Boston College
Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures
Кафедра славяноведения и востоковедения
Welcome to the Department of Slavic and Eastern Languages & Literatures!
|
Founded in 1969, one of the oldest in New England, our department offers a number of undergraduate majors and minors and many diverse courses on East Asian, Semitic and Slavic languages, literatures and cultures, and in the field of linguistics, as well as MA degrees in Russian and Slavic studies and in Linguistics. We offer specialized courses on such rarely taught languages as Classical Armenian, Old Irish, and Sanskrit.
|
Our graduates have pursued successful careers in foreign service, international business and law, research and scholarship, and many other exciting venues.
|
Our faculty work and publish in a number of areas and subjects, including, but not limited to: women in the former Yugoslavia and in Leningrad under siege; Jewish-Russian literature and culture; Classical Armenian; liturgical language; second-language acquisition; the history of Linguistics; pan-Arabism and nationalism in the Near East; early Chinese literature; Russian Romanticism; contemporary and émigré Russian literature.
|
The Department of Slavic and Eastern Languages & Literatures is a unique department both at Boston College and in the larger academic community. We represent languages and cultures from many parts of the world. In these difficult times for world security and the safety of humankind, we hope that you will think of our department as a model of a harmonious and multicultural universe.
|
SELL 2008-2009 lectures and events
|
|
|
21 March 2009 (Sat)
New film: Metropolitan Andrej / Владика Андрей.
(Oles’ Jančuk). In Ukrainian with English subtitles.
2.00 pm, Higgins 300
This movie features the heroic life of Metropolitan Andrej Šeptyckyj, Archbishop of Lviv (Western Ukraine) from 1901 to 1944.
During World War II he defied Hitler and the Nazis and personally sheltered scores of Jewish refugees in his archiepiscopal palace. For his actions the State of Israel honored him posthumously as “righteous among the nations”.
Although a staunch anti-Communist, the Soviet government nonetheless accorded him a state funeral upon his death.
Admission free
for details 617-953-5281, woloschu@bc.edu
Poster
|
28 March 2009 (Sat)
Memorial service for Prof emeritus Lawrence G. Jones
3.30 pm, St Mary’s Chapel (Jesuit Residence)
with J.S. Bach: Cantata 106 «Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit» (Actus tragicus) performed by Ensemble Abendmusik.
Admission free
for details 617/552.3910, joneslg@bc.edu
Flyer
|
28 March 2009 (Sat)
Русский форум / Крепсовские чтения / Весенний вечер русской поэзии
Вера Павлова
7.00 pm, Gasson Hall 305 (Fulton Debating Room)
Admission free -- Вход бесплатный
для справок 617/552.3910, shrayerm@bc.edu
Flyer
|
03 April 2009 (Fri)
Pontifical Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Byzantine-Ukrainian rite)
7.00 pm, Chapel of the Holy Spirit (School of Theology and Ministry)
with Most Rev Paul Patrick Chomnycky (Eparchy of Stamford) and the Seminary choir of St Basil’s College Seminary.
Admission free
for details 617/552.3912, cnnmj@bc.edu
Flyer
|
U n i t y i n d i v e r s i t y
Department contacts
Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures
Boston College
Lyons Hall 210
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill MA 02467-3804 (USA)
tel +1-617/552.3910 fax +1-617/552.3913
web: http://fmwww.bc.edu/SL/SL.html (this page)
Chair of the Department
Prof Maxim D. Shrayer
tel +1-617/552.3910
eMail
shrayerm@bc.edu
Graduate Program Director; Faculty Tech Contact (FTC)
Prof M. J. Connolly
tel +1-617/552.3912
eMail
cnnmj@bc.edu
Undergraduate Program Director
Prof Cynthia Simmons
tel +1-617/552.3914
eMail
simmonsc@bc.edu
Administrative Secretary
Ms Demetra Parasirakis
tel +1-617/552.3910
eMail
parasira@bc.edu
Departmental overview
The Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures provides graduate- and undergraduate-level courses of study through its four overlapping component programs:
- The Program in Linguistics
- The Program in Russian and Slavic Studies
- The Program in East Asian Studies
- The Program in Near Eastern Studies
The Department offers
- degrees at the AB and MA levels in Linguistics,
in Russian,
and in Slavic Studies,
- a dual five-year AB-MA program for Boston College undergraduates,
- departmental undergraduate minors
in Linguistics
in Russian,
in Arabic,
and in Chinese.
- SELL also coordinates the interdepartmental undergraduate minor in East European Studies
and co-coordinates the undergraduate interdisciplinary minors in Asian Studies and in Jewish Studies.
The Department offers a program at St. Petersburg, administered through the Dostoevsky Museum.
Details are available at http://fmwww.bc.edu/SL/KP-Pbg.html
-->
Graduate joint programs with Law or Management are also possible.
The Department co-administers the undergraduate interdisciplinary minors in Asian Studies and Jewish Studies.
For information concerning the interdisciplinary undergraduate minor
in Asian Studies,
contact Prof Prasannan Parthasarathi
(Department of History),
Director, Asian Studies minor,
parthasa@bc.edu
For information concerning the interdisciplinary undergraduate minor
in East European Studies,
contact Prof Cynthia Simmons
(Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures),
Director, East European Studies minor,
simmonsc@bc.edu
For information concerning the interdisciplinary undergraduate minor
in Jewish Studies,
contact Prof Dwayne Carpenter
(Department of Romance Languages & Literatures),
Co-Director, Jewish Studies minor,
carpendw@bc.edu
Faculty
Full-time faculty
-
 |
Sing-Chen Lydia Chiang,
Associate Professor (East Asian Studies)
Coordinator, East Asian Studies
- BA, National Taiwan University
- MA, University of Washington
- PhD, Stanford University
- tel +1-617/552.0128
chiangs@bc.edu
|
-
 |
M. J. Connolly,
Associate Professor (Linguistics, Slavic)
Graduate Program Director; Faculty Tech Contact (FTC)
Moderator, Faculty Micro Resource Center (FMRC)
- AB, Boston College
- PhD, Harvard University
- tel +1-617/552.3912
cnnmj@bc.edu
|
-
 |
Lawrence G. Jones,
Professor emeritus (Linguistics, Slavic Studies)
- Deceased 2008-11-24.
Memorial service 2009-03-28, 3.30pm, St Mary’s chapel
- AB, Lafayette College
- MA, Columbia University
- PhD, Harvard University
- tel +1-617/876.6325
joneslg@bc.edu
|
-
 |
Franck Salameh, Assistant Professor (Arabic)
Coordinator, Arabic & Hebrew
- BA, University of Central Florida
- MA, Boston University
- PhD, Brandeis University
- tel +1-617/552.3915
salameh@bc.edu
|
-
 |
Maxim D. Shrayer, Department Chair
Professor (Russian, English, Jewish Studies)
- BA, Brown University
- MA, Rutgers University
- MA, MPhil, PhD, Yale University
- tel +1-617/552.3910
shrayerm@bc.edu
|
-
-
Some recent full-time faculty research & publications
For detailed information visit the webpages of the individual faculty member
Sing-chen Lydia Chiang
“Visions of Happiness: Daoist Utopias and Grotto Paradises in Early and Medieval Chinese Tales,”
Utopian Studies (2009) 20.1.
“Poetry and Fictionality in Tang Records of Anomalies,”
T’ang Studies 23/24 [backdated 2005–2006]: 91–117.
“Daoist Transcendence and Literati Identity in Records of Mysterious Anomalies by Niu Sengru (780–848),”
Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, and Reviews 29 (2007): 1–21.
[review of] Judith Zeitlin, The Phantom Heroine: Ghosts and Gender in Seventeenth-century Chinese Literature,
Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 30 (2008): 187–192.
[review of] Martin W. Huang. Negotiating Masculinities in Late Imperial China,
Ming Studies 56 (2007): 94–101
[review of] Wilt L. Idema, Wait-yee Li, and Ellen Widmer, editors, Trauma and Transcendence in Early Qing Literature,
Journal of Chinese Studies 46 (2006): 438–443.
M. J. Connolly
Kidnapping the Gospel.
in: Netzer, Nancy: Sacred | secular. 11th-16th century. Works from the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
(McMullen Museum of Art/ Boston College) Chestnut Hill MA, 2006. pp.92-97, obj 77a-80
Structural expression in the Armenian anaphora.
in Connolly, M.J. [ed]: Armenian spirituality: A contextual study for our time.
Papers from an international conference at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Geneva (Switzerland).
(Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia) Antelia (Lebanon), in preparation.
Language at prayer: Studies in the language of liturgy.
in preparation, edc 2008
A grammar for Classical Armenian.
an updating of Antoine Meillet’s Altarmenisches Elementarbuch, in test use
earlier work has included: text editions for the Carmina Burana (Boston Camerata) and the Latin motets of Joannes Ciconia (Editions de l’Oiseau-Lyre); Latin legal pronunciations and foreign entries for Black’s law dictionary 5th and 6th editions.
Franck Salameh
Vous êtes Arabe, puisque je vous le dis! [“You’re an Arab if I say so!”]
Middle Eastern Review of International Affairs I.1 (Spring 2006).52-57.
Middlebury’s Arabic Morass
Middle East Quarterly XIII.3 (Summer 2006).39-46.
Kahlil Gibran and the birth of the Lebanese national idea in late 19th-century Boston.
Rocznik orientalistyczny 59.4 (Winter 2006), in press.
Arab nationalism, its rivals and the new Middle East
(under submission)
An anthology of modern Levantine literature: In search of identity.
(est 2008)
Maxim D. Shrayer
An anthology of Jewish-Russian literature: Two centuries of dual identity in prose and poetry. 1801-2001. 2 vols.
Edited, selected, cotranslated, and with introductory essays by Maxim D. Shrayer.
(M.E. Sharpe) Armonk, NY, 2007.
Waiting for America: A Story of Emigration.
(Syracuse UP) Syracuse NY, 2006.
‘Out of the Maelstrom: A Deferred History of Jewish-Russian Literature’
(review article: In a Maelstrom: The History of Russian-Jewish Prose (1860-1940), by Zsuzsa Hetényi).
East European Jewish Affairs, 38.3 (December 2008).
‘In Search of Jewish-Russian Literature: A Historical Overview.’
Wiener Slawistischer Almanach 61 (2008).
‘Aizman, David Iakovlevich’;
‘Bagritskii, Eduard Georgievich’;
‘Chernyi, Sasha’;
‘Iushkevich, Semen Solomonovich’;
‘Nadson, Semen Iakovlevich’;
‘Sapgir, Genrikh Veniaminovich’;
‘Selvisnkii, Ilia Lvovich’,
all in The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Ed. Gershon David Hundert.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.
‘Sarda Resarta.’
AGNI Online (October 2007).
‘Napoleon in San Marino.’
Southwest Review 92.2 (Spring 2007).
‘The Gift to Stalin.’
In: The 20th Boston Jewish Film Festival, 5-6 November 2008. Program Book.
Ed. Karen Propp. Boston, 2008.
Cynthia Simmons
Cynthia Simmons / Nina Perlina:
Writing the Siege of Leningrad: Women's diaries, memoirs, and documentary prose.
(University of Pittsburgh Pr) Pitssburgh PA, 2002
Andrei Bitov.
Dictionary of literary biography: Russian prose writers after WWII
(Bruccoli Clark Layman) Washington DC, 2004). pp.52-63
Women’s work and the growth of civil society in post-war Bosnia.
Nationalities papers 2007 forthcoming
Andrei Bitov on ‘Russian Wealth’.
International fiction review 2007 forthcoming.
The culture of the Siege of Leningrad.
in Stephen Norris / Helena Goscilo [edd]: St. Petersburg in Russian national consciousness.
(Indiana UP) Bloomington IN, 2008 forthcoming
Margaret Thomas
Universal grammar in second language acquisition: A history.
(Routledge Pr) London, 2004
Theories of second language acquisition: Three sides, three angles, three points
Second language research 21 (2005).393–414
Universal grammar in Roger Bacon and Martin Joos: Generative linguistics’ reading of the past.
Historiographia linguistica 29 (2002).341–380
Part-time faculty
- Gil Chalamish, Part-time faculty (Hebrew)
- BEd, Beit Berl College. (Israel)
- Certificate, NETA Hebrew Teaching Program
- MA, Boston College
- tel +1-617/552.3164
chalamig@bc.edu
- Xu Guo Chan, Part-time faculty (Chinese)
- BA, Hebei Normal University. (China)
- MA, EdD, Boston University
- tel +1-617/552.3916 [vmb 1]
chanx@bc.edu
- Mariela Dakova, Part-time faculty (Bulgarian, Slavic Studies)
- Kand. na fil., Kliment Ohridski Univ. (Sofija, Bulgaria)
- PhD, University of Alberta
- tel +1-617/552.8660 [vmb 3]
dakova@bc.edu
- Atef Ghobrial, Part-time faculty (Arabic)
- BA, Cairo University (Egypt)
- MA, EdD Boston University
- tel +1-617/552.8910 [vmb 1]
ghobrial@bc.edu
- Elena Lapitsky, Part-time faculty (Russian)
- BA equiv, Orsk Pedagogical Institute (Russia)
- MA, Boston College
- tel +1-617/552.8529
lapitsky@bc.edu
- Fang Lu, Part-time faculty (Chinese)
- BA, MA, Beijing Normal University (China)
- PhD, Simon Fraser University
- tel +1-617/552.3916
luf@bc.edu
- Kazuko Oliver, Part-time faculty (Japanese)
- BA, MA, Keio University (Tokyo, Japan)
- MA, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
- tel +1-617/552.2755 [vmb 1]
oliverka@bc.edu
- Wallada Rasoul, Part-time faculty (Arabic)
- MA equiv, Baghdad University
- Diploma, Beirut College for Women
- tel +1-617/552.3164
rasoul@bc.edu
- Mari Takahashi Shiveley, Part-time faculty (Japanese)
- BA, Shawnee State University
- MA, Ohio University
- tel +1-617/552.2755 [vmb 2]
shiveley@bc.edu
- Ying Wang, Part-time faculty (Chinese)
- BA equiv, Beijing University
- MA cand, University of Massachusetts/Amherst
- tel +1-617/552.3916
wangbu@bc.edu
- Hyang-sook Yoon, Part-time faculty (Korean)
- BA, MA, Seoul National University (Korea)
- MLS, University of Texas at Austin
- tel +1-617/552.8963
yoonh@bc.edu
- Xu (Alexandra) Zhang, Part-time faculty (Chinese)
- BA equiv, Shandong University (China)
- advanced study, Beijing Language and Culture University
- tel +1-617/552.3916
zhangx@bc.edu
Visting faculty for 2008/2009
- Claire A. Foley (Linguistics)
- BS. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- MA, PhD Cornell University
- tel +1-617/552.8568
foleycw@bc.edu
- Anna M. Summers (Russian Literature)
- BA equiv, Moscow State University
- PhD Harvard University
- tel +1-617/552.3916
gessen@bc.edu
Graduate Assistants 2008/2009
Kevin Conroy, Linguistics
conroykd@bc.edu
Margaret (Meg) Godwin-Jones, Russian
godwinjo@bc.edu
Ekaterina Kudryavtseva, Linguistics
kudryavt@bc.edu
Jeffrey Nagengast, Linguistics
nagengaj@bc.edu
Affiliated Boston College faculty
Dwayne Carpenter
Professor, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
Co-director, Jewish Studies Program
carpendw@bc.edu
Thomas Epstein
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Honors Program, College of Arts & Sciences
epsteith@bc.edu
Boston College faculty teaching in related fields
Kathleen Bailey,
Adjunct Assistant Professor (Political Science)
Paul Christensen,
Adjunct Associate Professor (Political Science)
Gerald M. Easter,
Associate Professor (Political Science)
Jeffrey Geoghegan,
Assistant Professor (Theology)
Kenji Hayao,
Associate Professor (Political Science)
Christina Klein,
Assistant Professor (English)
Roberta T. Manning,
Professor (History)
Rebecca Nedostup,
Assistant Professor (History)
China Gateway
Prasannan Parthasarathi,
Associate Professor (History)
Dia M.L. Philippides,
Professor (Classical Studies)
Michael Resler,
Professor (German Studies)
Robert S. Ross,
Professor (Political Science)
Franziska Seraphim,
Assistant Professor (History)
Laurie Shepard,
Associate Professor (Romance Languages & Literatures)
Min Hyoung Song,
Associate Professor (English)
Francis Y.K. Soo,
Professor (Philosophy)
Graduate Program (MA) Descriptions
The Department administers three Master-of-Arts degree programs:
- Linguistics
- Russian
- Slavic Studies
Additionally the Department participates in a program for the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) with the Lynch School of Education (LSOE) and entertains applications for dual MBA/MA and JD/MA degrees.
A BA-MA option is available for Boston College undergraduates.
Each semester and each summer the Department offers a program of high-level graduate courses in St Petersburg, administered through the Dostoevsky Museum.
Details on this BC/IRL study/research program are available from the Department or at http://fmwww.bc.edu/SL/KP-Pbg.html.
Graduate Admission
For admission to MA candidacy in Russian or Slavic Studies, students must be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the Russian language equivalent at the very least to the proficiency expected at the end of three years (advanced level) of college study. They must also be acquainted with the major facts of Russian literature and history.
Students applying in Linguistics, a program which stresses
the interdisciplinary nature of Linguistics (i.e., not restricted to Slavic topics), should have a good preparation in languages
and some undergraduate-level work in Linguistics.
Slavic Studies and Linguistics programs involve a significant proportion of work in other departments of the university, and candidates in these areas are be expected to meet all prerequisites for such courses and seminars.
Students must also be prepared, in the course of studies, to deal with materials in various languages as required.
Students with an undergraduate degree who require preparation for admission to the MA may apply as special students.
This mode of application is suited to those who are looking for post-undergraduate courses without enrolling in a formal degree program
and for guests from other universities who are enrolling in the BC St Petersburg program.
All MA programs require:
The grades for the qualifying examinations, special-field examinations, and the research paper are reported to the Office of Student Services as a single comprehensive-examination grade.
Comprehensive examination sectors are in written or oral format, depending on the nature of the subject matter.
The Department has exemption procedures to allow limited substitution of requirements.
A student may apply up to two courses (6 credits) of advanced work from other universities or research institutes toward program require ments,
provided this work has not been previously applied to an awarded degree.
Further graduate-student links:
The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Graduate applications and financial-aid forms
Murray Graduate Center
Undergraduate Program (AB) Descriptions
Major in Linguistics
The focus of the linguistics program does not lie alone in the acquisition of language skills, but rather in learning to analyze linguistic phenomena with a view toward making significant generalizations about the nature of language.
Students majoring in Linguistics build their programs around a specific area of emphasis. A program of study tailored to the individual student's interests and goals is designed in consultation with the faculty.
Typical areas of emphasis include philology (the historical and comparative study of ancient languages), psycholinguistics, and language acquisition.
A major in Linguistics prepares students for a wide array of careers including education, law, publishing, speech pathology, government service, and computer science.
Linguistics majors should have proficiency in one foreign language and competence in at least one other language at a level appropriate to their career plans. Some exposure to a non-Indo-European language is desirable (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Arabic--all of which are taught within the Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures).
Students who wish to pursue departmental honors must register in their final semester for SL 401 AB Comprehensive: Lingustics.
Major in Russian
Track 1: Russian Language and Literature (ten (10) one-semester courses)
Track 2: Russian Culture and Civilization (ten (10) one-semester courses)
Major in Slavic Studies
The interdisciplinary major in Slavic Studies provides broadly based training in scholarship about Russia and the nations of Eastern Europe.
The normal program for this major requires a miniumum of ten (10) one-semester courses:
Minor in East European Studies (interdisciplinary)
The East European Studies interdisciplinary minor requires a minimum of six (6) approved one-semester courses, distributed as follows:
One of the Russian & East European electives may be a directed senior research paper on an approved topic.
For further details consult
http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/ees/home.html
Minor in Linguistics (departmental)
This departmental minor requires a minimum of six (6) approved one-semester courses:
Minor in Russian (departmental)
This departmental minor requires a minimum of six (6) approved one-semester courses:
Minor in Arabic (departmental)
The departmental minor in Arabic Studies covers areas of Modern Standard Arabic and Modern Hebrew, Modern Middle Eastern literature and cultural history, and Near Eastern Civilizations. It requires a minimum of six (6) approved one-semester courses:
Minor in Chinese (departmental)
The departmental minor in Chinese focuses on acquiring modern language proficiency and knowledge of aspects of Chinese culture, literature and civilization. It requires a minimum of six (6) approved one-semester courses::
Study-abroad programs
Veliko Turnovo (Bulgaria)
Boston College students participate in the International Summer Seminar for Bulgarian Studies in Veliko Turnovo (Велико Търново) where they study Bulgarian language and culture to supplement our own courses.
Center for International Partnerships and Programs (CIPP)
Students taking classes in the Department of Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures participate in Boston College's programs and international partnerships in Bulgaria, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Nepal, Philippines, Poland, and Russia.
For complete information on any of these programs and also on 'unofficial' study abroad, contact the Center for International Partnerships and Programs.
Placement and proficiency examinations
East Asian languages placement exams (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) for entering students will take place on Tuesday 02 September at 4.30pm in Carney 302:
For more details on East Asian language exams, read http://fmwww.bc.edu/SL/KP-AsianProf.pdf.
English for Foreign Students
The Department offers a number of linguistics courses for training teachers of English to foreign students.
The Department of English offers elective and core-level courses of English language and literature for foreign students enrolled at Boston College (EN 117-120).
fmwww.bc.edu/SL/SL.html [UTF-8 encoded]
v9417s cnnmj