Russian Studies Minor
By far the largest nation in the world, the Russian Federation spans two continents, eleven time zones, and over six million square miles. Its geopolitical significance and cultural contributions to the world are as immeasurable as its vast resources. At Holy Cross, students can approach Russia in various ways and from multiple perspectives. In the Russian Studies Program and across campus, we offer courses on Russian languages, literature, art, history, political science, and religion. Students can take part in our Russian Club, meet the experts and cultural figures we invite to campus, go on our study abroad program, and browse the college's rare archival icon collection.
In the U.S., Russian is a “critical need” language. The National Security Language Initiative (NDLI) was launched in 2006 to dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Russian. At Holy Cross, students can attain advanced levels of speaking, reading and writing Russian during their undergraduate years. Courses are also available for native speakers.
Department Advanced Placement Policy
Students with AP credit in Russian language or literature earn placement in the curriculum but, not progress toward the minimum number of courses required by the minor. Students who take a course that duplicates the AP award in Russian will forfeit the AP credit. Students with AP credit in Russian literature will not be permitted to enroll in a course below the 300 level.
Requirements
Russian minors take a minimum of six courses on the intermediate level or above.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| Required language courses: | |
| Intermediate Russian 1 and Intermediate Russian 2: Language In Action | |
| Russian Composition & Conversation 1 | |
| Three literature and/or culture classes in either Russian or English (two of which may be outside of Russian). 2 | |
| Personal interest determines the rest of the curriculum, which allows students to focus more on language, art and literature, history and politics, or a broad interdisciplinary approach. | |
| Madness in Russian Literature | |
| Tales of Desire | |
| Fire & Ice: Siberia In Fiction | |
| Russian Drama and the West | |
| Russian Cinema | |
| Fairytale: Russia & the World | |
| 19Th Century Russian Literature | |
| 20Th/21st Century Russian Literature | |
| Soviet Art and Literature | |
| Writing Under Stalin | |
| Kjiv to Moscow: A Medieval Journey | |
| Advanced Russian Tutorial | |
| Additional electives from the list above or below (two may be selected from outside of Russian Studies) to meet the six course requirement: | |
| Imperial Russia/East & West | |
| Soviet Experiment | |
| The Soviet Union After Stalin | |
| The Politics of Post-Communism | |
| 1 | Students unable to complete RUSS 301 Russian Composition & Conversation before graduation may complete the requirement by participating in a Holy Cross Russian language Maymester, by taking an in-Russian attachment section of a course, or completing a 300-level topics course (e.g. translation, phonetics). |
| 2 | A course in 19th or 20th Century Russian Literature is highly recommended. |
Students can opt to maximize their Russian language training with a “critical languages” Russian minor by taking six language courses on the intermediate level and above. Students are encouraged to certify their skills with one of several proficiency measures offered through the Russian Studies Program. Minors who study abroad are required to take at least three courses at Holy Cross, including at least one in their fourth year.
Consult with Russian Studies Program faculty on matters of placement and minor credit. Majors and minors who spend time in Russian speaking regions on study programs may participate in academic and work internship programs offered by those programs for major and minor credit.