Syllabus

Table of Contents

Course Information

Spring 2019

LR 445 – Russian in Boston: Advanced Experiential Russian

Time and Place: Mon,Wed 2:30pm 4:15pm COM 217

Prof. Svitlana Malykhina

svitlana@bu.edu

Office hours MW 11:15 — 12:15 and by appointment

STH 605 (745 Comm Ave.)

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

In Advanced Experiential Russian, students increase their proficiency in Russian (in speaking, listening, reading, and writing) by using their skills both in the classroom and in a real-world setting. This course is comprised of three components. First: discussion of major Russian texts that depict the Russian Émigré experience. Second: community service and for the opportunity to use language skills (Russian-English-Russian) at Russian-speaking community sites in Boston. Third: working on collaborative projects that are relevant to students’ interests and academic/professional goals and development.
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ELIGIBILITY AND WORK LOAD

The course is designed for both heritage and second-language learners, 300 and 400 classes in Russian. As a minimum, all students are expected to start the class at Intermediate-Mid oral proficiency level on the ACTFL scale.This is a Russian-dominant, bilingual course. All classes will be conducted in Russian with occasional forays into English.

This course consists of 2 seminars per week and “lab,” which is visiting partnership sites for community-service work.
105 min x 2 per week (=3.5 hour per week) spent for seminars: 52 hours (apr. 30%). Time spending on meeting with community partners is 3 hours per week for 12 weeks = 36 hours. 54 hours (apr. 30%) spent working on case studies and presentations of the interviews. Conferences with Instructor: 6 hours minimum. Time spent commenting/reading discussion boards/conferences with instructor: 30 hours. Time spent preparing Final project: 20 hours.

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GETTING HELP AT THE MUGAR LIBRARY

Digital Scholarship Librarian: Vika Zafrin, PhD

Some of the skills you will acquire in this course are technical — video and audio recording. BU Digital Scholarship Librarian Vika Zafrin will help you in this process by being available during one of our class sessions for questions about your technical setup assignment.

Working with a librarian is an excellent way to get the assistance you need to complete your assignments. A Reference Librarian can help you to find more information, to acquire research skills through advanced search techniques, identify relevant databases and open access materials and provide assistance with integrating and citing sources.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

To meet Learning Outcome for the Individual in Community students

  • reflect in-depth on diverse cultural perspectives, including their own;
  • – reflect on hands-on, real-time experiences in community organizations (like Ulin House) and in teamwork with Russian emigres;

    • To meet the learning outcomes for Teamwork/Collaboration students

  • participate in team collaboration with Digital Scholarship Librarian, community partners and with each other; practice opportunities in class sessions;
  • conduct interviews, transcribe them, translate and analyze in collaboration with instructors and interviewees;
  • develop skills in teamwork; independent thinking and leadership; critical thinking; flexibility; organization (managing multiple responsibilities effectively);

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GRADING

Your grade will be based on the following components:

  1. Participation and Attendance (10%)
  2. Meeting with community partners and conducting interviews in Russian, transcribing and translating into English, and archiving on the course WordPress site (20%)
  3. 4 Vocabulary Quizzes based on curated word lists on Google Doc (5%)
  4. Conferences with Instructor (5%)
  5. Oral Presentations and in-class discussions (15%)
  6. Proficiency tests in Russian at the start and end of the course (5%)
  7. Reading and Blog writing in Book Club (20%)
  8. Final Team Research Project (15%)
  9. Culture Pass (5%)

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ASSESSMENT

In addition to course evaluation forms, students will be asked to complete a self-assessment questionnaire addressing their progress (with the option to remain anonymous.) All forms will be made available on online. Entries might focus on topics such as: progress towards course goals; learning moments from the course; skills used and acquired; connections between classroom reading and the dialogues with subjects; a challenging or stressful situation that you had to manage; how the course is helping you to define your career goals/values; research activities that pertain to the course.

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CLASS POLICIES

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Learning and testing accommodation

Boston University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability, you should contact me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, contact the Office of Disability Services at access@bu.edu and 617-353-3658. Letters of accommodations should be presented as soon as possible to ensure that student needs are addressed from the start of the course.

Learn more at http://www.bu.edu/disability/

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Academic Conduct

All members of the University are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity; we have the same expectations of each other in this course. We take the issue of plagiarism seriously and expect all the work you do in this course to be your own. If you have questions about what plagiarism is and how it differs from the appropriate use of other people’s work, speak with your instructor or consult the Academic Conduct Code at http://bu.edu/academics/cas/policies/academic-conduct.

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