By KMorris117
I realized that I have not posted much about a large reason I’m actually in St. Petersburg-school! In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned St. Petersburg State University and the Smolny campus. The campus is just as beautiful as it was the first day, and it is a lot more lively now that all classes are in session. I’ve got a few tests and quizzes coming up, so what better way to procrastinate than write a blog post about them?
As you know, I am taking Russian language courses while I am here. Because I am the only student who has never taken Russian before, there was no one else placed in my beginner level. Basically, my professor is individually tutoring me, and it is great. I am so thankful they were able to offer these classes to me because I am really learning a lot. It is overwhelming at times, getting a crash course in such a difficult language and sometimes having up to 3 hours of one-on-one Russian classes in a day, but I can already tell how quickly I am able to pick things up because of it. There is still a looong ways to go, but I knew coming into this that it would be a slow process. And even short conversations I am able to have with people in Russian is progress!
My other three electives are (thankfully) taught in English and with other students in my program. I am enrolled in one course titled “Russia History: Rise and Progress, Tragedies and Revolutions”. In this class, we focus on key events throughout Russian history, and we also try to link the events in the past with the problems of the present. We began with the very beginning of the Russian empire-Kievan Rus- and will work our way up to the situation facing Russia today. Being the history nerd that I am, I find this class incredibly fascinating. My professor is making it a point to teach certain moments in history from different perspectives, some Russians agree with and some Russians do not.
Through this, we can better understand how certain political, religious, and economic institutions have formed throughout Russia’s long history. Although, one could say that Russia, as in the Russian Federation, has a somewhat short history. Factually speaking, the current democratic state that is the Russian Federation has not been around for much longer than 25 years. Our professor made note of this, saying that Russia is both very old and very new. This juxtaposition sheds light on some current conflicts and clashing of ideas Russia is experiencing today.
My second elective is “Contemporary Russian Politics and Governance”. This class covers the evolution of political life in contemporary Russia. We are learning about different issues- the democratization process, electoral and party systems, the role of mass media and public opinion- from different perspectives and in relation to different cultural values and aspects of Russian lifestyle. My professor for this course, who was a young adult during the 1990s when many big events occurred, is witty and loves to tell personal anecdotes about his childhood and teenage years. As an International Affairs major, this class is able to provide a unique understanding on why things are the way they are in Russia today and how these attributes will play out in future developments.
My final elective is called “Russian Civilization: Popular Stereotypes and Social Behavior”. In this class, we are examining different aspects of Russian culture and attitudes, both historically and in the present. Many of the topics have to do with Russian’s relationship with the West, nationalism, traditionalism, spirituality, etc. It reminds me of an anthropology course I would be taking back at GW, and our semester long research project/ethnographic essay makes the sociocultural anthropology minor in me very excited. My professor for this class actually received her PhD from University of Iowa, so we connected right away on that. And although born and raised in Russia, she is new to St. Petersburg and is just as interested in figuring out the St. Petersburg culture as us students are.
All in all, I’m very pleased and excited for my classes here. Obviously a large part of studying abroad is all of the learning going on outside of the classroom, but learning subjects such as these by Russian professors in Russia is a cool enough experience in itself. So yes, Mom and Dad-I am actually studying. Less than usual, but it’s still something, yeah?
