Fall 2026 Courses with Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia Content

Area Studies

BCS 115 South Slavic Cultures

Peter Wright

Sec A—12:30PM-1:50PM, TR, 165 Noyes Laboratory, Lecture-Discussion

Exploration of South Slavic cultures in the historically rich and complex region sometimes referred to as "the Balkans," focusing particularly on those groups found within the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. Critical look at the traditional view of the region as the crossroads or the bridge between East and West, and at the term Balkanization which has become a pejorative term used to characterize fragmented, and self-defeating social systems.

EURO 500 Dialogue on Europe*

Havva Karakas Keles

Sec A—1:30PM-3:20PM, R, 1126 LCLB, Lecture-Discussion

Exploration of a variety of subjects about the European Union and EU-US relations and comparative perspectives. This transatlantic relationship will be studied via a series of expert lectures offered by University of Illinois faculty and visiting scholars. This seminar is a roundtable exploring a variety of topics related to Europe, transatlantic relations, the European Union, and the peripheries. Students will have an opportunity to participate in regular conversations about current issues ranging from cultural policies, migration, economic policies, bureaucratic politics, international security, sports, popular culture, and other topics of high salience to Europe and the European Union. Opportunities for guest speakers and readings on professionalization. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

GGIS 221/GLBL 221 Geographies of Global Conflict*

Alonso Bueno

Sec AD2—10:00AM-10:50AM, F, 137C Davenport Hall, Discussion/Recitation

Sec AD3—11:00PM-11:50PM, F, 137C Davenport Hall, Discussion/Recitation

Sec AL1—11:00AM-11:50AM, MW, 223 Gregory Hall, Lecture

Focuses on geopolitical conflicts over ideology, resources, and territory from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Examines these conflicts from the perspectives of political geography and political theory.

GLBL 500 Global Society*

Donna Tohini

Sec A—12:30PM-2:50PM, T, Online

Sec GA—12:30PM-2:50PM, T, Location Pending

Students will examine three propositions: (1) the existence of a global society; (2) the flaws of its principal, global institutions – the state, markets, and democracy; and (3) absent their reform, whether the global society is at risk. 

HIST 142 Modern Europe and the World*

Tamara Chaplin

Sec ADA—10:00AM-10:50AM, F, 242 Armory, Discussion/Recitation

Sec ADC—1:00PM-1:50PM, R, 209 Huff Hall, Discussion/Recitation

Sec ADD—11:00AM-11:50AM, F, 223 David Kinley Hall, Discussion/Recitation 

Sec AL1—11:00AM-11:50AM, TR, 116 Roger Adams Laboratory, Lecture

Fundamental developments - social, economic, cultural, intellectual, and political - in the history of mankind and Western society since 1660; includes the rise of modern science, the French and Industrial revolutions, the Romantic movement, the growth of nationalism and socialism, imperialism, urbanization, the Russian Revolution, Nazi Germany, the world wars, and the West and the developing world. 

Over the course of the past three and a half centuries, European development—cultural, economic, social, political, and intellectual—has had an enormous impact on the world we live in today. European history has also been vital to the creation of what we think of as “identity”: how we define and describe ourselves, and how we define and describe others. This semester we will learn how events, inventions, and ideologies (from wars, revolutions, slavery, railroads, and computers, to nationalism, Nazism, feminism, imperialism, and colonialism) have contributed to the evolution of modern European history while also influencing how we imagine and understand ourselves. The historical analysis of text, music, art, and film will be integral to our work. 

HIST 143 Modern Europe and the World – ACP*

Tamara Chaplin

Sec AD1—1:00PM-1:50PM, TR, 1048 Literatures, Cultures, & Ling, Discussion/Recitation 

Sec AD2—3:00PM-3:50PM, TR, 1024 Literatures, Cultures, & Ling, Discussion/Recitation 

Sec AL1—11:00AM-11:50AM, TR, 116 Rpger Adams Laboratory, Lecture

Course is identical to HIST 142 except for the additional writing component.

Credit is not given for both HIST 143 and HIST 142.

HIST 356 The Modern Balkans through Literature and Film

Stefan Djordjevic

Sec A—3:30PM-4:50PM, TR, 321 Gregory Hall

History of the creation and development of the independent Balkan states during the 19th and 20th centuries. Special attention is given to Balkan nationalism, its roots, evolution and various manifestations. Other topics cover the modernization of the rural societies, ethnic conflict and/or accommodation, inter-Balkan relations, and the role of the great powers. Finally, a close look will be taken on contemporary developments in the Balkans, especially the Yugoslav crisis, the fall of communism and post-communist development. By discussing fictional work and films by Balkan authors, students will be introduced to the intellectual production of the region.

PS 283/GLBL 283 Intro to Intl Security*

Crispin Beyogle

Don Casler

Sec AL1—4:00PM-4:50PM, TR, 132 Bevier Hall, Lecture

Sec AD2, 10:00AM-10:50AM, F, 207 Psychology Building, Discussion/Recitation

Sec AD3—2:00PM-2:50PM, F, 310 David Kinley Hall, Discussion/Recitation

Sec AD6—11:00AM-11:50AM, F, 207 Psychology Building, Discussion/Recitation

Surveys the major issues associated with arms control, disarmament and international security. Also examines the military, socio-economic, and political dimensions of weapons systems, military strategy, the ethics of modern warfare, nuclear proliferation, and regional security issues.

REES 116/RUSS 115 Intro to Russian Culture

Tetyana Dzyadevych

Sec A—2:00PM-3:20PM, MW, 215 Gregory Hall, Lecture-Discussion 

Introduction to the culture of Russia and the USSR. Course addresses two central themes. First, the very distinctiveness of Russian culture, and the functions of that notion within Russia and for outsiders; Second, Russia as a cultural space between East and West. We will explore Russian culture through the following, the language(s); foundational narratives of collective memory going back to the medieval times; the cultural impact of colonial subjugation both by and of peoples to the East, South, and West; Russian Orthodoxy's connection with the political and cultural spheres; peak achievements in literature, music, architecture and visual arts.

REES 200 Intro to Russia and Eurasia

Elizabeth Abosch

Sec A—9:30AM-10:50Am, TR, 162 Noyes Laboratory, Lecture-Discussion

Survey of the societies and states formerly constituted as the Soviet Union. Interdisciplinary and team-taught. Combines lectures, discussions, and films covering the history, political science, economics, sociology, and culture of the area.

RUSS 220/CWL 227 Golden Age of Russian Literature

David Cooper

Sec A – 12:30PM-1:50PM, TR, 242 Armory, Lecture

Survey of Russian literature in the long 19th century; romanticism, realism, nationalism, orientalism, empire; writers may include Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Pavlova, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and others; reading and discussion in English.

RUSS 322/CWL 324/ENG 322 Dostoevsky 

Valeria Sobol

Sec U3—2:00PM-3:20PM, TR, 321 Gregory Hall, Lecture-Discussion

Introduction to the major works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. No Russian required.

RUSS 465 Jewish Culture in the Russian Empire

Benjamin Arenstein

Sec G – 12:00PM-1:50PM, W, 108 English Building, Lecture-Discussion

Sec UG – 12:00PM-1:50PM, W, 108 English Building, Lecture-Discussion

Study of Jewish cultural, social, and political life through literature and film. No Russian required.

RUSS 512 Russian Literature 1855-1905

Valeria Sobol

Sec A—2:00PM-4:20PM, W, 1120 LCLB, Lecture-Discussion 

Graduate-level survey of Russian literature of the second half of the nineteenth century, tracing the emergence, blossom, and decline of the great Russian realist novel, as well as the social and ideological debates of the 1850s and 1860s that were that form's most significant context. Explores the emergence and varied meanings of the term "realism" in Russian literature and criticism of the nineteenth century and will cover the rise of the short form in the 1880s and then, of Russian Decadence/Symbolism in the 1890s. Key developments in Russian drama will also be covered: Ostrovskii, Sukhovo-Kobylin, Chekhov and the Moscow Art Theater.

Prerequisite: Ability to read in Russian.

SLAV 452 The Underground Book

Benjamin Arenstein

Sec B—2:00PM-3:50PM, M, 1022 LCLB, Lecture-Discussion 

During the second half of the twentieth century, there was an explosion in the practice of “underground” publishing—- that is, textual objects produced through unofficial, and often illegal, presses. Through the semester, we will investigate this phenomenon across a range of transnational contexts. We will begin by considering the theoretical and practical concerns of underground publication. We will then examine how underground publishing manifested in locations as diverse as the late Soviet Union, 1980s Chicago, and Brazil under military dictatorship. We will conclude the course by considering how the rise of digital media has shaped the production of underground texts. Throughout, we will pay particular attention to the book as a material object, questioning the ways in which materality shapes and determines underground reading practices. As part of this seminar, students will gain hands-on experience with various aspects of bookmaking and have the chance to produce their own book object. 

SLAV 501/CWL 511/EALC 511/Ger 511/TRST 501 Applied Literary Translation I

Peter Wright

Sec G4—1:20PM-2:50PM, MW, 317 Gregory Hall, Lecture-Discussion

Sec UG3—1:20PM-2:50PM, MW, 317 Greogry Hall, Lecture-Discussion

Focuses on both the theory and the practice of literary translation, as well as the business aspect of how to negotiate a translation proposal through the US publishing market. Students will produce a completed translation of a short story or a selection of poems.

SLAV 576/CWL 576 Methods in Slavic Grad Study

George Gasyna

Sec A—12:00PM-1:50PM, M, 3024 LCLB, Lecture-Discussion

Comparative, interdisciplinary methods and theoretical issues crucial to studies in Slavic literature, history, and culture. Theoretical bookshelf followed by specific case studies from Slavic.

TURK 270/ANTH 272/GLBL 272/SAME 272 Language and Culture in Turkey

Eman Saadah

Elif Varlik

Sec A—11:00AM-12:20PM, T, 1136 LCLB, Lecture-Discussion 

Sec A—11:00AM-12:20PM, R, Online

As a country located at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa, Turkey has always been under the spotlight. In this course, we will study the dynamic relationship between language and culture in Ottoman and modern Turkey through a timely analysis of its transition from a long-lasting empire to a young "secular" nation-state. We will examine the complexities of Turkish modernity from a holistic perspective to better comprehend how central Asian and Middle Eastern cultural influences, continuities, and transformations gave birth to modern Turkish language. The course should help you not only in developing an understanding of the Turkish language within a cultural framework, but also in gaining insight into Turkey's history, politics, literature, and media. No former knowledge of Turkey or the Turkish language is required.

Languages