May 1, 2020

The Flagship program has been busy this quarter transforming into remote formats! Several developments have occurred over this past month.

Students have been busy improving their Russian skills in various unique ways. Our Flagship students from the 4th and 5th year classes have given presentations to the 3rd year class. Students have begun to use class Discussion Boards to recommend songs and movies to each other. They are also doing more group projects, such as planning virtual trips to the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and other famous sites in Russia.

Students have also begun independent projects that combine Russian with their majors. Topics this quarter include contemporary Russian popular music, disinformation in the age of Covid-19, machine translation from Russian, Chechen rock music and its political context, the spread of internet use among Russian schoolchildren, Kazakh phonology, Kazakhstan-Russian relations, among others. Click here for links to student presentations on machine translation, phonology, and twentieth-century Kazakhstan history.

Other students have begun to volunteer their time, including checking in with Russian-speaking clients of Meals on Wheels by phone. 

Finally, our annual undergraduate conference in Slavic and East European studies has transitioned into a virtual format. Click here for this year’s program and here for information about participating in the future.