Catalog

Academics > Catalog > 2004-2006 > Courses of Instruction > GREA

German, Russian and East Asian Languages and Literature

Students of German, Russian, and East Asian languages and literatures gain particular insight into peoples whose lives are in the process of unprecedented change. The curricula in Chinese, Japanese, German, and Russian emphasize the interconnections of society, culture, and language. They assert the vitality of traditions challenged and invigorated by change, and the importance of attaining fluency not just in language but in the nuances of cultural understanding. The department offers majors in Chinese, German, Japanese, and Russian language and literature. More information on the German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literatures department is available on the Web site (www.bates.edu/GREA.xml).

Secondary Concentration

A secondary concentration can be pursued in all languages offered. Application for a secondary concentration should be made to the chair of the department. A secondary concentration requires a minimum of seven courses in the given language (or six courses and a designated Short Term unit). At least one of the seven courses must involve a study of literature or culture (taught either in the language or in translation), but only one course in translation may be counted toward the concentration. A student may petition to have up to three comparable courses, completed at other institutions either in the United States or abroad, apply toward the secondary concentration. Advanced Placement courses may not be applied toward the secondary concentration.

All students, and especially majors, are strongly encouraged to spend an extended period of time abroad prior to graduation. Opportunities to do so include participation in the Bates Fall Semester Abroad programs in Austria, China, Japan, Germany, and Russia; junior year or junior semester abroad programs; summer sessions; and the various off-campus Short Term units sponsored by the department.

Entering students are assigned to the appropriate level in language courses according to the following criteria: their performance on a SAT II or Advanced Placement Test of the College Entrance Examination Board taken in secondary school, relative proficiency based on length of previous study, and/or after consultation with an appropriate member of the department.

Literatures and Cultures in Translation

While the department emphasizes the importance of acquiring the fluency needed to study literature and culture in the original, many courses are offered in translation. See listings under individual languages for detailed descriptions of these courses.

CHI 207. Traditional Chinese Literature in Translation.
CHI 209. Modern China through Film and Fiction.
CHI 210. Masculinity and Criminality in Chinese Literature and Cinema.
CHI 211. Film and Chinese Modernity.
CHI 261. Self and Society in Chinese Culture: Classics and Folk Tales.
AS/CI 325. Modern Chinese Literature and Lu Xun.
CHI s30. Chinese Calligraphy and Etymology.

GER 254. Berlin and Vienna, 1900-1914.
GER 290. Nietzsche, Kafka, Goethe.
GER s24. Monsters: Imagining the Other.
GER s25. The German Cinema.

AS/JA 125. Japanese Literature and Society.
AS/JA 130. Japanese Film.
AS/JA 210. Heterogeneous Japan.
JA/WS 255. Modern Japanese Women Writers.
ES/JA 290. Nature in East Asian Literature.
JPN 310. The Waylaying of the Warrior: The Myth of the Samurai in Japanese Culture.
ES/JA 320. Haiku and Nature in Japan.
JPN s25. Haiku Poetry.
JPN s26. Japanese Popular Culture.
JPN s27. Hiroshima and Other Disasters.

ES/RU 216. "Nature" in Russian Culture.
RUSS 240. Women and Russia.
RUSS 270. Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature.
RUSS 271. Modern Russian Literature.
RUSS 275. Literature and Politics in Russia.
RUSS 276. Dostoevsky and the Culture of Crisis.
RUSS s24. Rock: The Triumph of Vulgarity.
RUSS s26. Russian and Soviet Film.

General Education

Any one Short Term unit from the Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literatures may be used as an option for the fifth humanities course.

Chinese

Cross-listed Courses

Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements

The major offers a structured sequence of instruction in language skills leading to competency in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with classical Chinese taught at the advanced level. Emphasis is also placed on familiarizing students with the rich cultural heritage of China's 4,000-year history, which is transmitted and embodied by the native language of more than one billion people. The department strongly recommends that majors spend their junior year at any departmentally recognized study-abroad program in mainland China and/or Taiwan. Students wishing to pursue a broadly based, interdisciplinary study of East Asia should consult the listings for the East Asian studies major in the Program in Asian Studies.

The major consists of a minimum of twelve courses that must include: a) Chinese 101-102, 201-202, 301-302, or the equivalent; b) Chinese 207; c) three courses from the following: Chinese 209, 210, 261, s24, s30, First-Year Seminar 280, or History 374, d) either Chinese 401 or 415; and e) a senior thesis project, Chinese 457 or 458, completed in the senior year. Students are expected to utilize some source materials in Chinese in conducting research for the thesis. Qualified students are encouraged to write in Chinese. Note that students may petition the department to have courses taken in their study-abroad program applied toward the fulfillment of requirements a) and c).

Pass/Fail Grading Option

Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

CHI 101. Beginning Chinese I.

An introduction to spoken and written modern Chinese. Conversation and comprehension exercises in the classroom and laboratory provide practice in pronunciation and the use of basic patterns of speech. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff.

CHI 102. Beginning Chinese II.

A continuation of Chinese 101 with increasing emphasis on the recognition of Chinese characters. By the conclusion of this course, students know more than one quarter of the characters expected of an educated Chinese person. Classes, conducted increasingly in Chinese, stress sentence patterns that facilitate both speaking and reading. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 101. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff.

CHI 201. Intermediate Chinese.

Designed to enable students to converse in everyday Chinese and to read simple texts in Chinese (both traditional and simplified characters). Classes conducted primarily in Chinese aim at further development of overall language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao.

CHI 201-202. Intermediate Chinese.

CHI 202. Intermediate Chinese.

Designed to enable students to converse in everyday Chinese and to read simple texts in Chinese (both traditional and simplified characters). Classes conducted primarily in Chinese aim at further development of overall language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 102 Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao.

CHI 207. Traditional Chinese Literature in Translation.

An exploration of Chinese literature through reading and discussion of some of its masterworks of poetry, drama, fiction, and belles-lettres prose pieces from ancient times through the premodern era. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every year. S. Yang.

CHI 209. Modern China through Film and Fiction.

This course explores modern China through a number of short stories and feature films produced in the twentieth century, from Lu Hsun's fiction of the 1920s to recent films directed by such directors as Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee. The course focuses on ways of interpreting different cultural products of modern China, but students also gain a general knowledge of the history of modern Chinese fiction and film. All readings, lectures, and discussions are in English. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 35. Normally offered every year. S. Yang.

CHI 210. Masculinity and Criminality in Chinese Literature and Cinema.

This course introduces literary works from China in the late imperial and modern eras that represent criminality and legality, with close reference to the construction of masculine identities. Discussion focuses on the correlation between literature and society, and particularly the cultural transition from tradition to modernity since the nineteenth century. Special attention is given to law and identity in the context of the emergence of the nation-state, the ritualistic aspect of patriarchal charisma, historicization of violence, social transgression as a form of male bonding, and persecution through public storytelling. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. Staff.

CHI 211. Film and Chinese Modernity.

This course explores the role film has played in China's ongoing construction of modernity since the end of the nineteenth century. Discussion focuses not only on the social and historical context of Chinese films, but also on various kinds of cinematic languages through which Chinese filmmakers articulate their ideas, especially those involving debates concerning tradition, modernity, revolution, gender, sexuality, and national identity, as well as Chinese filmmakers' responses to constructions of the cultural "Other" in Western films. Conducted in English. Open to first year-students.New Course beginning Fall 2005. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every year. Staff.

CHI 261. Self and Society in Chinese Culture: Classics and Folk Tales.

An introduction to Chinese culture and civilization through reading and discussion of a number of classical texts of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist thought, as well as traditional tales, popular stories, and legends in which these basic philosophies are reflected. Readings and lectures are all in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. S. Yang.

CHI 301. Upper-Level Modern Chinese.

Designed for students who already have a strong background in spoken Chinese, the course gives an intensive review of the essentials of grammar and phonology, introduces a larger vocabulary and a variety of sentence patterns, improves conversational and auditory skills, and develops some proficiency in reading and writing. The course makes extensive use of short texts (both literary and nonfictional) and some films. Classes are conducted primarily in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 202. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao.

CHI 301-302. Upper-Level Modern Chinese.

CHI 302. Upper-Level Modern Chinese.

AS/CI 325. Modern Chinese Literature and Lu Xun.

This course introduces works by major modern Chinese writers, particularly Lu Xun, who was among the first to publish literary works in modern Chinese. Students explore the formation of modern Chinese literary consciousness amidst relentless colonial pressure from Western and Japanese interests, and the radical revolutionary transformations in Chinese society in the early twentieth century. Topics include gender, class, the nation-state, law, early communism, visual and material culture, rural and urban life, a new literary high culture, and entertainment. The course provides a background on the monumental historical transition that defines modern Chinese literature, as well as the critical skills to analyze and understand important aspects of Asian culture. Prerequisite(s): a course in the literature of any language. All readings are in English. Normally offered every other year. Staff.

AS/CI 330. Chinese Culture and Agrarian Society.

This course provides an introduction to contemporary scholarship on cultural and social transformations in China, beginning with the ongoing process of industrialization. Discussion and readings emphasize interdisciplinary training that draws on both humanities and social sciences, and address recent social, institutional, and representational changes that accompany the country's transformation from a rural culture to a semi-urban society. Texts include literary, historical, and cinematic works. Conducted in English. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level course on Asian literature, history, or society. Not open to students who have received credit for Chinese 130. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. Staff.

CHI 360. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Normally offered every semester. Staff.

CHI 365. Special Topics.

Designed for the small seminar group of students who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Instructor permission is required. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

CHI 401. Advanced Chinese.

This course is designed to further enhance students' ability to understand and speak idiomatic Mandarin Chinese. Included are readings of modern and contemporary literary works, journalistic writings, and other nonliterary texts. Classical texts may also be studied upon students' request. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302. Recommended background: three years or more of Chinese. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff.

CHI 402. Advanced Chinese II.

A continuation of Chinese 401. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302 or 401. Recommended background: three years of Chinese or more. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. Staff.

CHI 415. Readings in Classical Chinese.

An intensive study of classical Chinese through reading selections of ancient literary, historical, and philosophical texts in the original, including excerpts from the Analects, the Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shiji, Tang-Song prose, and poetry. Conducted in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302 or 401. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. S. Yang.

CHI 457. Senior Thesis.

An extended research or translation project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description and a tentative bibliography. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the department gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Chinese 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

CHI 457, 458. Senior Thesis.

CHI 458. Senior Thesis.

Short Term Courses

CHI s20. Beginning Chinese: Intensive.

This unit introduces students to spoken and written modern Mandarin Chinese. Conversation and comprehension exercises in the classroom and laboratory provide practice in pronunciation and the use of basic patterns of speech. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

CHI s30. Chinese Calligraphy and Etymology.

A study of Chinese calligraphy through practice in the use of the brush-pen and through analysis of the aesthetics as well as the historical development of this graphic art. Calligraphy or brushwriting (shufa in Chinese and shodo in Japanese) is considered in East Asia as a spontaneous yet premeditated act of self-expression, which embraces philosophy, religion, culture, and an artistic tradition thousands of years old. Conducted in English. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 101 or Japanese 101. Recommended background: some knowledge of Chinese characters or kanji. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. Offered with varying frequency. S. Yang.

CHI s50. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Japanese

As we enter the twenty-first century, Japanese culture and language have gained increasing visibility across the globe. Japanese is also the medium of an enduring, complex, and constantly developing culture to which the rest of the world has repeatedly turned for insight and understanding. The major in Japanese offers an opportunity for an in-depth and focused study of Japanese language and culture. The major places emphasis on the student's acquisition of oral and written language proficiency as well as on the development of cultural awareness and competency. The department strongly recommends that majors spend their junior year at the Associated Kyoto Program or some other departmentally recognized two-semester study-abroad program in Japan. Students wishing to pursue a broadly based, interdisciplinary study of East Asia should also consult the listings for the East Asian studies major in the Program in Asian Studies.

Cross-listed Courses

Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements

The major consists of a minimum of twelve courses, which must include: a) Japanese 101-102, 201-202, 301-302, or the equivalent; b) Japanese 125; c) two courses/units from the following: First-Year Seminar 247 or another first-year seminar on Japan; Japanese 210, 255, 290, s26, or another Short Term unit on Japan, Chinese s30, or Asian Studies 280; d) Asian Studies/Japanese 320 or one other 300-level seminar on Japan; e) Japanese 401; and f) a senior thesis project, Japanese 457 or 458, which may be completed independently or, for students who wish to write in Japanese, in conjunction with Japanese 402 (with thesis components). Students are expected to utilize some source materials in Japanese when conducting research for the thesis. Note that students may petition the department to have courses taken in their study-abroad program (including the Bates Fall Semester Abroad) applied toward the fulfillment of requirements a) and c).

Pass/Fail Grading Option

Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

JPN 101. Beginning Japanese I.

An introduction to the basics of spoken and written Japanese as a foundation for advanced study and proficiency in the language. Fundamental patterns of grammar and syntax are introduced together with a practical, functional vocabulary. Mastery of the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, as well as approximately 140 written characters, introduce students to the beauty of written Japanese. Normally offered every year. Staff.

JPN 101-102. Beginning Japanese I and II.

JPN 102. Beginning Japanese II.

Introduction to the basics of spoken and written Japanese as a foundation for advanced study and proficiency in the language. Fundamental patterns of grammar and syntax are introduced together with a practical, functional vocabulary. Mastery of the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, as well as approximately 140 written characters, introduce students to the beauty of written Japanese. Normally offered every year. Staff.

AS/JA 125. Japanese Literature and Society.

This course examines major trends in Japanese literature and society from its beginnings to the present. Are there features of Japanese culture that continue unchanging through time? How have ideas of what is artistically valuable been linked with ideas of what is Japanese? How valid are the claims that Japanese culture is intimately involved with the appreciation of nature and the seasons? Students examine visual, literary, and historical texts, including classical narratives and painting scrolls of aristocratic culture, early modern plays and prints of samurai and geisha, and recent stories and films exploring questions of individual and national identity. All readings are in English. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender.

AS/JA 130. Japanese Film.

This course introduces students to Japanese cinema and criticism. They consider the aesthetic style and narrative themes of films from the silent era to the present day, focusing on directors such as Ozu Yasujiro, Kurosawa Akira, and Oshima Nagisa. They explore such questions as whether there is a distinctive Japanese film style, how filmic qualities such as camera movement relate to story, and how the films relate to their particular historical and cultural moment. In addition to viewing movies, students read Japanese film history and criticism. No prior familiarity with Japan is required. Conducted in English. Normally offered every other year. M. Wender.

JPN 201. Intermediate Japanese I.

A continuation of Japanese 102, the course stresses the acquisition of new and more complex spoken patterns, vocabulary building, and increasing knowledge of cultural context through use of calligraphy, role play, video, and varied reading materials. One hundred fifty Chinese characters are introduced. A range of oral as well as written projects and exercises provide a realistic context for language use. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. K. Ofuji.

JPN 201-202. Intermediate Japanese I and II.

JPN 202. Intermediate Japanese II.

AS/JA 210. Heterogeneous Japan.

Scholars of Japan have long portrayed Japan as culturally homogenous. In recent years, however, people in and outside the academy have begun to challenge this assumption. In this course, students examine autobiography, fiction, and films that emphasize Japan's ethnic, regional, and socioeconomic diversity. Readings also may include historical and analytical essays and theoretical works on the relationship of modernity, national identity, and narrative. Conducted in English. Not open to students who have received credit for Japanese 210 or Asian Studies 210. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender.

JA/WS 255. Modern Japanese Women Writers.

In its beginnings, Japanese literature was considered a female art: the greatest writers of the classical period were women, while men at times assumed a female persona in order to write. How do Japanese women writers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries portray the complexities of today's world? How do they negotiate the gendered institutions of the society in which they live? What values do they assign to being a woman, to being Japanese? What significance does the female canon hold for them as modern and postmodern writers? Students consider issues such as family, power, gender roles, selfhood, and the female body in reading a range of novels, short stories, and poems. Authors may include Enchi and Fumiko, Ohba Minako, Kurahashi Yumiko, Tsushima Yuko, Tawara Machi, Yamada Eimi, and Yoshimoto Banana. Readings and discussion are in English. Not open to students who have received credit for Japanese 250. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

ES/JA 290. Nature in East Asian Literature.

How have poets and other writers in Japan and China portrayed, valued, and responded to the myriad phenomena that Western tradition calls "nature"? What ideas have they used to construct the relationship between human beings and the environment? Do their views offer the modern world a possible antidote to its environmental ills? This course looks closely at several works from Japanese and Chinese traditions whose authors pay particular attention to the relationship between the self and the physical world the self observes. Specific writers may include Hitomaro, Saigyô, Kamo no Chomei, Bashô, Li Po, and Wang Wei. Conducted in English. Not open to students who have received credit for Environmental Studies 290 or Japanese 290. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. S. Strong.

JPN 301. Intermediate Japanese III.

The course completes the introduction of essential Japanese syntactic forms and sentence patterns. Students continue development of oral skills and emphasis is placed on increased competence in the written language. Two hundred new characters are introduced. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 202. Normally offered every year. Staff.

JPN 301-302. Intermediate Japanese III and IV.

JPN 302. Intermediate Japanese IV.

JPN 310. The Waylaying of the Warrior: The Myth of the Samurai in Japanese Culture.

The samurai, the sword-wielding warrior with his strict bushido code of honor, is one of the most enduring images of Japan, both in the West and among the Japanese themselves. This course first acquaints students with the decidedly less glamorous reality of the samurai. Students then explore the myths surrounding the warrior through medieval war tales, kabuki play scripts, and modern novels. Discussions focus on the shifting meanings invested in the image of the samurai by different writers and audiences over the centuries. Recommended background: one course in Japanese culture, history, or language. Conducted in English.New course beginning Fall 2004. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every other year. T. Walley.

ES/JA 320. Haiku and Nature in Japan.

The concise, seventeen-syllable verse form known today as haiku rose to prominence in the popular culture of seventeenth-century Japan. With its emphasis on the experience of the present moment and its use of clear natural imagery, haiku is seen by many as defining the way generations of Japanese have perceived and related to the natural world. This seminar examines the poetics of haiku and linked verse (renku) and looks at the expression of their aesthetics in recent Japanese literature and culture from architecture to the novel to Zen. Prerequisite: one course in Japanese or one course in environmental studies. Conducted in English.Course prerequisite effective Fall 2004. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JPN 360. Independent Study.

JPN 401. Advanced Japanese I.

Through the discussion and study of contemporary literary texts and other journalistic modes, the course seeks to utilize, develop, and integrate skills acquired in the earlier stages of language learning. Particular emphasis is placed on reading and writing, and translation. Through class presentations and discussion students further develop oral skills and expand their understanding of Japanese culture. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 302. Normally offered every year. Staff.

JPN 402. Advanced Japanese II.

This course covers materials in Japanese such as newspaper articles, other media material, and short stories. Through presentations and discussions students utilize, develop, and integrate spoken skills acquired in the earlier stages of language learning. Written skills are also emphasized; normally students complete a final research project on a topic of their choice. Students taking this course in conjunction with the thesis should also register for Japanese 458. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 401. Normally offered every year. M. Wender.

JPN 457. Senior Thesis.

An extended research or translation project on a topic in Japanese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Japanese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Japanese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description of the proposed project as well as a tentative bibliography. Students register for Japanese 457 in the fall semester or for Japanese 458 in the winter semester unless the department gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for Japanese 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

JPN 457, 458. Senior Thesis.

JPN 458. Senior Thesis.

Short Term Courses

JA/WS s21. Geisha Fantasy: Representations of an Icon.

This course examines the stereotypes of the cultural category of geisha in film, literature, visual culture, and the performing arts. Students locate the discourse surrounding the geisha in both Japan and the United States, which leads to themes of "orientalism" (differentiating self and other in a way that hierarchizes the self), "self-orientalism," and nihonjinron (doctrine of a Japanese essence). Students focus on historical contexts in which the category of geisha was formed and developed largely as a projection of male desire and male fantasy, and explore the homogenizing and dichotomizing of racial and sexual identities in the construction of the geisha. Conducted in English. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

JPN s25. Haiku Poetry.

Matsuo Bashô (1644-1694) is one of Japan's most celebrated poets. As a haikai master he led group compositions in linked verse (renga), in addition to writing the seventeen-syllable hokku for which he is best known. His travel diaries represent a landmark in the history of Japanese literature. This unit explores the background and nature of the haikai genre, with particular attention to Bashô's outstanding achievement. Students of Japanese language are encouraged to do some guided reading in the original. Recommended background: Japanese 240 and History 172. Conducted in English. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JPN s26. Japanese Popular Culture.

Texts include theoretical writings on consumer culture and the mass media; anthropological writings on Japanese culture; and a number of primary texts, including novels, comics, films, and television animation. Discussion topics include sexuality and violence in animation, ethnic consciousness in the fashion industry, and Japan's global technological prowess and science fiction. Conducted in English. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender.

JPN s27. Hiroshima and Other Disasters.

The technologies of the industrial and postindustrial age have made possible a scale of destruction that seems impossible for human beings either to grasp or perhaps even to survive. Japan, as the only nation to have experienced attack by atomic weapons, and as a site of monumental environmental disasters in the twentieth century, raises urgent questions about the experience of human-wrought calamity. What is the role of art, literature, film, and journalism in expressing the "inexpressible" and possibly preventing its reoccurrence? This unit examines Japanese responses to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also investigates the mercury poisonings at Minamata and other environmental disasters in Japan. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. S. Strong.

JPN s50. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.

German

Cross-listed Courses

Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements

The major consists of nine courses at the 200 level or above. Required are German 233, 234, and at least one course from each of the following four groups: 1) 241, 242, 301, 303; 2) 243, 244; 3) 357, 358; 4) 270, 356. In addition, majors must complete at least one of the following: History 227, 229, English 295, Philosophy 241, 273, Music 242, 243, 244. Majors also choose either to a) write a senior thesis or b) pass a series of comprehensive examinations in the second semester of the senior year. Students choosing to write a thesis must register for 457 or 458.

Pass/Fail Grading Option

Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

GER 101. Fundamentals of German I.

This course introduces students to the German language and its cultural contexts. By emphasizing communicative skills, students learn to speak, act out real-life situations, build vocabulary, and develop their listening comprehension. German 101 is not open to students who have had two or more years of German in secondary school. Normally offered every year. C. Decker.

GER 101-102. Fundamentals of German I and II.

GER 102. Fundamentals of German II.

GER 201. Intermediate German I.

A continuation of German 101-102, with added emphasis on the development of reading strategies and composition skills. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Prerequisite(s): German 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. G. Neu-Sokol.

GER 201-202. Intermediate German I and II.

GER 202. Intermediate German II.

A continuation of German 201, with added emphasis on the development of reading strategies and composition skills. Open to first-year students who enter with at least two years of German. Prerequisite(s): German 102. Normally offered every year. K. Eckardt.

GER 233. German Composition and Conversation.

Topical course designed to develop linguistic and cultural competency. Through reading and discussing a variety of texts, working with multimedia, and completing weekly writing assignments, students attain greater oral and written proficiency in German while deepening their understanding of the culture of German-speaking countries. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. G. Neu-Sokol.

GER 233-234. German Composition and Conversation.

GER 234. German Composition and Conversation.

GER 241. German Literature of the Twentieth Century I.

A study of German literature and society from 1890 through 1933, with emphasis on the aesthetic and sociohistorical underpinnings of Naturalism, Impressionism, Expressionism, and selected works of Mann, Kafka, and Brecht. Prerequisite(s): German 234. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 242. German Literature of the Twentieth Century II.

A continuation of German 241, focusing on post-World War II literature and emphasizing such authors as Böll, Brecht, Frisch, Dürrenmatt, Bachmann, and Wolf. Attention is given to contemporary women writers and poets whose works center on utopian visions and the search for peace. Prerequisite(s): German 234. Offered with varying frequency. G. Neu-Sokol.

GER 243. Introduction to German Poetry.

A study of poetry in German-speaking countries since 1800. The course focuses on four or five well-known poets, to be chosen from among the following: Hölderin, Novalis, Mörike, Heine, Droste-Hülshoff, Rilke, Trakl, Brecht, Celan, and Bachmann. Attention is also given to the poetry of Lasker-Schüler, Kolmar, Bobrowski, Lavant, Enzensberger, and Kirsch. Students make oral presentations, and write short interpretations or translations of poems. Prerequisite(s): German 234. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. G. Neu-Sokol.

GER 244. The Development of German Drama.

A study of major issues in German dramaturgy from the Enlightenment to the present, explored through texts that dramatize problems relating to marriage. Authors include Lessing, Büchner, Brecht, Horváth, and Kroetz. Prerequisite(s): German 234. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 254. Berlin and Vienna, 1900-1914.

From the beginning of the twentieth century to the outbreak of World War I, the capital cities of Berlin and Vienna were home to major political and cultural developments, including diverse modernist movements in art, architecture, literature, and music, as well as the growth of mass party politics. The ascending German Empire and the multiethnic Habsburg Empire teetering on the verge of collapse provide the context within which this course examines important texts of fin-de-siècle modernism, which continues to exert a profound effect on our lives today. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 270. Living with the Nazi Legacy.

A study of contemporary works from Austria and Germany that articulate the experiences of children of Nazis. Texts, which include autobiographical writings, novels, films, interviews, and essays, are analyzed in terms of their representation of the Nazi past and its continuing impact on the present. Prerequisite(s): German 234. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 290. Nietzsche, Kafka, Goethe.

These three writers demarcate significant milestones on the road to modernity and beyond. Their ideas permeate even today's popular language: "Faustian" man, Nietzschean will to power, the "death of God," Kafkaesque. With these writers as guides, this course undertakes a critical investigation of some of the way stations of modernity: the autonomy of the individual (Goethe); radical horizontality as a response to the crisis of culture (Nietzsche); dispossession and rootlessness, anonymity and the search for community as the fundamental characteristics of our age (Kafka). Class discussions are conducted in English; students may read texts either in German or in English translation. Recommended background: one course in literature, history, or philosophy. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. D. Sweet.

GER 301. The Enlightenment in Germany.

The Enlightenment was a formative force of modernity. Its adherents promulgated tolerance and universality, new forms of education, and social utopias. This course is an interdisciplinary investigation of the movements, protagonists, and ideas of the Enlightenment in Germany and includes a postscript to the project of enlightenment at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Readings by Kant and Goethe, Lessing and Mendelssohn, Wieland and Herder. Contemporary writers include Horkheimer, Adorno, and Foucault. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level literature course taught in German. Offered with varying frequency. D. Sweet.

GER 303. German Romanticism.

Profoundly affected by the French Revolution, Germany's young generation sought to create a philosophical literature (German Romanticism) to reform human consciousness. To achieve this, they posited new forms for sexuality and gender relations and sought to renew spirituality and consciousness of the supernatural. This course examines key philosophical and literary writings by the early German Romantics, including Schlegel, Novalis, Wackenroder, and Tieck. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level literature course taught in German. Offered with varying frequency. D. Sweet.

GER 356. Representing Austrian Fascism.

Official state documents and popular historical imagination frequently present Austria as the "first victim of Nazi aggression," thus discounting the active role that Austrians played in the Anschluss and the Third Reich. This course explores the myth of Austria's victimization through analysis of government documents, literary texts, and documentary films that represent Austrian involvement in and response to the Nazi past. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 357. Austrian Literature.

A study of Austrian fiction that emerges from and responds to three important periods in Austrian political and cultural history: the restorative and revolutionary period of the mid-nineteenth century; fin-de-siècle Vienna and the impending collapse of the Habsburg Empire; and the post-World War II Second Austrian Republic. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER 358. Literature of the German Democratic Republic.

Reading and discussion of selected prose and poetry of the German Democratic Republic. Topics include the theory of Socialist Realism, the role of the GDR Writers' Union, GDR authors who emigrated to the West, and the emergence of younger, independent writers. Works by Schneider, Becker, Wolf, Heym, and Wander are among those examined. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level German literature course. Recommended background: German 242. Offered with varying frequency. D. Sweet.

GER 360. Independent Study.

GER 365. Special Topics.

GER 457. Senior Thesis.

Research leading to writing of a senior thesis. Open to senior majors, including honors candidates. Students register for German 457 in the fall semester or for German 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both German 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

GER 457, 458. Senior Thesis.

GER 458. Senior Thesis.

Research leading to writing of a senior thesis. Open to senior majors, including honors candidates. Students register for German 458 in the winter semester Majors writing an honors thesis register for both German 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Short Term Courses

GER s24. Monsters: Imagining the Other.

This unit investigates the cultural functions of monsters, their significance as signifiers of the excluded, the absolute "other". Beginning with classical antiquity and proceeding to the present, students discuss texts by philosophers, historians, psychologists, a dictator, literary writers, and monster theorists in order to forge a historical and theoretical understanding of monsters, their messages, and their makers. Students view up to three monster movies each week. Conducted in English. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. D. Sweet.

GER s25. The German Cinema.

An introduction to methods of filmic analysis and to major issues in German film history from the 1920s to the present. Special attention is devoted to representations of the Nazi past in recent German films. Discussions and readings in English; films in German with English subtitles. Enrollment limited to 25. Offered with varying frequency. C. Decker.

GER s50. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Russian

Cross-listed Courses

Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements

Students may major in either Russian literature and culture or Russian studies. The department expects students in either field of study to have broad exposure to Russian language and culture, and strongly encourages majors to spend some portion of an academic year in Russia by the end of the junior year.

To fulfill the major in Russian literature and culture, students complete any seven courses from the language sequence and four courses from the literature/culture offerings. Majors may substitute one related course in either political science or history for a literature/culture course.

To fulfill the requirements for Russian studies, students complete eleven courses: five from the language sequence, Political Science 232, History 222, any Russian literature/culture course, and three electives from the offerings in Russian literature/culture or History 221.

Students may petition to have appropriate Short Term unit(s) count toward either major. Students in either field of study have the option of writing a senior thesis or taking a comprehensive examination some time during their last semester (comprehensive examinations are based on the student's course work).

Pass/Fail Grading Option

Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

RUSS 101. Elementary Russian I.

An introduction to Russian language and culture with an emphasis on communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students also experience the variety and richness of modern Russia through authentic texts including music, film and television excerpts, and selected items from recent newspapers. Conducted in Russian. Normally offered every year. D. Browne.

RUSS 101-102. Elementary Russian I and II.

RUSS 102. Elementary Russian II.

RUSS 201. Intermediate Russian I.

A continuation of Russian 101-102 focusing on vocabulary acquisition and greater control of more complex and extended forms of discourse. Greater emphasis is placed on students' creative use of Russian to express themselves orally and in writing. Prerequisite(s): Russian 102. Conducted in Russian. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. J. Costlow.

RUSS 201-202. Intermediate Russian I and II.

RUSS 202. Intermediate Russian II.

A continuation of Russian 201 focusing on vocabulary acquisition and greater control of more complex and extended forms of discourse. Greater emphasis is placed on students' creative use of Russian to express themselves orally and in writing. Prerequisite(s): Russian 102. Conducted in Russian. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. J. Costlow.

ES/RU 216. "Nature" in Russian Culture.

How does a given culture understand and represent its relationship to the specific geography of its place in the world? This course explores the cultural landscape of Russia through a broad range of literary works, visual images, and ethnographic studies. Students examine some of the following issues: the relationship between geography and national identity; the political uses of cultural landscape; the interaction of agriculture, official religion, and traditional belief in peasant culture; and the role of class and revolutionary reimaginings of nature in the Soviet era. Conducted in English. Not open to students who have received credit for Environmental Studies 314 or Russian 314. Normally offered every other year. J. Costlow.

RUSS 240. Women and Russia.

How have Russian women left their mark on the twentieth century and how has it shaped their lives? Why are contemporary Russian women inheritors of a complicated legacy of Soviet "emancipation" so resistant to Western feminism? What sources of nourishment and challenge do Russian women find in their own cultural traditions? This course examines some of the great works of twentieth-century Russian writing autobiography, poetry, novellas, and short fiction and considers central representations of women in film, in order to understand how women have lived through the upheavals of what Anna Akhmatova called the "true twentieth century." Conducted in English. Course reinstated beginning Winter 2006. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. J. Costlow.

RUSS 270. Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature.

Russia's great prose writers raise "accursed questions" about social justice, religious truth, and the meanings of life. Their critiques of modernity and vividly imagined and often unorthodox characters continue to resonate and challenge. Readings are drawn from such writers as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Pushkin, and Chekhov. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. J. Costlow.

RUSS 271. Modern Russian Literature.

The Devil comes to Soviet Moscow to do good! A cosmonaut discovers that the Soviet space program is a hoax carried out underground! Jesus Christ leads a march through revolutionary St. Petersburg! Who needs fantastic realism? Russian writers of the twentieth century continued to build on a world-class literary tradition established in the nineteenth century. They did so as their country experienced unparalleled political and social revolutions, and even when they were directly targeted by one of the twentieth century's most powerful and terrifying political regimes. This course looks at ways in which writers have responded to political, social, and cultural upheaval, and how they provide spiritual strength to a beleaguered population. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. D. Browne.

RUSS 275. Literature and Politics in Russia.

Since at least the eighteenth century, literature in Russia has been deeply intertwined with the political. Fiction and poetry have recorded meanings that state censorship outlawed; writers have used memoirs and literary reviews to discuss Russia's "accursed problems"—everything from serfdom and women's rights to anti-Semitism and the war in Afghanistan. This course explores the relationship between writers and politics, focusing on Russia's imperial presence in the Caucasus and Central Asia; the Bolshevik revolution and the inception of socialist realism; and post-Stalinist dissidence. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. J. Costlow.

RUSS 276. Dostoevsky and the Culture of Crisis.

The works of Fyodor Dostoevsky describe a world on the edge of catastrophe or transformation, in which madmen, prostitutes, saints, and seekers lay claim to visions of revolution or redemption. This course introduces students to the work of Dostoevsky within the context of Russian cultural and political history. Reading includes two major novels (one of them being The Brothers Karamazov) and a selection of his shorter prose works, memoirs, and polemical pieces. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. J. Costlow.

RUSS 301. Advanced Russian I.

This sequence completes the essentials of contemporary colloquial Russian. Students read short unabridged texts in both literary and journalistic styles, and write one- and two-page papers on a variety of topics. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite(s): Russian 202. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. D. Browne.

RUSS 301-302. Advanced Russian I and II.

RUSS 302. Advanced Russian II.

RUSS 306. Advanced Russian Culture and Language.

This course develops oral fluency and aural acuity as well as reading and writing skills through directed and spontaneous classroom activities and individual and collaborative written assignments. Conversations and compositions are based on literary and nonliterary texts, feature films, and documentary films. Prerequisite(s): Russian 202. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

RUSS 360. Independent Study.

RUSS 365. Special Topics.

Designed for the small seminar group of students who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Conducted in Russian. Instructor permission is required. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

RUSS 401. Contemporary Russian I.

The course is designed to perfect students' ability to understand and speak contemporary, idiomatic Russian. Included are readings from Aksyonov, Dovlatov, Shukshin, and Baranskaya and viewings of contemporary Russian films. Conducted in Russian. Prerequisite(s): Russian 302. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

RUSS 401-402. Contemporary Russian I and II.

RUSS 402. Contemporary Russian II.

RUSS 457. Senior Thesis.

Open only to senior majors, with departmental permission. Students register for Russian 457 in the fall semester and for Russian 458 in the winter semester. Before registering for 457 or 458 a student must present to the department an acceptable plan, including an outline and a tentative bibliography, after discussion with a department member. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Russian 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

RUSS 457, 458. Senior Thesis.

RUSS 458. Senior Thesis.

Open only to senior majors, with departmental permission. Students register for Russian 458 in the winter semester. Before registering for 457 or 458 a student must present to the department an acceptable plan, including an outline and a tentative bibliography, after discussion with a department member. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Russian 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Short Term Courses

ES/RU s20. Environment and Culture in Russia.

This unit introduces a broad range of environmental issues in contemporary Russia, and invites students to consider those issues in cultural and historical context. Students spend three and one-half weeks at different locations in European Russia and the Urals, visiting sites ranging from newly privatized farms and peasant markets to industrial centers and conservation areas. A period of intensive preparation at Bates is followed by visits and conversations in Russia that acquaint students with ecologists, activists, governmental officials, and ordinary Russian citizens. Recommended background: one course in Russian studies or environmental studies. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission is required. Offered with varying frequency. J. Costlow.

RUSS s24. Rock: The Triumph of Vulgarity.

"America has perfected the rites of vulgar Romantic pantheism. It gives them to an astonished world. And the music of its ritual is rock" (Robert Pattison, The Triumph of Vulgarity). Through individual and collaborative work, students in this unit test Pattison's hypothesis that the aesthetic of rock is that of vulgar Romanticism triumphant. They also examine the nature of rock in the non-English-speaking world: is rock the "McMusic" of the early twenty-first century? Materials for the unit include texts, documentaries, fiction films, and ear-splitting rock and roll. Knowledge of a foreign language and culture is desirable, but not a requirement. Open to first-year students. Offered with varying frequency. D. Browne.

RUSS s26. Russian and Soviet Film.

From the early years of the Soviet avant-garde to the post-Stalinist era of covert critique, Russian film of the twentieth century offers an intriguing and important perspective on Soviet and post-Soviet life. This unit explores the avant-garde cinema of Eisenstein and Pudovkin, the propaganda films of the 1930s, the representation of World War II in Soviet film, the aesthetic and moral quests of post-Stalinist filmmakers, and new directions in filmmaking of the last decade. Films in Russian and other Soviet languages, with subtitles. All reading and writing is in English.This unit has been reinstated beginning Short Term 2005. D. Browne.

RUSS s50. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every semester. Staff.

Other Foreign Languages

Courses

FL 141. Self-Instructional Program in Less Commonly Taught Languages.

In unusual circumstances, a student may petition the chair of German, Russian, and East Asian languages and literatures or the chair of Romance languages and literatures to pursue the study of a language not offered by the departments or programs of the College. The student must present compelling reasons why the language study is necessary to his or her academic program, and must provide a detailed description of the plan of study: the material to be covered, the qualifications of the instructor, the methods of evaluation, and the goals for the semester's study. One course credit is granted upon completion of two consecutive semesters of study. Department chair permission is required. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

FL 141-142, 143-144. Less Commonly Taught Languages.

FL 142. Self-Instructional Program in Less Commonly Taught Languages.

FL 143. Self-Instructional Program in Less Commonly Taught Languages.

FL 144. Self-Instructional Program in Less Commonly Taught Languages.

FL 360. Independent Study.

Short Term Courses

FL s50. Independent Study.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.