RUSS/JWST 4401 -- Russian Jewish Experience
University of Colorado Boulder
This course examines the experience of Russian Jews from the late 19th century to the present through fiction, essays, and films dealing with challenges of co-existence of Jews and their neighbors. We will focus on the Bolshevik Revolution, Stalinism, the Holocaust, and the post-Stalin years. We will look at the place of Jews as individuals and as a minority within Russian and Soviet society, as well as Jewish-Russian emigration to USA & elsewhere at the turn of the 21st century.
(Pictured above: Russian American Jewish writer and satirist Gary Shteyngart, whose work we study at the end of the semester).
Approved for the core curriculum: Literature and the Arts
What students have said about this course and the professor:
"The instructor was extremely knowledgeable on the subject and very helpful in helping his students understand the material. Class was interesting and fun." (Spring 2014 student)
"I like how we were encouraged to examine smaller issues in order to extract larger thematic concepts from texts and films. I feel as though it made me a more precise and attentive writer." (Spring 2014 student)
"In enjoyed this perspective on Jewish culture. I also liked that this class really helped me improve my writing skills." (Spring 2014 student)
"Thanks for this amazing course! You are a great teacher and the passion you have for the Russian/Jewish context definitely shows! I was able to connect to the material in a personal way that I thought would be impossible because of the different cultures, thanks!" (Spring 2014 student)
"Instructor was fair. Very intelligent. Appreciated how he didn't encourage just memorizing and regurgitating facts. Excellent process in analysis." (Spring 2014 student)
"Great course, thank you!" (Spring 2014 student)
"I loved the course material. Thanks!" (Spring 2014 student)
(Pictured above: Russian American Jewish writer and satirist Gary Shteyngart, whose work we study at the end of the semester).
Approved for the core curriculum: Literature and the Arts
- The course syllabus is here.
- In Spring 2017 the course will be offered on Tu/Th 11 am - 12:15 pm
- Starting in Spring 2017, the course will also include an additional section for graduate students (RUSS 5401). Contact the professor for details.
- This course includes extra credit opportunities, for example attending public lectures, theater performances, and film screenings both at the University of Colorado and in the broader Boulder and Denver communities (such as at the Boulder Jewish Film Festival, the Boulder International Film Festival, and the Denver Jewish Film Festival, all of which take place every spring)
- Download the course flyer here -- in PDF format and in JPG format
What students have said about this course and the professor:
"The instructor was extremely knowledgeable on the subject and very helpful in helping his students understand the material. Class was interesting and fun." (Spring 2014 student)
"I like how we were encouraged to examine smaller issues in order to extract larger thematic concepts from texts and films. I feel as though it made me a more precise and attentive writer." (Spring 2014 student)
"In enjoyed this perspective on Jewish culture. I also liked that this class really helped me improve my writing skills." (Spring 2014 student)
"Thanks for this amazing course! You are a great teacher and the passion you have for the Russian/Jewish context definitely shows! I was able to connect to the material in a personal way that I thought would be impossible because of the different cultures, thanks!" (Spring 2014 student)
"Instructor was fair. Very intelligent. Appreciated how he didn't encourage just memorizing and regurgitating facts. Excellent process in analysis." (Spring 2014 student)
"Great course, thank you!" (Spring 2014 student)
"I loved the course material. Thanks!" (Spring 2014 student)
