Instructor Robert Beard Office 241 Vaughan Literature Office Hours MWF 2:00-3:00 or by appointment Telephone 524-1336 rbeard@bucknell.edu 1998-1999 Russian Course Schedule Russian 270, Reading 'Pravda', is designed (1) to develop the habit of following the daily news, (2) to acquire a familiarity with the vocabulary and syntax of the Russian media, and (3) to draw insights into the economic, political, and social activities of Russian from the Russian media. It focuses on printed media, both newspapers and online media resources, but radio and television coverage is used when available. The course is divided into three distinct parts:
During the first month fully glossed old and current articles from Pravda, Izvestia, Nezavisimaja gazeta, and Argumenty i Fakty will be read, translated, and discussed in class. The purpose of this section is to acquaint participants with the vocabulary and syntax of the Russian media.
During the second month only new and difficult vocabulary items will be glossed and in class articles will only be discussed, not translated. Only current articles will be read during this period.
At the beginning of the final month of class, each participant will select a prominent topic in the news and follow that topic in both the Russian and North American press. During this month each student will make a report on his or her reading approximately every other day, depending on the size of the group. This topic will then serve as the basis for the final term project, a paper analyzing this topic and comparing the Russian and North American reporting on it.
In order to focus the readings on topical subjects, the assignments are selected and prepared by the instructor as the course progresses. The initial assignments are standard assignments from old newspapers, selected and designed to acquaint the student with news style. Later articles will be selected from the current press and therefore will be distributed during the class meeting prior to the one on which the assignment is due. The final grade is based primarily on class participation and the final project; however, periodic homework exercises will also be assigned and graded.
The Study Plan
Week 1 Reading & translation from Russian press Week 2 Reading & translation from Russian press Week 3 Reading & translation from Russian press Week 4 Reading & translation from Russian press Week 5 Reading & discussion of Russian press Week 6 Reading & discussion of Russian press Week 7 Reading & discussion of Russian press Week 8 Reading & discussion of Russian press Week 9 Reading & discussion of Russian press Week 10 Reading & reporting on term projects Week 11 Reading & reporting on term projects Week 12 Reading & reporting on term projects Week 13 Reading & reporting on term projects Week 14 Reading & reporting on term projects The only Russian radio currently available is the Voice of Russia World Service, which is broadcast via RealAudio over the Web. The site may be accessed from the Russian News Resources page of the Bucknell Russian Program website. The link is the "Novosti" button below.
The World Wide Web provides a much broader range of news coverage from Russian and the NIS than has previously been available. An important purpose of this course is to familiarize participants with the news available on the Web and develop the habit of accessing them on a regular basis. To that end much of the material of the course will be taken from Web sites throughout Russia and each day students will be expected to report on the headlines of at least one Russian newspaper, radio, or TV news program.
The granddaddy of them all, Izvestia was formerly the newspaper of the Russian government. Even though it is now privately run, it remains the best source of political news in Russia. Subscription information will be provided if you press "cancel". Other Russia On-line newspapers and magazines may be found here.
Additional political news, including the results of the 1995 election and the 1996 presidential and local campaigns, is available here. Because the political system has changed as much as the economic system since the second revolution, we will be following political as well as economic and other social events closely in the course. Some of the questions which will arise are: What are the chances for democracy in Russia? What sort of capitalism will arise, if any? How are these revolutionary changes affecting the lives of the people of Russia? What sort of opportunities are there for Russian majors? We're here to find out.
The Russian evening news Vremya used to be available at Bucknell on the campus cable Channel 44. The news from Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine was also broadcast daily. The 1996 SCOLA Schedule may be found here. I'll check to see if it is still valid
