Becoming An Andegraund Poet: Elena Shvarts And The Literary Environment Of The Late Soviet Era,
2021
Connecticut College
Becoming An Andegraund Poet: Elena Shvarts And The Literary Environment Of The Late Soviet Era, Laura Little
Slavic Studies Faculty Publications
My dissertation focuses on Elena Shvarts (1948-2010), a Russian-language poet of the “unofficial” culture that flourished alongside state-sponsored arts in the post-war USSR. I ask how Shvarts became a leading talent of her generation in 1960s-1970s Leningrad, producing a substantial and sophisticated body of work without access to traditional print audiences. Studying Shvarts’s strategies for self-realization enhances our understanding of the forces that shaped late Soviet literature and the cultural field of dissidence from within and without. I trace her formation and rise to recognition, interweaving discussions of the political, literary, and social environment of her youth and early adulthood …
"Divine Hunger": Not Transcending Trauma In Slavenka Drakulic's The Taste Of A Man,
2021
University of South Dakota
"Divine Hunger": Not Transcending Trauma In Slavenka Drakulic's The Taste Of A Man, Carol A. Leibiger
Posters and Presentations
No abstract provided.
Flap Your Wings For Goodbye: Avian Imagery In Sasha Sokolov’S Between Dog And Wolf,
2021
Bryn Mawr College
Flap Your Wings For Goodbye: Avian Imagery In Sasha Sokolov’S Between Dog And Wolf, José Vergara
Russian Faculty Research and Scholarship
The present article explicates a selection of bird imagery in Sasha Sokolov’s second novel, Between Dog and Wolf (1980). It analyzes the author’s use of certain birds and their folkloric and mythological subtexts for symbolic purposes. In particular, he pairs his protagonists with key birds (hoopoe, lapwing, goose, magpie, albatross) to underscore aspects of their personalities, behaviors, relationships, and experiences. This ornithic imagery emphasizes how the characters cannot overcome their temptations and other base feelings to attain higher meaning and ultimately remain bound to the physical, natural world. (For a plot synopsis of Between Dog and Wolf, please consult …
Museum Representations Of Contested Spaces: The Kuril Islands,
2021
Connecticut College
Museum Representations Of Contested Spaces: The Kuril Islands, Emily Sandall
Slavic Studies Honors Papers
Since the turn of the twenty-first century, a boom of museums focused on the Ainu cultural subject has emerged in both Russia and Japan. By conceptualizing museums as nonneutral and culturally embedded productions which attempt to convey knowledge of foreign spaces to home spaces, this thesis will analyze the ways in which various museum institutions in Russia and Japan, as well as those produced by Ainu activist groups, choose to tell certain stories about the disputed Kuril Island territories and the Ainu people, and to map those stories within the broader colonial framework of the Kuril Islands dispute and indigenous …
The Contested Works Of The Bakhtin Circle: A Stylometric Investigation,
2021
Brigham Young University
The Contested Works Of The Bakhtin Circle: A Stylometric Investigation, Brittany Pheiffer Noble
Russian Language Journal
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (1895–1975) emerged in the last quarter of the twentieth century as one of the most important theorists of literature, language, and cultural theory in the West. The discovery of the thinker in the nearly immediate wake of his death dovetailed with late twentieth-century critiques of language, authorial authority, and questions around the ethics of reading and media consumption. Bakhtin’s biography fueled his popularity: his was a life largely lived on the margins of an oppressive regime, and he wrote prolifically while surviving famine, siege, exile, health problems, and an almost complete absence of professional recognition save for …
Translation In The Russian Language Classroom: Coming In From The Cold,
2021
Kent State University
Translation In The Russian Language Classroom: Coming In From The Cold, Brian James Baer, Tatyana Bystrova-Mcintyre, Irina Dzero
Russian Language Journal
For the past several decades, translation and interpreting have been largely excluded from the communicative language classroom—and not without reason. In traditional foreign language classrooms, “literal” or close translation was often used as a comprehension check or as part of a vocabulary or grammar drill, divorced from real-world context. This in turn encouraged students (and, on some rare occasions, foreign language teachers) to view language proficiency—and, by extension, translation competence—as a kind of linguistic matching game.
Reading Russian For The Disciplines: Google Translate,
2021
Brigham Young University
Reading Russian For The Disciplines: Google Translate, Richard Robin
Russian Language Journal
For many graduate students in areas such as history, economics, sociology, security policy studies, and arms control, the Russian reading requirement represents a significant barrier in terms of required coursework or reading proficiency, since Advanced-level reading proficiency at a minimum is necessary for reading in these disciplines. The question is, must that barrier be maintained? In a time when online machine translation (MT) is available on smartphones, is requiring a demonstration of L2 reading proficiency as part of the path to an advanced degree any more meaningful than requiring that statisticians be able to add up a column of figures …
Towards Intelligent Correction Of Collocational Errors In Russian L2 Academic Texts In The Cat&Kittens Writing Support Platform,
2021
Brigham Young University
Towards Intelligent Correction Of Collocational Errors In Russian L2 Academic Texts In The Cat&Kittens Writing Support Platform, Aleksandr Klimov, Olesya Kisselev, Mikhail Kopotev
Russian Language Journal
The study of academic language is driven to a large extent by the need to teach second language (L2) writers about established practices and patterns found across different genres and registers common in academic written discourse. Over the span of the past few decades, the area of academic language research has been hugely influenced by two interconnected digital approaches: computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and computational linguistics, including corpus linguistics approaches and tools.
Building Bridges With Language And Culture In Russia (Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad): Focusing On Intercultural Sensitivity,
2021
Brigham Young University
Building Bridges With Language And Culture In Russia (Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad): Focusing On Intercultural Sensitivity, Alla Kourova, Florin M. Mihai
Russian Language Journal
In our progressively globalized world, the need to build bridges between people of different languages and cultures has grown exponentially. The phrases globalization , global citizen, and increasingly interconnected world are frequently present in public discourse (Kulturel-Konak, Konak, and D’Allegro 2017). Educators can potentially play a core role in bridging linguistic and cultural gaps between people, groups, and institutions. Closing these gaps was the main goal of the Building Bridges with Language and Culture in Russia project. The project was funded by the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) program, which aims to improve US intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural …
Review: Political Russian: An Intermediate Course In Russian Language For International Relations, National Security, And Socio-Economics,
2021
University of Pennsylvania
Review: Political Russian: An Intermediate Course In Russian Language For International Relations, National Security, And Socio-Economics, Maria Alley
Russian Language Journal
The newest, seventh edition of Political Russian continues to serve the needs of students specializing in international relations, Russian affairs, politics, economics, government, national security, and related fields who wish to improve functional proficiency in reading, listening and speaking at the intermediate and advanced levels. However, the book’s reach is much wider. Several features of this course, including those new to this edition, make it a great resource for Russian-language instructors teaching a variety of courses and proficiency levels.
Connecting Through Language And Culture Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The University Of Wisconsin–Madison Russian Flagship Program,
2021
Brigham Young University
Connecting Through Language And Culture Learning During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The University Of Wisconsin–Madison Russian Flagship Program, Karen Evans-Romaine, Dianna Murphy, Anna Tumarkin, Laura Marshall, Assel Almuratova
Russian Language Journal
Research on the experiences of U.S. college students with emergency remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of human interaction and relationships for students’ learning, their satisfaction with their academic coursework, and their overall mental health and well-being. Given the centrality of interaction in second language acquisition and teaching, theCOVID-19 emergency has revealed that instructional programs in languages are uniquely positioned among all academic disciplines as potential sites for human connection in emergency and non-emergency contexts alike. This article offers a case study of how one postsecondary Russian program, the UW-Madison Russian Flagship, leveraged existing affordances in the …
From Blended Learning To Emergency Remote And Online Teaching: Successes, Challenges, And Prospects Of A Russian Language Program Before And During The Pandemic,
2021
Brigham Young University
From Blended Learning To Emergency Remote And Online Teaching: Successes, Challenges, And Prospects Of A Russian Language Program Before And During The Pandemic, Olga Klimova
Russian Language Journal
This paper reports on students’ perceptions of their learning experiences in this crisis-driven environment. It explores engagement at the behavioral, emotional, cognitive, agentic, and social levels. This exploration of the various levels of engagement adds to the view of engagement as a multidimensional concept whose various levels are often interconnected. They were complemented by an application of engagement facilitators and deterrents across the levels. This approach established categories that should be considered in a remote environment: interest; learning support; learner agency and autonomy; emotions; technology and external factors; social interaction; and social connection (see Table 1). The results have implications …
Language Gains In Intensive Synchronous Online And Face-To-Face Russian Immersion Programs: A Comparison,
2021
Brigham Young University
Language Gains In Intensive Synchronous Online And Face-To-Face Russian Immersion Programs: A Comparison, Jason Merrill, Evgeny Dengub, Dmitrii Pastushenkov
Russian Language Journal
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most domestic language programs had to transition quickly to teaching online, often as emergency remote teaching, and many likely will retain some online offerings after the health crisis. This study’s goal was to compare the language gains of students in two intensive Russian summer language programs: 2019 face-to-face immersion and 2020 intensive synchronous online. Testing data included the results of entrance and exit oral, writing, and lexico-grammatical tests from 125 students in the face-to-face program and 59 students in the online program. The analyses revealed comparable learning gains in the 2019 and 2020 programs for …
Make Me Talk: A Bichronous Russian Language Course For Beginners,
2021
Brigham Young University
Make Me Talk: A Bichronous Russian Language Course For Beginners, Olga Garabrandt, Irina Six
Russian Language Journal
This article reports on a new bichronous (combination of synchronous and asynchronous) online Russian course at the University of Kansas that was offered for the first time in Fall 2020. The article explains the key course development principles that guided the choice of the course structure, the types of activities, and the style of instruction. The article reports on teaching and assessment practices that worked well in the context of this course and could possibly serve as models for those planning to offer asynchronous and bichronous language courses. Additionally, the article summarizes the main outcomes of implementing the new bichronous …
Teaching Russian To Visually Impaired Students During Covid-19: Technological Tools, Teaching Strategies, And Digital Materials,
2021
Brigham Young University
Teaching Russian To Visually Impaired Students During Covid-19: Technological Tools, Teaching Strategies, And Digital Materials, Giorgia Pomarolli
Russian Language Journal
With the transition of traditional programs to emergency remote teaching contexts due to the COVID-19 crisis, we have been faced with a challenge that primarily concerns access to instruction for all students. This unprecedented situation has reshaped the issue of inclusive education. This paper aims at furthering the debate on inclusive distance education in Russian language learning by presenting the experience of teaching Russian as a foreign language (FL) at an elementary level to a group of 20 Italian native learners, including some who are visually impaired (VI). The course took place in Autumn 2020 and was originally planned as …
Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic: Boosting Student Engagement,
2021
Brigham Young University
Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic: Boosting Student Engagement, Anna Kolesnikova
Russian Language Journal
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped education in previously unimaginable ways. The shift from traditional face-to-face settings to online challenged instructors to create new ways to maintain and even increase student engagement. Engagement lessons from the pandemic fall into four main categories: 1) keeping students on track with course progress; 2) course design approaches that increase engagement; 3) engagement through interactive techniques; and 4) emergency-specific techniques. Many of these ideas will be applicable to post-pandemic teaching.
Using Authentic Online Resources In Russian For Stem Coursework For Novice Through Superior Level Learners,
2021
Brigham Young University
Using Authentic Online Resources In Russian For Stem Coursework For Novice Through Superior Level Learners, Molly Thomasy Blasing
Russian Language Journal
This article makes a case for incorporating STEM content into Russian language courses at the Novice through Superior levels of proficiency. The author presents models of asynchronous learning activities based on authentic online resources developed for a Russian for STEM pilot course taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. These lessons can be employed in online or face-to-face courses to prepare students to speak, read, write, and understand the language of STEM fields in Russian.
Assessment Design In Online Russian Language Courses: Lessons From Covid-19,
2021
Brigham Young University
Assessment Design In Online Russian Language Courses: Lessons From Covid-19, Yuliana Gunn
Russian Language Journal
This article examines various tools, approaches, and strategies for conducting language assessments in an online environment for all language levels during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. To complement tools available through the learning management system, online assessments can be retooled to be more communicative and interactive tasks, and measure language gains across the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational). This article argues for increasing transparency in online classrooms and provides insights into initial student receptiveness and preferences for these new online assessments through an examination of anonymous student survey results.
Memes: Learning, Bonding, And Emotional Support In Times Of Covid-19,
2021
Brigham Young University
Memes: Learning, Bonding, And Emotional Support In Times Of Covid-19, Valentina Vinokurova
Russian Language Journal
The COVID-19 pandemic has created various challenges for language teachers. For instance, the online teaching/learning environment makes it difficult to create peer-to-peer relations in the classroom and to engage students in learning (in or outside of class). Furthermore, many students today have difficulties focusing on school assignments because they are emotionally affected by the pandemic. This paper proposes that memes can be part of the answer to these issues. Memes, a new internet genre, typically involve a witty juxtaposition of image and text that expresses their creators’ emotions about a widely relatable situation. This paper discusses a pedagogical innovation in …
Afterword: Looking To The Future After The Pandemic,
2021
Brigham Young University
Afterword: Looking To The Future After The Pandemic, Cynthia L. Martin
Russian Language Journal
1. Introduction At the time of publication of this special issue of Russian Language Journal, most language programs will have been teaching remotely or in a hybrid format for more than a year. This volume is a testament to the collective effort of administrators and instructors determined not to lose sight of the opportunities to learn from the pandemic and the emergency transition to remote learning. Although students are not represented here as authors, they contributed to these efforts, and hence they figure prominently in every article of the volume. Initial expectations for learning outcomes for them for online teaching …
