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Information Session: Tuesday, November 18, 12:00, New Commons 211

Russia, the largest country in the world, encompasses a broad array of landscapes, cultures, and ethnic histories. This program gives Bates students a unique opportunity to experience contemporary Russia both on and off the beaten track: the program will be based in St. Petersburg, Peter the Great's elegant, cosmopolitan capital, known as Russia's "window to Europe." Travel to Siberia, Moscow and several other locations will deepen students' sense of the diversity and complexity of post-Soviet Russia. Coursework will explore the opportunities and challenges of contemporary political, economic and cultural life, exploring how Russians' sense of self and national identity is shaped by history, place and rapid change. Field trips, study projects, and interactions with host families will help students gain a deeper sense of where this great "Eurasian" country has been, and where it is headed.

The program begins in late August, with three weeks of intensive language study in St. Petersburg. In mid-September we travel five time zones east to Irkutsk, a city founded in the 17th century when Russian trappers made their way across Siberia. Classes on the shore of Lake Baikal, at the biological station at Bol'shie Koty, will combine natural history, an introduction to local indigenous cultures, and continued work in Russian language. We might even learn the Hymn to Baikal. In late September we'll return to St. Petersburg to begin the regular semester classes. Our academic home is the Nevskii Institute of Language and Culture, where you will have the opportunity to meet and socialize with Russian university students. During this time, students will live in homestays with Russian families. An early November trip to Moscow will give students a chance to experience a city fast-tracking its way to status as a major world capital of finance, culture and politics. While in Moscow, we will take a day trip to the estate of Leo Tolstoy. A Thanksgiving trip to Novgorod, the 9th century city to the south of Petersburg, will give students a chance to experience one of Russia's most beautiful, and well-preserved, medieval sites. The program ends by mid-December.

The Courses

Identity and place in contemporary Russia. Jane Costlow (Russian and Environmental Studies)
How does where you are affect who you are? This course explores Russian identity as it relates to place. The city itself is our classroom with regular on-site/on-street explorations. We consider both classic and contemporary works of art, literature, music, and film. Students produce their own "writing about place" for a final project.

Russian Political Economy. Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir (Politics)
Over the past two decades, the political economy of Russia has undergone a fundamental transformation from a centrally planned economy to becoming more market oriented. This change has simultaneously been accompanied by a political transformation that is still being played out as this vast country sheds its communist past. The course introduces the political and economic features of the centralized planned economy to set the stage for discussing the challenges and successes of this transformation. Topics include the political implications of Russia’s reliance on natural resources, the transformation of industry and the emerging financial sector as well as Russia’s increasing importance in international affairs.

Language Courses
Students earn two course credits for study of the Russian language. Courses at all levels of language instruction are taught by native speakers in small classes. All courses aim to improve rapidly the skills of comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. Homestays further reinforce students' conversational Russian skills, and their understanding of daily life and culture in today's Russia.

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