In this course we will look closely at the Russian language as it is spoken currently in the cultural space. This will include the ever-changing zone of social media (personal blogs, Facebook, LiveJournal, etc.); TV (shows, interviews, etc.), film, theater; everyday discourse (including register, slang, jargon, the usage of obscenities, etc.); and literary representation of the actual spoken word in the 21st century.

Prerequisites: graduate standing and/or consent of instructor.