http://reees.uoregon.edu
Jenifer Presto, Program Director
541-346-4065
175 Prince Lucien Campbell Hall
The Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Program is devoted to the study of the peoples living in the eastern third of Europe, throughout the northern steppes of Central Asia, and across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. Settled over a territory that spans half the earth’s time zones, these peoples have created a complex mosaic of cultures, expressed in literature and art as well as in institutions and social forms. Over the centuries, these lands have come under the sway of several great world-historical civilizations and empires: the Byzantine, Mongolian, Ottoman Turkish, Holy Roman, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, and Soviet. These lands have felt the influence of Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, and Communism. At the intersection of many powerful forces, these lands experience the historical drama of what some call "modernization" with its challenge to customary ways of life. Yet, after centuries of massive transplantation and transformation, national and ethnic heritages survive. Customary ways and native self-consciousness, more diverse than anywhere else on the globe, express themselves with new vigor.
Visiting Faculty Members
The program sponsors extended stays by visiting Fulbright and International Research and Exchange Board scholars from Russia and Eastern Europe.
Overseas Study
Qualified students of Russian may spend a summer, semester, or academic year in the Commonwealth of Independent States—in the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) Cooperative Russian Language Program, of which the University of Oregon is an affiliate. Participating CIEE schools include Novosibirsk State University and St. Petersburg University. Students may also participate in Moscow and St. Petersburg programs sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian and at a direct exchange program with the University of Latvia. Opportunities also exist for study in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Limited fellowship aid is available for these programs.
Students in University of Oregon overseas study programs enroll in courses with subject codes that are unique to individual programs. Special course numbers are reserved for overseas study. See International Affairs in the Academic Resources section of this catalog. Students interested in study in the Commonwealth of Independent States or in Eastern Europe should write or call the Overseas Program Coordinator, Office of International Affairs, 5209 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-5209; 541-346-3206.
Cultural Programs
The program sponsors lectures, panel discussions, symposiums, films, plays, exhibitions, concerts, and festivals. These presentations involve scholars from other institutions in the United States and Europe as well as specialists at the university. In addition, the program faculty engages in outreach activities with local schools, community groups, and organizations such as the Eugene-Irkutsk Sister City Committee. Students in the program organized a Russian Club.
Resources
The University of Oregon’s library has more than 130,000 volumes in Russian and other Slavic and East European languages, more than 60,000 on Russia and Eastern Europe in Western languages; and subscribes to more than 100 serial titles. The library also has a large collection of Russian and East European films. The bulk of the collection is in the humanities and social sciences.
Facilities at the well-known Yamada Language Center enhance the learning of Slavic and East European languages. For more information, visit the website.
Faculty
Heghine Hakobyan, instructor (Slavic librarian). BA, 1983, Kurgan College of Culture and Enlightenment; MA, 1988, Tyuman State; MLIS, 2003, City University of New York, Queens College. (2007)
Katya E. Hokanson, associate professor (Russian literature, travel literature, cultural studies). B.A., 1984, Williams; M.A., 1988, Ph.D., 1994, Stanford. (1995)
Susanna Soojung Lim, associate professor (19th- and 20th-century Russian literature). BA, 1996, MA, 1998, Korea; MA, 1999, PhD, 2006, California, Los Angeles. (2007)
Julia Nemirovskaya, senior instructor (Russian literature and theater). MA, 1986, PhD, 1991, Moscow State. (2002)
Jenifer Presto, associate professor (Russian literature, modernism, environmental criticism). A.B., 1985, Smith; M.A., 1988, Middlebury; M.A., 1989, Ph.D., 1996, Wisconsin, Madison. (2003)
Lara Ravitch, Senior Instructor (Russian language). B.A., 1998, Connecticut College; M.A., 2002, Monterey (Middlebury) Institute of International Studies. (2012)
The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.
Participating
Roy Bing Chan, East Asian languages and literatures (Chinese literature)
Julie Hessler, history (20th-century Russia, Europe)
Ryan Tucker Jones, history (Russian and environmental history)
Mikhail Myagkov, political science (comparative politics, formal political theory)
Steven Shankman, English (comparative literature, Russian novel)
Stephen J. Shoemaker, religious studies (history of Eastern Christianity)
Carol T. Silverman, anthropology (performance, eastern Europe, gender)
Caleb Southworth, sociology (economic sociology, postsocialist societies, quantitative-historical methods)
Courtesy
Amanda Bird, courtesy instructor (folklore, translation, Persian literature). BA, 1994, Baylor; MA, 2006, Oregon. (2013)
Alexander Kashirin, courtesy professor. BA, 2002, Eastern New Mexico University; MA, 2005, Oregon; Ph.D., 2010, Oregon. (2003)
Tamara Morris, courtesy professor (Russian language, culture of “Old Believers”). Baccalaureate, D. Banzarov; MA, 1984, Kransoyarsky State Pedagogical Institute; PhD, 1986, Institute of Russian Language. (2013)
Emeriti
Esther Jacobson-Tepfer, history of art and architecture
R. Alan Kimball, history (modern Russia)
Yelaina Kripkov, Russian Language
Sherwin Simmons, history of art and architecture
Ronald Wixman, geography
Cynthia Vakareliyska, linguistics
Associated
John E. Bonine, law
Lisa Wolverton, history
Four-Year Degree Plan
The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years (Below is a sample for a Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies major with a concentration in Russian language, literature, and culture). There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.
Bachelor of Arts in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (Humanities Concentration)
Degree Map
First Year |
Fall |
RUSS 101 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
WR 121 |
College Composition I |
| 4 |
RUSS 204 |
Introduction to Russian Literature |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science that also satisfies multicultural requirement |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 102 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
WR 122
|
College Composition II
or College Composition III |
| 4 |
RUSS 309 |
Russian through Theater |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
RUSS 103 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
RUSS 334 |
Dostoevsky |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
| Total Credits | | 51 |
Degree Map
Second Year |
Fall |
RUSS 201 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Upper-division content course in REEES humanities (Field of concentration course) |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 202 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
RUSS 426 |
Classics of Russian Poetry: [Topic] |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
RUSS 203 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
HIST 346 |
Imperial Russia |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
| Total Credits | | 51 |
Degree Map
Third Year |
Fall |
ANTH 315 |
Gender, Folklore, Inequality ( ) |
| 4 |
RUSS 316 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 317 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
PS 433 |
Marxism and Radical Thought |
| 4 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
RUSS 318 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 13 |
| Total Credits | | 47 |
Degree Map
Fourth Year |
Fall |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 16 |
| Credits | | 16 |
Winter |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 12 |
| Credits | | 12 |
| Total Credits | | 28 |
Bachelor of Arts in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (Social Science Concentration)
Degree Map
First Year |
Fall |
RUSS 101 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
WR 121 |
College Composition I |
| 4 |
HIST 345 |
Early Russia |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 102 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
WR 122
|
College Composition II
or College Composition III |
| 4 |
HIST 346 |
Imperial Russia |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters that also satisfies multicultural requirement |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
RUSS 103 |
First-Year Russian |
| 5 |
HIST 347 |
Soviet Union and Contemporary Russia |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
| Total Credits | | 51 |
Degree Map
Second Year |
Fall |
RUSS 201 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Content course in REEES social science (Field of concentration course) |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 202 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
PS 433 |
Marxism and Radical Thought |
| 4 |
General-education course in arts and letters |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
RUSS 203 |
Second-Year Russian |
| 5 |
RUSS 240 |
Russian Culture |
| 4 |
General-education course in social science |
| 4 |
General-education course in science |
| 4 |
| Credits | | 17 |
| Total Credits | | 51 |
Degree Map
Third Year |
Fall |
RUSS 316 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
REEES elective course (outside concentration, different from first elective course) |
| 4 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Winter |
RUSS 309 |
Russian through Theater |
| 4 |
RUSS 317 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 17 |
Spring |
HUM 300 |
Themes in the Humanities ( Tolstoy's Legacy) |
| 4 |
RUSS 318 |
Third-Year Russian |
| 5 |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 8 |
| Credits | | 17 |
| Total Credits | | 51 |
Degree Map
Fourth Year |
Fall |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 16 |
| Credits | | 16 |
Winter |
Elective or second-major courses |
| 12 |
| Credits | | 12 |
| Total Credits | | 28 |
The program offers a master of arts (MA) and a graduate certificate in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies. The center is affiliated with the master’s and PhD programs in comparative literature and linguistics, and students in the center have also successfully applied to PhD programs in history, geography, and other fields.
Master of Arts
Application
Graduate application instructions are available online. The application deadline for admission the following fall term is February 1. Applicants who are not seeking graduate fellowship support are considered for admission throughout the academic year if space is available in the program.
Incoming candidates for the master’s degree must meet with an advisor and take a Russian proficiency examination on the Friday before the beginning of their first academic term.
Graduate students are expected to meet regularly with their advisor and submit an updated program plan every spring term. Students and their advisors use degree planning sheets to design individual programs.
Master of Arts Degree Requirements
The MA in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies requires 40 graded graduate-level credits passed with a grade of B– or better and 9 thesis credits (taken pass/no pass), for a total of 49 graduate credits. Credits used to fulfill the language requirement may not be applied to the 49-credit requirement. The MA typically takes two years (six terms) to complete.
Course List Code | Title | Credits |
1 | |
| 16 |
REES 503 | Thesis | 9 |
or RUSS 503 | Thesis |
2 | 24 |
Total Credits | 49 |
Fields of Concentration
- Russian literature
- Russian and East European history
- Contemporary Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia
Additional Requirements
A written comprehensive examination on the field of concentration is typically taken the term prior to submission of the thesis. The thesis is defended before the candidate’s committee. The defense may include discussion of the comprehensive exam.
Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate in Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies requires 32 graded graduate-level credits; courses must be passed with grades of B– or better. Credits used to fulfill the language requirement may not be applied to the 32-credit requirement.
Course List Code | Title | Credits |
| |
| |
| |
| 12 |
1 | 16 |
Total Credits | 28 |
Fields of Concentration
- Russian literature
- Russian and East European history
- Contemporary Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia
The certificate may be earned in conjunction with any MA or PhD degree. Courses taken to fulfill the graduate degree may also be used to fulfill certificate requirements. Master’s candidates in the program may earn the graduate certificate if the field of concentration chosen for the certificate is not the same as the one for the master’s degree.