DEPARTMENT OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, Vladimir Kara-Murza discussed "Putin and the Struggle for Free Expression in Russia" through an online talk with Northwestern students and faculty.

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian democracy activist, politician, author, and filmmaker. He was a longtime colleague of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Twice, in 2015 and 2017, Kara-Murza was poisoned with an unknown substance and left in a coma; the attempts on his life were widely viewed as politically motivated. Currently, he is a vice president of the Free Russia Foundation and a senior fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. 

This event was sponsored by the Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies (REEES) Research Program.

This past summer, Jillian Pignataro was awarded the Critical Languages Scholarship, a fully-funded immersive language program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and American Councils for International Education. Typically conducted abroad, this year’s program was adapted to an online format where Jillian had the opportunity to strengthen her Russian language skills, broaden her cultural knowledge, and build professional connections. Congratulations, Jillian!

Dear Students,

Welcome to Fall quarter at NU!  You may now book appointments with Slavic faculty using this link.  For more information and updates, contact Martina Kerlova, Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Sign up for appointment

Also, please join us via Zoom on Thursday, September 3rd, 3-4pm CST to meet informally with faculty.  Please email m-kerlova@northwestern.edu to obtain the invitation link.

Congratulations to Professor Kinga Kosmala (left), who has been promoted to Associate Professor of Instruction!  And congratulations to Professor Nina Gourianova (right) who has been promoted to full Professor.  We are thrilled to have such talented professionals teaching in the Slavic Department!

Best wishes to our 2020 graduates - please stay in touch!

Congratulations to our two Slavic majors who are graduating this spring:

• Emily Andrey (Slavic and Art History major, Chemistry minor)
• Jacob Summers (Slavic major)

ALSO...

Congratulations to our Russian and East European Studies minors:

• Nell Borys (Biological Sciences major)
• Katherine Hunt (Communication Studies major)
• Margaret (Meg) Maddox (Political Science major)
• Ben Markstone (Economics and Statistics major)
• Clayton Mills (RTVF major)
• Kjetil Odden (Earth and Planetary Sciences major)
• Katherine (Kasia) Przybyl (Neuroscience major)
• Olivia Pura (Biological Sciences major) 

Thinking of becoming a major or minor in Slavic/Russian and East European Studies? 

The Undergraduate Studies and Advising information within the Spring 2020 Covid-19 Weinberg website has been updated with the new declaration forms.  The major/minor declaration forms and instructions can be found under “Forms and Processes for Spring Quarter 2020” here:

https://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/coronavirus-information/undergraduate-studies-advising/

During Spring Quarter, we had hoped to promote three talks on US-Russia relations and politics.  All events were placed on hold because of the coronavirus situation, but, fortunately, these were rescheduled via Zoom.

These events were planned by the NU Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies (REEES) Research Program.  REEES supports research, teaching, and outreach by organizing speaker series, workshops, and conferences and featuring NU faculty and graduate student scholarship, exhibits, and art.

• John Beyrle is the former US Ambassador to Russia (2008-2012) and current Chairman of the Board of the US-Russia Foundation.  His talk was planned for Harris L07 on April 23 at 5:30pm.
• Steven Karl Pifer was the third United States Ambassador to Ukraine (1998 to 2000) and is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe as well as the Director of Brookings' Arms Control Initiative.  His talk, Don't Let New START Die, was planned for May 7 at noon, location TBA.
• Eliot Borenstein from NYU was to discuss his new book -- Plots against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy after Socialism--on May 29 at 1pm, location TBA.

The Russian Language Table meets in seminar room 3364 at 5:00pm every other week starting Wednesday, January 22nd.  Future dates winter quarter are: 2/26, 3/4 and 3/18.  Slavic grad students Max Gordon and Nadia Vinogradova lead the conversations.  All students welcome!  Come practice Russian in an informal setting and enjoy refreshments!  Contact Professor Elisabeth Elliott for more information.

Please contact Pani Kinga for information on Polish classes and events.

Professor Robin Miller from Brandeis University will be presenting on March 6 for the Slavic graduate students and graduate applicants who are visiting Northwestern that weekend. Professor Miller is Edytha Macy Gross Professor of Humanities and Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature. She specializes in 19th century Russian fiction and is currently working on "Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and the Small of This World."