last week of Semester 1, the second at the beginning of Week 8 of Semester 2 and the third at the beginning of the last week of Semester 2. Detailed student guidelines relating to the writing and assessment of these Literature Projects will be distributed in class. Students will receive guidance for these Projects in the individual consultation sessions and will be encouraged to submit their work in progress at regular intervals to the tutor.

Prescribed Texts for Literature
The prescribed texts are likely to be as follows:

• Poetry: A Pushkin, Медный всадник;
• Short Prose Fiction: I Turgenev, Первая любовь;
• Drama: A Chekhov, Вишнёвый сад.

• Short Prose Fiction: I Babel’, Пробуждение;
• Poetry: selections of modern poetry from Robert Porter, Seven Soviet Poets;
• Drama: N Koliada, selected one-act play.

Wherever possible, students are encouraged to keep abreast of cultural affairs in Russia through the viewing of Russian television and relevant videos from the Slavonic Studies collection.

Bibliographies will be provided in class as a guide for the students’ critical reading.

Formative Assessment
Students will be set written work in the form of language exercises on a regular basis. Some of these exercises may take place in class time and take the form of class tests.

Assessment and End-of-Course Examination
A mixed-mode scheme of assessment is operated for this course. Non-submission of course work and non-attendance may result in Credit Refusal.

Language:
Writing Project in Russian (22.2%)
2-hour End-of-Course Examination: Translation into English (22.2%)
Oral examination (22.2%)

If the language component is taken on its own (30 credits) each of the assessment elements shall be weighted at 33.3% of the overall mark.

Literature:
Students will be required to submit three Literature Projects in the course of the session. The first of these should be on a nineteenth-century author and will involve a close reading of the text in Russian. The second of these should be on a twentieth-century author and should also involve close reading of the original text. Each of these two Projects should be around 2,000 words and each will be worth 10% of the total assessment for the course. The third Project should be comparative and must include at least two authors not included in the earlier Projects. This final Project must also show clear evidence of a close study in Russian of the works being analysed. It should be around 3,000 words and will be worth 13.33% of the total assessment for the course. Topics for these Projects will be agreed with the tutor concerned.

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