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Department Highlights

Polish Culture Night

On May 23, 2022, the Polish American Student Alliance (PASA) hosted its annual Polish Culture Night. In addition to eating tasty Polish food and playing some Poland-related trivia games, students enjoyed a performance by the Polonia Polish Folk Song & Dance Ensemble. If you’re interested in joining PASA or want to know more about the Department’s Polish language and culture course offerings, please contact Prof. Michał Wilczewski at michal.wilczewski@northwestern.edu

Message from the Chair

The entire world is focused on the horrific war on civilians Russia is waging in Ukraine. As scholars in Slavic, we feel a special obligation to serve as a resource in this difficult time. One of our highest obligations is to education: we are committed to supporting all students, scholars, and institutions in Ukraine and Russia who oppose and are suffering the consequences of Putin's aggression and repression. Ani Kokobobo, a Tolstoy scholar and immigrant from eastern Europe, offers a helpful perspective on the devastating impact of war on education.

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Study Polish with Professor Wilczewski

Now is the perfect time to take Polish Studies courses at Northwestern! Between the Slavic Department’s rich course offerings in Polish language, literature, culture, film, and history, and Chicago's deep Polish cultural heritage, there are so many opportunities to embrace and connect with Polish culture.

Polish Course Info

Pysanky Workshop Reception

Thank you to all who joined us as students showcased the Pysanky art they created during a three day workshop with Ukrainian Pysanky Artist Janet Hundrieser and Professor Michał Wilczewski. Made possible by the generosity of the Irwin & Vivian M. Weil Foundation, the Council on Language Instruction, SelfReliance Federal Credit Union, and the Ukrainian Gift Shop.

Students cheer on the Chicago Fire

On Saturday, May 14, 2022, Prof. Michał Wilczewski and students from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures attended Polish Heritage Night at the Chicago Fire FC game at Soldier Field.

Two NU Slavic Ph.D.'s have new books out!

Katia Bowers has just published Writing Fear: Russian Realism and the Gothic at U. of Toronto Press and Jenny Kaminer's book Haunted Dreams: Fantasies of Adolescence in Post-Soviet Culture recently came out from Cornell.

Professor Martina Kerlova Promoted

Congratulations to Professor Martina Kerlova on her promotion to Professor of Instruction! This is very well-deserved and recognizes her essential contributions to our department and students.

Anna Netrebko DRs Koncerthus” by Simon Wedege Petersen

Professors and students discuss recent Russian cultural bans

Isabela Lisco,

May. 31, 2022

In March, the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra in Wales canceled a performance of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, saying it felt “inappropriate.” The orchestra’s decision is one of several worldwide actions against musicians and artists with Russian cultural connections.

“We don’t stop playing Beethoven because of Hitler,” said Gary Saul Morson, a Northwestern Russian literature professor who opposed the ban.

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Our Programs

Undergraduate

We offer beginning, intermediate and advanced Russian and Polish (and, less often, beginning and intermediate Czech), in addition to Russian and East European literature and film courses. Many of our students are double majors, or are pursuing a minor in Russian and East European Studies to complement their studies. Many of our majors and minors have studied abroad in Russia, Poland or the Czech Republic.

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Graduate

Our PhD program ranks among the best in the country. We offer individual attention and the opportunity to pursue a personalized program by way of coursework taken outside the department. Students specialize in Russian literature, but our faculty also includes specialists in Polish, Czech and South Slavic literatures and cultures. Our greatest strengths are in Russian prose and poetry, literary theory, and in the social and intellectual context of literary works.

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Undergraduate Student Excellence

Congratulations to our award winners!

RUSSIAN HERITAGE SPEAKER AWARD

Liza Dreyer

KULTURA I LINGVISTIKA HONOR IN RUSSIAN WINNERS

KULTURA I LINGWISTYKA HONOR IN POLISH WINNERS

Kasia Ostrowski & Robert Pritchard

IRWIN WEIL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ESSAYS IN SLAVIC LITERATURES AND CULTURES

Magda Slowakiewicz & Piper Fishkind

IRWIN WEIL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE SLAVIC PROJECT

Coby Resnick

Graduate Student Excellence

Congratulations to our outstanding graduate students

Slavic Departmental Awards

IRWIN WEIL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING - LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Daniel Lee

Ryan Serrano

IRWIN WEIL AWARD FOR RUSSIAN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Nadia Vinogradova

IRWIN WEIL AWARD FOR FIRST TIME TEACHING ASSISTANT

Elena Poiata

External Awards

Adam Willson on the receipt of a scholarship to Middlebury's language program

Anastasiia Simferovska on the receipt of the Crown Graduate fellowship and the Northwestern Holocaust Educational Foundation Teaching Grant to teach her own course "Document-Image-Text:The Holocaust in East European Art and Literatures." She plans to teach this course at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine) in the academic year 2022-2023.

Joint Statement of Opposition to Banning Scholars Based on Citizenship

The statement below, along with its translation in Ukrainian and Russian, can found on the ASEEES website.

As international professional associations that foster the study of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian peoples and cultures, ASEEES, BASEES, and AATSEEL* are committed to promoting international communication among scholars of all countries and identities across the humanities and social sciences. Open exchange and mutual respect among our members are fundamental to our principles.

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Upcoming Events

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Latest News

Professor Martina Kerlova Promoted to Professor of Instruction

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DEPARTMENT OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

Slavic Languages and Literatures