Where do I take courses in Russian?
UCSD's Literature Department offers courses in Russian language, literature, and culture. Our Russian language instructor is Rebecca Wells, who has taught and supervised our Russian language courses since 1989. Rebecca has a graduate degree in Slavic Linguistics and a special interest in Russian Language Pedagogy. She received a distinguished Teaching Award in 2010 for her work with our students.- Students interested in beginning their Russian study at UCSD should enroll in the LTRU 1A-1B-1C series, which is offered each year, starting in the Fall. If you have some background in Russian it is possible to place into the Winter or Spring Quarter courses. However, some decisions should be reached in consultation with the instructor, and we strong recommend that you begin with the Fall Course. Our beginning series typically includes many students with no prior background in Russian, but also several heritage speakers of Russian who may have extensive knowledge of the spoken language, but little or no experience with the written language.
- Students ready for the second year in Russian (intermediate level), or who come to UCSD with a full year's worth of college level Russian language experience should enroll in the LTRU 2A-2B-2C sequence.
- Students ready for advanced Russian may sign up for LTRU 104A, 104B, or 104C. These courses cover, in addition to advanced grammar, conversation, and composition, advanced-level readings in Russian and some Russian popular culture. These advanced courses may be taken in any order, and the themes vary.
- Questions about placement should be addressed to Rebecca Wells at prwells@ucsd.edu.
Do you offer regular Literature courses in the Russian original?
Our department offers upper-division Russian literature courses that are open to all students. These courses are taught in English, and the readings are available in English through the bookstore. However, students who are able to do the reading in Russian are encouraged to do so, and our instructors create extra meeting times for Russian-language speakers to discuss them in the original outside of class. It is also often possible to write your final papers in Russian. (Please see your instructor if you plan to do this).In addition to regular courses, students may enroll in an independent study course in Russian Literature (198 or 199). A limited number of these courses may be counted toward a REEES major or minor. These courses provide an opportunity for students to choose a challenging work of Russian literature to read and discuss in the original with an instructor. Please email Prof. Amelia Glaser (amglaser@ucsd.edu) if you hope to sign up for an independent study LTRU course.
How can I practice my Russian outside of class?
Russian Conversation Table. UCSD has an active Russian Conversation Table. You can see announcements or sign up for the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/415491211837864/
We also encourage you to join UCSD's Russian Club. https://www.facebook.com/groups/149140778520691/
UCSD's Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Program holds events throughout the year. You can sign up for the listserv here https://mailman.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/reees-l
Every year, students from UCSD and other schools in Southern CA attend the UCLA Undergraduate Research Conference on Slavic and East/Central European Studies. For more information, please see http://www.russian.ucla.edu/conference/conference/Welcome.html
