Program Objective

Our program’s objective is to provide students who are interested in Russian, Polish, and Czech languages, literatures, histories and cultures with an in-depth understanding of the cultural, economic, and political processes in Russia and East Central Europe. 

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact alliance, these countries have undergone rapid economic and political changes and actively engaged in global politics. Studying them allows students to develop a better understanding of this region and the changes and challenges that contemporary Europe is facing. In our courses students engage deeply with some of the richest literary traditions in the world and examine them in their historical and political contexts – from Russian classics like the works of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Nabokov to  Polish and Czech modernist writers such as Schulz, Gombrowicz, Hrabal and Kundera.

Professional Paths

The professional paths of our former concentrators demonstrate that studying Russian and/or Polish and Czech is a major asset to students considering careers in such diverse fields as international relations and diplomacy, law, business, teaching and academic research.