Please note that, as of Fall 2015, all of our language courses have been renamed. For example, Elementary Russian was changed from Slavic 1 to Russian 1, Beginning Armenian changed from Eurasian Studies 1A/B to Armenian 1A/B. See these changes on the complete list of courses here on the Department website.  On the Online Schedule of Courses (schedule.berkeley.edu), search through the Department Name dropdown menu and look for the specific language, e.g. Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian. If you use Schedule Builder, look for individual languages under “Browse by Department.” Other department courses are still under Slavic Languages and Literature.

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Our courses combine different disciplines, traditions, approaches, and areas. No matter one’s interest – be it the classics of Russian literature, such as Leo Tolstoy or Fyodor Dostoevsky, Polish Romanticism or poetry of Czeslaw Milosz, the novels of Vladimir Nabokov or Milan Kundera, the languages and cultures of the Balkans, Caucasus or Central Asia, Slavic linguistics, Orthodox religious culture, Slavic folklore, the Russian avant garde, the Soviet experience, the rise and fall of Yugoslavia, the films of Sergei Eisenstein, or contemporary popular culture – the Department has something to offer. In almost all our courses on literature and culture, readings and lectures are in English, and no knowledge of Slavic languages is required. Students with a working knowledge of Russian or another Slavic language relevant to the course are encouraged to do some reading in the original.

Many of our upper-division courses provide the opportunity to undertake an additional research project, coordinated with a lecture course and supervised by the instructor in individual consultations (this involves registering in an additional 1-unit “Research” course).

We welcome students from all programs and disciplines. Among our offerings are courses that fulfill the following five of the seven breadth requirements: Arts and Literature, Philosophy and Values, Historical Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and International Studies. Every year, our faculty offer seminar-style courses in the University program of Freshmen and Sophomore seminars.