UVa Course Catalog (Unofficial, Lou's List)
Catalog of Courses for Slavic    
Class Schedules Index Course Catalogs Index Class Search Page
These pages present data mined from the University of Virginia's student information system (SIS). I hope that you will find them useful. — Lou Bloomfield, Department of Physics
Polish
POL 1210Introduction to Polish Language (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Introduces students to the essentials of Polish grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/slavic/courses.html.
POL 1220Introduction to Polish Language (3)
Introduces students to the essentials of Polish grammar with emphasis on speaking and reading. Prerequisite: POL 1210 or instructor permission.
POL 2210Intermediate Polish Language (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Second-year continuation of POL 1210, 1220. Prerequisite: POL 1210, 1220 and instructor permission.
POL 2220Intermediate Polish Language (3)
Second-year continuation of POL 1210, 1220. Prerequisite: POL 1210, 1220 and instructor permission.
POL 3000TNon-UVa Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 10)
Russian
RUSS 116Intensive Introductory Russian (0)
This is the non-credit option for RUSS 1016.
RUSS 126Intensive Introductory Russian (0)
This is the non-credit option for RUSS 2026.
RUSS 216Intensive Intermediate Russian (0)
This is the non-credit option for RUSS 2016.
RUSS 226Intensive Intermediate Russian (0)
This is the non-credit option for RUSS 2026.
RUSS 1010First-Year Russian (4)
Offered
Fall 2025
Introduces Russian grammar with emphasis on reading and speaking. Class meets five days per week plus work in the language laboratory. To be followed by RUSS 2010, 2020.
RUSS 1016Intensive Introductory Russian (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute.
RUSS 1020First-Year Russian (4)
Introduces Russian grammar with emphasis on reading and speaking. Class meets five days per week plus work in the language laboratory. To be followed by RUSS 2010, 2020. Prerequisite: A grade of C or above in RUSS 1010.
RUSS 1026Intensive Introductory Russian (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in basic oral expression, listening comprehension, elementary reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills at the intermediate level. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: RUSS 1016 or equivalent.
RUSS 2010Second-Year Russian (4)
Offered
Fall 2025
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes practice in speaking and writing Russian and introduction to Russian prose and poetry. Class meets four days per week, plus work in the language laboratory. Prerequisite: RUSS 1020 (with grade of C- or better) or equivalent.
RUSS 2016Intensive Intermediate Russian (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: RUSS 1016 & 1026 or equivalent.
RUSS 2020Second-Year Russian (4)
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes practice in speaking and writing Russian and introduction to Russian prose and poetry. Class meets four days per week, plus work in the language laboratory. Prerequisite: grade of C or better in RUSS 2010.
RUSS 2026Intensive Intermediate Russian (3)
This intensive course begins with instruction in intermediate level oral expression, listening comprehension, reading and writing, and continues with further development of these four skills. Part of the Summer Language Institute. Prerequisites: RUSS 1016 , 1026 & 2016 or equivalent.
RUSS 3000Russian House Conversation (1)
Offered
Fall 2025
Russian House Conversation
RUSS 3010Third-Year Russian (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes intensive oral practice through reports, dialogues, guided discussions; composition of written reports and essays; readings in literary and non-literary texts. Class meets three hours per week, plus work in the language laboratory. Prerequisite: RUSS 2010, 2020 or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
RUSS 3020Third-Year Russian (3)
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes intensive oral practice through reports, dialogues, guided discussions; composition of written reports and essays; readings in literary and non-literary texts. Class meets three hours per week, plus work in the language laboratory. Prerequisite: RUSS 2020 with a grade of C or better.
RUSS 3030Intermediate Conversation (1)
Offered
Fall 2025
Two hours of conversation practice per week. Prerequisite: RUSS 1020, or equivalent. RUSS 2020 is strongly recommended.
RUSS 3050Russian Declension and Conjugation (3)
Examines the sound system, lexicon, and word formative processes of the Russian literary language. Prerequisite: RUSS 1020
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2020
RUSS 3500Topics in Russian Language & Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Russian Language and Literature
RUSS 3993Independent Study (1 - 3)
Generic course to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member. May be repeated for credit
Course was offered Spring 2025
RUSS 4010Fourth-Year Russian (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes oral practice, extensive reading, and work in Russian stylistics. Prerequisite: RUSS 3010, 3020 with a grade of C or better.
RUSS 4020Fourth-Year Russian (3)
Continuation of Russian grammar. Includes oral practice, extensive reading, and work in Russian stylistics. Prerequisite: RUSS 4010 with a grade of C or better.
RUSS 4500Topics in Russian Language & Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Russian Language and Literature
RUSS 4520Introduction to Russian Literature (3)
Introduction to Russian literary studies. Reading and analysis of literary works in the original. Texts are selected from classical and contemporary literature. Topic varies. All readings and discussion in Russian. Course is open to advanced students of Russian and heritage speakers.
Course was offered Fall 2019, Spring 2017, Fall 2012
RUSS 4993Independent Study in Russian Language (1 - 3)
May be repeated for credit.
RUSS 5032Advanced Russian Grammar: Syntax (3)
This course is a formal and systematic analysis of the basic syntactic structures of the contemporary Russian literary language with frequent comparison to English (and other, when possible) structures. The emphasis will be on data, not theoretical principles although the conventional theoretical machinery and language of syntax (phrase structure, complement, anaphora) will be used at all times in class and on assignments.
RUSS 5050Advanced Conversation (1)
Offered
Fall 2025
Two hours of conversation practice per week. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: RUSS 3020.
RUSS 5124Tolstoy (3)
Tolstoy
RUSS 5140Russian Modernism (3)
Examines selected works by the leading writers of the early part of the twentieth century. Explores concepts of symbolism, acmeism, and futurism. Focuses on competing conceptions of literature that evolved in the 1920s until the establishment of the hegemony of socialist realism in the 1930s. Considers works written by Russian writers living in emigration.
RUSS 5160Russian Literature of the Soviet Era-1929-1988 (3)
Literature in the Soviet era has been compared to a "second government." This course explores Russian literature under Soviet totalitarianism and examines the concept of Socialist Realism and the process of harnessing literary art to serve the state's interests of creating the "new Soviet person." We also treat the all-important development of unofficial "underground" art and writers' strategies for bypassing the strictures of state control.
RUSS 5175The Golden Age of Russian Poetry (3)
Studies works by Zhukovsky, Batiushkov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Baratynsky, Tiutchev, and others.
RUSS 5176The Silver Age of Russian Poetry (3)
Studies the poetry of Blok, Akhmatova, Mandelshtam, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, and Mayakovsky. Includes symbolism, acmeism, and futurism.
RUSS 5360Gulag: Graduate Studies in History and Literature (3)
From the Bolshevik Revolution to the end of the Soviet order, the only evidence of the Gulag available to the outside world, apart from the Soviet propaganda, were the testimonies of witnesses and survivors. Their stories functioned as the only available history, thus shedding an interesting light on the traditional distinctions between literature and history. In this course, students will examine the Gulag's history via lit and film.
RUSS 5380Russian Postmodernism (3)
Examines the exciting developments in late-20th- and early-21st-century Russian literature and art.
RUSS 5390The Russian Utopian Imagination (3)
This course explores Russian literature's many renderings of heaven on earth and their roots in folklore, religion, art, and political thought. Prerequisite: Reading knowledge of Russian
Course was offered Fall 2022, Fall 2018, Fall 2014
RUSS 5500Selected Topics in Russian Literature (3 - 6)
Typical topics in various years include Tolstoy, Russian literary journalism, and the mid-nineteenth century Russian novel. In some years open to students from other departments with no knowledge of Russian. May be repeated for credit.
RUSS 5559Topics in Russian Language and Literature (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Russian Language and Literature.
Course was offered Spring 2023
RUSS 5993Independent Study (1 - 4)
Generic course to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member.
RUSS 7360Tolstoy-War and Peace (3)
Study of the major works.
Course was offered Fall 2023, Fall 2017, Spring 2012
RUSS 7500Seminar in Russian Studies (3)
Advanced work on selected topics. A recent topic was 'utopian vision.' May be repeated for credit.
Course was offered Spring 2012
RUSS 7510Seminar in Russian Studies (3)
Advanced work on selected topics. A recent topic was 'utopian vision.' May be repeated for credit.
Course was offered Spring 2011, Fall 2010
RUSS 7993Independent Study in Russian Linguistics (1 - 3)
For students wishing to pursue independent reading and research in Russian Linguistics. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission
RUSS 8500Topics in Russian Language and Literature (3)
Could include Russian language, fiction, poetry, drama, or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
Course was offered Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013
RUSS 8999Master's Thesis (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
Research for and final preparation of M.A. thesis.
RUSS 9999Non-Topical Research, Doctoral (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For doctoral research taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.
Russian in Translation
RUTR 2350Russian and East European Film (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course is an introduction to and overview of the history of film in Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Russia, though we will be discussing other countries that were once part of the Soviet Bloc. We will be covering a variety of films, long and short, as well as animation, and how these works of art reflect the time periods in which they were created.
RUTR 2370Fairy Tales (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course considers a medley of tales drawn from various cultural traditions, oral and written, including canonical European fairy tales, traditional Slavic texts, African folk narratives, and oral tales from other cultures collected and recorded more recently. We will sample different thematic groups of tales and analyze them in view of various interpretive methodologies: structuralism, sociology, feminism, and cultural studies. Particular attention will be paid to adaptations of familiar stories for different times and audiences. All readings in English. No prerequisites.
RUTR 2400Russian Masterpieces (3)
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies selected great works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century prose fiction.
Course was offered Fall 2024, Spring 2014
RUTR 2460Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
No knowledge of Russian needed. Investigates 'being Russian' through the works of Russia's great writers, artists, architects, and composers. Focuses on the heroes, heroines, and villains, symbols, legends, and rituals central to Russian creativity.
RUTR 2470Understanding Russia: Symbols, Myths, and Archetypes of Identity (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
This course explores different sources of Russian national identity from pre-Christian `Rus' to the present. We will investigate how the occidental and oriental elements blend into a unique Euro-Asian culture, nation, and world power. Our main aim is to provide an orientation to the symbolic world of Russian self-identification. We will employ the tools of the historian, geographer, psychologist, and student of literature and culture.
RUTR 2500Topics in Russian Literature (1 - 3)
Studies in English translation of selected authors, works, or themes in Russian literature. Topics in recent years were Solzhenitsyn, Nabokov. May be repeated for credit under different topics.
RUTR 2730Dostoevsky (3)
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Dostoevsky.
RUTR 2740Tolstoy in Translation (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Tolstoy.
RUTR 3340Books Behind Bars: Life, Lit, & Community Leadership (4)
Students will grapple in a profound and personal way with timeless human questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How should I live? They will do this, in part, by facilitating discussions about short masterpieces of Russian literature with residents at a juvenile correctional center. This course offers an integrated academic-community engagement curriculum, and provides a unique opportunity for service learning, leadership, and youth mentoring.
RUTR 3350Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. Studies the major works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and others. Emphasizes prose fiction. This course is a prerequisite for 5000-level literature courses. For more details on this class, please visit the department website at: http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/slavic/courses.html.
RUTR 3360Twentieth Century Russian Literature (3)
This course surveys Russian literature (prose and poetry) of the twentieth century. Readings include works by Soviet and émigré writers. All works are read in English translation.
RUTR 3390Edens, Idylls, and Utopias in Russian Literature (3)
This course explores Russian literature's many renderings of heaven on earth and their roots in folklore, religion, art, and political thought.
Course was offered Fall 2022, Fall 2018, Fall 2014
RUTR 3500Topics in Russian Literature (3 - 6)
Studies in English translation of selected authors, works, or themes in Russian literature. Topics in recent years were Solzhenitsyn, Nabokov. May be repeated for credit under different topics.
RUTR 3510Topics in Russian Literature (3 - 6)
Studies in English translation of selected authors, works, or themes in Russian literature. Topics in recent years were Solzhenitsyn, Nabokov. May be repeated for credit under different topics.
RUTR 3520Case Studies in Russian Literature (3)
Open to students with no knowledge of Russian. One great novel such as War and Peace or The Brothers Karamazov is studied in detail along with related works and a considerable sampling of critical studies.
RUTR 3559Russian Literature in Translation (3)
This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Russian Literature in Translation.
Course was offered Spring 2023, Fall 2017, Spring 2010
RUTR 3993Independent Study (1 - 3)
Generic course to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.
Course was offered Fall 2024
RUTR 4500Topics in Russian Language & Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Russian Language and Literature.
RUTR 4559New Course in Russian Literature in Translation (1 - 4)
This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Russian in Translation.
Course was offered Spring 2023, Spring 2017
RUTR 5559Topics in Russian Literature in Translation (3)
This course provides the opportunity to offer new topics in the subject of Russian in Translation.
Slavic
SLAV 1001TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Artistic, Interpretive, and SLAVosophical Inquiry.
SLAV 1002TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Cultures and Societies of the World.
SLAV 1003TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to SLAVorical Perspectives.
SLAV 1004TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Social and Economic Systems.
SLAV 1005TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Chemical, SLAVematical, and SLAVical Inquiry
SLAV 1006TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Living Systems.
SLAV 1007TNon-UVA Transfer/Test Credit (1 - 4)
Transfer credit or test credit that is not equivalentto current UVA coursework. Contains content related to Science and Society
SLAV 2250The Dark Side of the 20th Century: Between Auschwitz & Gulag (3)
The twentieth century was a period of humanity's unprecedented progress as well as its greatest recorded downfall into barbarity, genocide, and mass oppression. This course enables students to study and reflect on the latter. Some questions will be asked in the course: How do we construct cultural memories of traumatic experiences? Why do we want to remember them? Do we?
SLAV 2360Dracula (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
An introduction to Slavic folklore with special emphasis on the origins and subsequent manifestations of vampirism. Western perceptions, misperceptions, and adaptations of Slavic culture are explored and explicated. The approach is interdisciplinary: folklore, history, literature, religion, film, disease and a variety of other topics.
SLAV 2500Topics in Slavic Literature and Culture (3)
Could include Polish, Czech, or Slovak fiction, poetry, drama, or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
Course was offered Spring 2025
SLAV 2559Independent Study (1 - 6)
generic course number to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member
Course was offered Spring 2015
SLAV 3500Topics in Slavic Language & Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Slavic Language and Literature.
SLAV 3993Independent Study (1 - 3)
Generic course to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member. May be repeated for credit.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2024
SLAV 4500Topics in Slavic Literature and Culture (3)
Could include Polish, Czech, or Slovak fiction, poetry, drama, or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
Course was offered Fall 2016, Spring 2013, Fall 2012
SLAV 5100Old Church Slavonic (3)
Introduction to Grammar and Textual attestation of the oldest attested Slavic Language and the relationship between this language, Old Russian Church Slavonic and Contemporary Standard Russian.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Fall 2022, Spring 2019
SLAV 5500Topics in Slavic Language and Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Slavic Language and Literature.
Course was offered Spring 2018, Fall 2010, Fall 2009
SLAV 5610Polish Literature (3)
A graduate-level survey of Polish literature from its Medieval beginnings to the contemporary period. Readings include Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki, Boleslaw Prus, Stefan Zeromski, Bruno Schulz, Witold Gombrowicz, Czeslaw Milosz, Tadeusz Rozewicz, Tadeusz Borowski, Wislawa Szymborska, Slawomir Mrozek, and others. Undergraduate students welcome with the permission by the instructor. All readings in English.
SLAV 7500Topics in Slavic Language & Literature (1 - 3)
Selected Topics in Slavic Language and Literature
SLAV 8500Topics in Slavic Languages and Literatures (3)
Could include any Slavic languages, fiction, poetry, drama, or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
SLAV 8998Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For master's research, taken before a thesis director has been selected.
SLAV 8999Non-Topical Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For master's thesis, taken under the supervision of a thesis director.
SLAV 9998Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Doctoral Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For doctoral research, taken before a dissertation director has been selected.
SLAV 9999Non-Topical Research (1 - 12)
Offered
Fall 2025
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.
Slavic Folklore & Oral Literature
SLFK 2120Russian Folklore (3)
What is folklore exactly? Further, what is it in the Russian context? This course is a thorough overview of different types of folklore throughout Russian history. We will cover a brief history of Russia from pre-Christian times and continue into a thorough analysis of various examples of Russian folklore. This will include narrative folklore (folktales, fairy tales, songs, etc.), material folklore (house structures and layout, clothing, etc.), and social folklore (weddings, funerals, etc.). Students will also be expected to investigate their own ethnic backgrounds through paper topics based on what is learned in the course.
SLFK 3500Topics in Slavic Folklore (1 - 3)
Selected topics in Slavic Folklore.
SLFK 5500Topics in Slavic Folklore (1 - 3)
For students wishing to pursue independent reading and research in Russian Folklore or Folklore of Slavic culture.
Slavic in Translation
SLTR 3200Poland: History and Culture (3)
This course takes students through more than 1000 years of Poland's history and culture. Explorations of literature, art, film, and music, as well as key historic events and biographies, will provide students with unique insight in the main sources of Polish identity, its central values, challenges, myths, symbols, and preoccupations in a larger European context. All materials in English.
Course was offered Spring 2025, Spring 2017, Fall 2013
SLTR 3300Facing Evil in the Twentieth Century: Humanity in Extremis (3)
Offered
Fall 2025
The 20th century will most likely remain one of the most puzzling periods in human history, in which amazing progress was coupled with unprecedented barbarity of modern totalitarian regimes. The course helps students untangle this paradox by exploring a series of memoirs by survivors and perpetrators, as well as scholarly essays, films, and other cultural statements.
SLTR 3500Topics in Slavic in Translation (3)
Could Include Polish, Czech, or Slovak fiction, poetry, drama, or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
SLTR 4200Robots and Rebels in Czech Literature and Culture (3)
An investigation of classics of modern Czech fiction and film. Some of the great works include Hasek (The Good Soldier Svejk), Nemcova (The Grandmother), Capek (the inventor of the word "robot"), Seifert's Nobel-winning poetry, Lustig (Children of the Holocaust), Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Havel (The Power of the Powerless; The Garden Party), as well as great films like "Closely Watched Trains" and "Firemen's Ball."
Course was offered Fall 2023, Fall 2020
SLTR 5200Classics of Czech Literature and Culture (3)
An investigation of classics of modern Czech fiction and film. Some of the great works include Hasek (The Good Soldier Svejk), Nemcova (The Grandmother), Capek (the inventor of the word "robot"), Seifert's Nobel-winning poetry, Lustig (Children of the Holocaust), Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Havel (The Power of the Powerless; The Garden Party), as well as great films like "Closely Watched Trains" and "Firemen's Ball."
Course was offered Fall 2023, Fall 2020
SLTR 5500Topics in Slavic in Translation (1 - 3)
Selected topics in Slavic in Translation.
SLTR 5993Independent Study (1 - 3)
Generic course to be used when students are taking non-lecture based independent study with a faculty member. May be repeated for credit
Course was offered Spring 2025, Fall 2021