Below is an excerpt from the USC Catalog. The Catalog is the authority for all students. Program requirements listed in the USC Catalog supersede any information herein, and the university reserves the right to change its policies, rules, regulations, requirements for graduation, course offerings and any other contents of this catalog at any time.
500 Topics in Advanced Russian (2, max 8) Study of Russian required for graduate work and professional activities. Prerequisite: four years of college Russian or departmental approval.
501 Proseminar in Russian Literature (3, Fa) Introduction to graduate study of Russian literature: research methods, bibliography, transliteration, development of critical writing skills.
510 Old Church Slavonic (3) Study of the earliest recorded Slavic language; linguistic interpretation of original texts; knowledge of a Slavic language or general linguistics will be helpful.
512 History of the Russian Language (3) Phonetic, morphological, syntactical changes from common Slavic to the present. Russian literary language; influence of 19th century Russian authors and old church Slavic on contemporary Russian.
514 Structure of Modern Russian Phonology (3) Articulatory phonetics, phonemics, morphophonemics, and intonational patterns of modern Russia. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
516 Structure of Modern Russian: Morphology (3) Essential issues in current linguistic description of the syntax and morphology of modern Russian. Considers word order, negation, verbal aspect.
530 Early Russian Literature and Culture (11th-17th Centuries) (3) Major monuments of medieval Russian literature examined in their cultural, literary, and theological context, with special emphasis on issues of genre. Focus on problems of Russian cultural identity and Russia’s complex relationship to Byzantine and Western traditions. Prerequisite: SLL 510 and SLL 514.
532 18th Century Russian Literature (3) Major works and genres of the 18th century. The development of a “modern” literary tradition, focusing on problems of Russia’s indigenization of Western literary movements (classicism and sentimentalism).
542 Symbolism (3) Russian symbolist literature; cultural and philosophical background of this late 19th and early 20th century movement. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
544 Russian Short Story (3) Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
545 19th Century Russian Poetry (3) Analysis of major works of 19th century Russian poetry in the context of developing aesthetic principles and cultural history.
Prerequisite: SLL 501 or departmental approval.
546 The Russian Novel (3) Genre of the novel as exemplified in the works of one or more Russian authors. Readings from Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and others. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian.
548 History of Russian Literary Criticism (3) History and principles of literary criticism in Russia with attention to major periods and movements from the early 19th century through the Formalists.
550 Russian Modernism (3) “Russian Modernism” subsumes theoretical ideas, practical achievements, and stylistic movements which contributed to Russia’s cultural renaissance between ca. 1890 and ca. 1925. Prerequisite: SLL 340.
555 Soviet Literature I (1917-1953) (3) The course surveys the major writers and literary schools of Soviet literature in the crucial period from the Revolution to the death of Stalin.
557 Soviet Literature II (1953-present) (3) De-Stalinization of Soviet culture, the reappropriation of Russia’s literary past, and new directions in contemporary literature.
575 Socialist Realism (3) The course examines the origins, doctrine, and ideology of socialist realism, the predominant, and officially prescribed, aesthetic of Soviet literature.
584 Russian Fiction and the West (3) A survey of major Russian fiction in the context of Western European literary movements from the late 18th through late 19th centuries. The course presumes the students’ basic acquaintance with the major monuments.
585 20th Century Russian Literary Criticism (3) Relationship between practical and theoretical literary criticism: Formalism and Structuralism, Sociological school, and Bakhtin; theoretical approaches applied to specific literary texts.
588ab Directed Readings (2-2) Assigned readings according to individual needs.
590 Directed Research (1-12) Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
594abz Master’s Thesis (2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.
599 Special Topics (2-4, max 8)
650 Seminar in Russian Literature (3, max 9) Detailed study of single literary period, movement or genre; two or more selected authors; specific school of literary criticism. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
660 Seminar on a Single Author or Work (3, max 9) Theme varies from year to year. An author or major work will be selected for intensive study; research paper required. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
665 Seminar in Russian Culture and the Arts (3, max 9) Subject varies from year to year. A trend or major figure will be studied in its cultural and artistic contexts. May be repeated, with departmental permission, if content of the seminar is different. Prerequisite: three years of college Russian; recommended preparation: one year of graduate study.
670 Seminar in Eastern European Cinema (3) Topics in Eastern European cinema selected for intensive study. May be repeated with varying content. Recommended Preparation: two years of graduate study Registration Restriction: Open only to doctoral students. Instruction Mode: Lecture Grading Option: Letter
790 Research (1-12) Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.
794abcdz Doctoral Dissertation (2-2-2-2-0) Credit on acceptance of dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.