The city of Moscow is a lightning rod for a country anxious to achieve material security and social justice but struggling to undo institutional and cultural barriers inherited from the past. The study group lets students witness and understand one of the twentieth century s most profound and rapid shifts in national identity and social organization. Past students report that the five months of the study group are sufficient to give them enough language capability to function independently in Russia, thus providing participants with useful skills and rich cultural experience. The study group begins in August, with a month-long program of intensive language study and acclimatization, for which students receive one course credit. Vladimir is a small, ancient city northeast of Moscow.
Students live in Russian homes, receiving three meals a day.
The host institution provides a full day of language instruction, both in the classroom and around the city. Instructors also take the group on excursions to historical and cultural sights, on picnics, and to meetings with local residents. This program is designed to make students who have no previous Russian able to function and work in an all-Russian environment. Students with previous Russian take more advanced language courses, but all benefit from this immersion experience before setting off together for Moscow. The host institution in Vladimir is KORA, a private academy of language instruction, with which Colgate has worked since 1996.