At the end of most reading selections students write a composition on the theme of the work. Towards the end of the course, as students gain in proficiency, retelling is deemphasized in favor of broad ranging discussions and debates and the writing of summaries is abandoned entirely. The goals of the course are to develop a keener awareness of literary texts, to develop the ability to organize verbal material, and to increase the ability to express oneself in Russian. If it becomes necessary, the instructor of the course reserves the right to give translation quizzes and questions on the assigned texts. For cultural and linguistic variety, a moviescript is read.
Class is conducted in Russian.
R406 begins with a brief introduction to Russian literary terminology. Two short critical articles are read to expose students to the terminology of Russian literary criticism. The focus in the course is not on translation, but on literary anaylsis and self-expression. To this end, students are asked throughout the course to retell short stories in class and to write out a brief summary of reading assignments. At the end of each reading selection students write a composition about the theme.