91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

Russian Language & Literature

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Russian major, a student will have demonstrated that they are able to:

  • execute a systematic and sustained research project;
  • choose and define a complex topic from the major field;
  • develop and pursue a critical method appropriate to the research topic;
  • independently investigate that topic with the support of an advisor;
  • analyze works of literature, film, and other media, including through close reading;
  • use appropriate secondary sources as part of that analysis;
  • produce an original and well-informed scholarly work in the form of a senior thesis;
  • achieve advanced competence in written and oral Russian, sufficient to carry out such research project;
  • be able to analyze and interpret a range of Russian or Russophone literary and cultural texts;
  • write a clear and coherent document that is substantially longer than a traditional term paper or project;
  • present, discuss and defend their work orally.

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at 91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis; the junior qualifying examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a second assessment tool. For more information on the thesis, the Junior Qualifying Exam and the Russian academic program in general, see Russian Home and The Major and the Minor.