New Courses and Course Changes for 2011-2012

Slavic Studies Courses:

Interdisciplinary Courses
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian
Czech and Slovak
Macedonian
Polish
Russian
Slavic Linguistics
Ukrainian

Finno-Ugric Studies Courses:

Estonian
Finnish

Interdisciplinary Courses

SLA102H1 - Ukrainian and Russian Civilizations

A survey of major East Slavic civilizations through art, architecture, literature and religion. Includes the Scythians, whose battle skills and gold fascinated the ancient world; Kyivan Rus’ and its princes, monks and martyrs; the rise of the Cossacks; and Peter the Great, founder of the Russian Empire and of St. Petersburg. Taught in English, all readings in English.

SLA103H1  -  Golems and Robots on Stage and Screen

Exploring the ways artificial creatures are presented on stage and on screen, this course introduces students to major issues in the study of theatre, cinema, and popular culture. Focus on case studies from Central and Eastern Europe. Taught in English, all readings in English.

How does one cope with loss, be it a nose, a leg, a pet, a name, a lover, a battle, a fortune, or one’s sanity? Through literary texts from Central and Eastern Europe we explore the trauma and poetics of losing, and the mechanisms of coping, reliving, and compensating for the lost object. Taught in English, all readings in English.

SLA203H1 -   Faking It

The role of forgery in cultural, national, and personal identities. A scholar “discovering” an “ancient” manuscript, a noblewoman in disguise joining the army, an impostor conning a provincial town, a writer faking political loyalty. Literary texts from Central and Eastern Europe expose the porous boundaries between authenticity and lies, highlighting the artificiality and vulnerability of social and cultural conventions. Taught in English, all readings in English.

SLA236H1  -  Finding It

The course explores the paradoxes, frustrations, and tensions inherent in the yearning for the ideal and the striving for making dreams come true. Students engage in the critical analysis of a broad range of cultural material, including mythology, the Bible, European literatures and performing arts, and social and political manifestoes. Taught in English, readings in English.

SLA495H1 -   Aesthetics into Science? Russian Formalism and Prague Structuralism

A study of the major issues of general aesthetics from the vantage points of Russian Formalism and Prague Structuralism. The course provides students with a theoretical grounding in textual and cultural analysis, introducing them to the history of modern literary and cultural criticism. Taught in English, all readings in English.

Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian

SLA227H1 -  South Slavic Literature: National Revival and Beyond

A survey of national revival and consolidation in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia through a chronological selection of liter-ary texts (poems, plays, novels) from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. The course places South Slavic literary develop-ments within the broader context of European intellectual history (such as the Enlightenment and the Renaissance) as well as Balkan cultural and political life. Taught in English, all readings in English.

Prerequisite: SLA217H1 or permission of instructor

SLA257Y1  -  Intermediate Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian

Systematic study of morphology and syntax. Intermediate composition and oral practice. Reading and translation of contempo-rary and more complex texts in BCS.

Prerequisite: SLA107Y1 or permission of instructor
Exclusion: SLA307Y1, SLA316Y1

Czech and Slovak

SLA335H1 -  Lifting the Iron Curtain

The class explores literary, cinematic, and theatrical experiments in the 1960s Czechoslovakia. We examine the artistic New Wave in Central Europe in the context of contemporary western cultural life. Topics include Milos Forman, Václav Havel, Milan Kundera, Alfréd Radok, Jan Grossman, and other writers, director, and playwrites. Taught in English, readings in English.

Macedonian

There were no changes in Macedonian courses.

Polish

There were no changes in Polish courses.

Russian

SLA100Y1 Elementary Russian has been split into two half courses SLA100H1 Elementary Russian I and SLA101H1 Elementary Russian II

Slavic Linguistics

There were no changes in Slavic Linguistics courses.

Ukrainian

There were no changes in Ukrainian courses.

Finno-Ugric Studies Courses:

Estonian

There were no changes in Estonian courses.

Finnish

FIN360H1 -  Bilingualism in Finland

Bilingualism in Finland as a case study in the sociology of language. A critical survey of the historical development of language politics in Finland as a bilingual society from 1800 until present.

FIN400H1 - Translation: Finnish-English

Written translation from Finnish to English. Students will apply their textual analysis skills in translating texts drawn from diverse sources and genres, while exploring the general theory of translation. Translation exercises will serve as the basis for training in comparative Finnish-English stylistics.