Slavic Languages & Literatures
- Congratulations to Professor Valeria Sobol, who was awarded a BRIDGE grant from the U of I for a collaborative project with the University of Birmingham entitled "Russophone Literary Diversity and Peripheries." Her co-PI from Birmingham is Prof. Natalya Rulyova and she is joined on the grant by... Read full story Sobol wins BRIDGE grant
Events
More News
- The publication of Slavic Department Head David Cooper's The Czech Manuscripts was celebrated by the University of Illinois with a front-page story by Jodi Heckel on December 12. The full story can be found...
- Professor Harriet Murav appeared with Dr. Gennady Estraikh on The New Books in Jewish Studies Podcast with host Ari Barbalat to discuss their work Soviet Jews in World War II: Fighting, Witnessing, Remembering...
- Slavic Department graduate student Sergei Motov was awarded “judge’s choice” in NYU Jordan Center’s Graduate Student Essay Competition. The competition...
SLAV 452/CWL 453: War and Resistance in Contemporary Eastern Europe
This course examines works of a range of contemporary Eastern European writers with a focus on themes of war, resistance and identity after the collapse of the USSR. The topics include the aftermath of communism in Eastern Europe, the Balkan wars, Russia’s wars in Chechnya and Georgia as well as the ongoing Russia’s war against Ukraine. The course readings include works by Svetlana Alexievich (Belarus), Slavenka Drakulić and Dubravka Ugrešić (Croatia), Semezdin Mehmedinović (Bosnia), Anna Politkovskaya (Russia), Oksana Lutsyshyna and Stanislav Aseyev (Ukraine) among others. The course explores how literature reflects on the trauma of communism, on the experience of war and mass destruction in the region and focuses the on the role that literature plays in shaping national identities in the complex tapestry of the post-Soviet landscape as well as gender identity, resisting not only political regimes but also gender-based oppression. Through close reading, writing and class discussion, students will gain a general understanding of culture, politics, and gender roles in post-communist Eastern Europe in the context of recent events in the region.
SLAV 452/CWL 453: Kyiv: A Biography of a City
This course traces the historical, social, and artistic development of Kyiv as a city and as an idea from the medieval period to the present day. As we read a variety of literary works and watch several films in which Kyiv figures prominently, we will think about what makes up this city’s “text” and pay special attention to its frequently competing Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and Jewish versions. The course is conducted in English, and all the texts will be available in English translations.
SLAV 452/CWL 453: The Cinema of Poland
Post-WWII Poland has made an indelible contribution to world cinema. This class offers a close examination of the chief currents of modern Polish film including, but not limited to, the cinema of “the Polish School” of the late 1950s and 60s, works by experimental and avant-garde auteurs, satires and parodies of the late-socialist period, historical “large canvas” film, as well as more recent work that addresses the dramas, desires, and discontents of political transition and the aspirations and memory practices of post-communist society. A main focus will be on the oeuvre of Poland’s most recognized and prodigious filmmakers, including Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Roman Polanski, as well as the work of “Wajda’s children” – a generation of filmmakers that includes Agnieszka Holland, Paweł Pawlikowski, Xawery Zulawski, Jan Komasa, and Malgorzata Szumowska.