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Serbian Studies

The living Serbian language, literature and culture, studied in depth through up-to-date information about historical developments and their contemporary relevance, comprise the subject of this program.

Serbian Language Courses

The language taught is the Serbian literary language officially used in the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Montenegro, the Republic of Srpska and by Serbs living in some other republics and provinces of the region, as well as by Serbian immigrants around the world. Instruction is provided with the assistance of a native speaking, university-trained professional language teacher using the most recent language teaching materials published in
Serbia.

Two tiers of language instruction are offered. Elementary Serbian Language (SLA207Y) meets the needs of students for beginning or remedial grammar study. Advanced Serbian Language (SLA307Y) is for students who wish to attain or maintain a level of nuanced, sophisticated competence, particularly in spoken Serbian. Primary emphasis in all courses is on perfecting oral and written communication.

Serbian Language Placement Test

Please be advised that students enrolled in Serbian language courses beyond the Elementary level, who did not take SLA207Y, must take the Serbian Language Placement Test.

Students enrolling in SLA207Y may be required to take a placement test if the student has any prior knowledge of Serbian.

The purpose of this test is to assess each student's language skills and to place them in the correct course level. Students should be advised that placement is at the discretion of the department.

Students may write the Placement test on Friday August 28th from 10 am -12 pm in Alumni Hall room 402. Please remember to bring a pen.

Please contact the department to notify us of your intent to write the placement test.

Serbian Literature and Culture Courses

Offerings in Serbian literature and culture include aspects of humanistic and scientific thought, ranging from a course in Serbian intellectual history to courses in specific art forms--prose fiction, plays and theatre life, and poetry. Lectures and readings are in English. All primary works are provided in the Serbian original. Discussions may be conducted in Serbian, as well as in English.

Serbian Cultural History (SLA217Y) is a year-long survey from the pre-historical origins of the Serbs and their migration to southeastern Europe until the 21st century. Delving into Serbian life and thought, this course is richly illustrated with audio and visual examples of the nation's accomplishments in architecture, dance, drama, film. law, literature, music, painting, sculpture, and theatre. No prior knowledge of Serbian is required.

Courses in which plays, novels, short stories, and folklore are studied focus on original texts in Serbian, with English translations provided. These include The Balkan Short Story (SLA327H), Political Drama from Dubrovnik to the Danube (SLA337H) and South Slavic Folklore (SLA347H). The course in Modern Serbian Bards (SLA417H) is a modern spiritual biography of Serbia viewed through the lives and works of the nation's premiere poets over the past 100 years. Knowledge of Serbian is useful but not required.

Serbian Studies Programs

In the seven courses described here the goal is to perfect communication skills and comprehension of culture patterns. Students not only learn about the unique heritage of the Serbs; they also learn to recognize and reproduce features of that heritage in a Serbian manner.

Because the Serbian homeland is located in a strategically vital and controversial region, standing on the "imperial" land routes between East and West and bridging the Danubian waterways between the ancient world and modern Europe, certain other courses in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, as well as in the Department of History and the Department of Political Science, are relevant to this field and may be used to fulfill requirements in the Serbian Studies degree programs.

Students may choose from two programs in Serbian Studies.

The Major Program (B.A.) requires completion of 6 full courses or their equivalent.

1. In language: SLA207Y or equivalent knowledge, SLA307Y.
2. In literature and culture: SLA217Y, SLA327H, SLA337H, SLA347H, SLA417H.
3. Additional courses, if needed, from groups A, B, and C: Group A, Slavic: SLA330Y Old Church Slavonic, SLA227Y, SLA407H. Group B, History: HIS251Y History of East Central Europe. Group C, Political Science: POL440Y Politics and Governments of Eastern Europe.

The Minor Program (B.A.) requires completion of 4 full courses or their equivalent from the offerings listed in the major program.

Serbian Studies and your career

Serbian Studies are based on the humanities and social sciences. Your university degree in many areas will be enhanced when combined with a concentration in this field. Serbian Studies will help prepare you for language and culture related careers in

Business and Communications,
Computer Science and Commerce
Government and Law,
Criminology and Health Care
Journalism, Film and Theatre,
Public Relations and Publishing,
Teaching and Education,
Travel and Tourism,
Science and Technology.

A degree combining Serbian Studies and another field of the arts or science will help you gain the global perspective needed to compete and work at the international level. There are good opportunities with non-governmental organizations in today's developing Serbia. The Serbs' rich national history and traditions offer fertile ground for understanding the intricate network of cultural relations that unites the human family.

Serbian Courses

SLA207Y1 Elementary Serbian

Basic phonology, orthography, morphology and syntax. Development of practical language skills--reading, writing, listening, speaking--with simple texts, compositions, life situation dialogues, and dictations. (Offered in alternate years)

SLA217Y1 - Serbian Cultural History (formerly SLA217H)

A survey of Serbian culture in literature, science, philosophy, film and the fine arts during two millennia of European history. The legacy of the Byzantine and Roman Empires; the medieval Serbian kingdom; Serbs in the Baroque Enlightenment; the Serbian Insurrections and national rebirth; Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism. Readings in English with accompanying original texts in Serbian.
Exclusion: SLA217H

SLA307Y1 - Advanced Serbian

Application of orthographic rules to word formation and the syntax of compound sentences. Perfection of language usage through exercises in translation, composition, and oral expression. Extensive readings from contemporary Serbian authors. (Offered in alternate years)
Prerequisite: SLA207Y or equivalent knowledge of the language

SLA327H1 - The Balkan Short Story

Studies of short works written since 1950. Focus on current trends -- the Second Moderna, Jeans Prose, Post-Modernism, Hyperfiction -- and innovative fiction by Andric, Bulatovic, Desnica, Kis, Marinkovic, Novak, Pavic, Selimovic, and others. Readings in English with accompanying texts in the original.

SLA337H1 - Political Drama from Dubrovnik to the Danube

The development of theatre traditions as reflected in dramatic masterworks from the Renaissance to the present. Plays by Drzic, Gundulic, Sterija Popovic, Vojnovic, Nusic, Krleza, Snajder, Simovic, and others. Readings in English with accompanying texts in the original.

SLA347H1 - South Slavic Folklore

Ethnographic, generic and stylistic study of the customs, oral lore and native traditions among pagan, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Moslem Slavs. Study of the role of folklore in the ethnogenesis of national culture. Proverbs, myths, legends, folktales, lyric songs and heroic epics. Readings in English with accompanying genre texts in the original.

SLA417H1 - Modern Serbian Bards (formerly SLA407H)

Verse since 1900 by the major poets of the nation. Focus on poetics, versification and literary history of the Serbian Moderna, Surrealism, and other Avant-Garde movements in Serbia up to the present. Works by Santic, Ducic, Popa, Pavlovic, Balasevic and others. Readings in Serbian and English.