The evening courses at the Department are back this week. We have an exciting range of offers, from language courses in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish and Russian, to new lecture courses:
- Contemporary Czech Literature
- Contemporary Bulgarian, Croatian, Polish and Russian Cultures (4 five-week modules which can be taken separately or together)
- Contemporary Literature and Cinema in the European Southeast and the Question of Balkan Identity
Happy New Year to all our readers! We are pleased to announce that we are now enrolling for several new language and lecture courses starting the week of 18th January. - Bulgarian language - Czech language - Introduction to Polish Culture - The Golden Sixties and the Czech New Wave in Film
Schedules and application forms can be found on our website; please address enquiries to the Departmental Secretary, Nadia Browne.
But that's not all. As a new initiative, we are calling on all you film buffs to join us for our brand-new
Central and Eastern European film club
We will have weekly screenings of subtitled films from several of the countries studied in the Department.
22 January 2016Djulgerov Georgy, “Авантаж” [Advantazh], 1977
29 January 2016Gardev Yavor, “Дзифт” [Zift], 2008
5 February 2016Ryazanov Eldar, «Жестокий романс» [A Cruel Romance], 1984
12 February 2016Kalatozov Mikhail, «Летят журавли» [The Cranes are Flying], 1957
19 February 2016Ivanda Branko, “Lea i Darija” [Lea and Darija], 2011
26 February 2016Aćimović Dejan, “Moram Spavat’ Andjele” [I have to sleep, my angel], 2008
11 March 2016Kieślowski Krzysztof, “White”, 1993
1 April 2016Pasikowski Władysław, “Pokłosie” [Aftermath], 2012
All screenings will take place at 6:00 pm in Room 5051 (the Departmental Seminar room) in the Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin. Free admission.
The Department is about to start its new diet of evening courses during the academic year of 2015/16. We offer a large range of language courses in
- Russian (from Beginners to Advanced Plus)
- Polish (from Beginners to Advanced)
- Croatian (from Beginners to Advanced)
- Bulgarian (from Beginners to Advanced)
We will offer Czech again in January.
We also have a number of lecture courses. During the first semester (October-December 2015), we are running
- Cultural History of Soviet and Contemporary Russia: Censorship and Freedom
- Cultures of South-Eastern Europe
while the following are offered during the second semester (January-April 2016)
- Introduction to Polish Culture
- The Golden Sixties and the Czech New Wave in Film
The first semester courses start during the week of 5th October. To enrol (ideally by 23rd September) and for further information please go to our website or contact Nadia Browne.
The Department of
Russian and Slavonic Studies, in collaboration with Moscow State
University, is an
official test centre for Certification Examinations in Russian as a Foreign
Language (TORFL/ТРКИ), which are fully integrated into the Common European
Framework of Reference. The six examinations that students may take are:
·(Elementary Certification Level (ТЭУ) – A1)
·Basic Certification Level (ТБУ) – A2
·First Certification Level (ТРКИ-1) – B1
·Second Certification Level (ТРКИ-2) – B2
·Third Certification Level (ТРКИ-3) – C1
·Fourth Certification Level (ТРКИ-4) – C2
The
2014 examination diet will take place on Monday, 14th April 2014,
and Tuesday, 15th April 2014, in Trinity College.
Persons wishing to
undergo focused examination preparation for the Certification Examinations are
invited to enroll on our special preparatory programme. This intensive course
will take place over five evenings from Monday, 7th April 2014 to
Friday, 11th April 2014, in Trinity College. Students of all levels
may apply.
Each evening, two
slots each lasting 60 minutes are available – 6:30-7:30, and 7:45-8:45. Two sessions
each are provisionally earmarked for basic level (ТБУ/A2) and for ТРКИ-1
(B1), while four are scheduled for ТРКИ-2
(B2). The two Friday slots are optionally available against additional payment. There must be a
minimum of two students per slot; where numbers are lower, sessions may be
merged (ТБУ/A2 with ТРКИ-1/B1, and ТРКИ-2/B2 with ТРКИ-3/C1). The final schedule will
be made available once registration is complete.
For enquiries about times and fees, and to register, please contact Natasha Kulachkovskaya, Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Arts Building,
Room 5020, Trinity College, Dublin
2. The application deadline is Thursday,
3rd April 2014; payment must accompany application.
Come and join us for the first Slavonic Pub night of the new academic year to chat in Polish and Russian, and maybe Bulgarian, Czech and Croatian, over a pint or two.
Date: Wednesday, 3rd October (and every second Wednesday after that)
Time: from 8:45 pm onwards
Place: Kennedy's Bar
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Welcome all to the 2012/13 academic year at the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies!
It has been a bit quieter over the summer - although the Polish survival course created quite a stir,
and some thirsty souls have kept the pub night tradition going!
But there are lots of things coming up and to look forward to - we will be updating you on this page and the fabulous Polish at TCD facebook page! First up, we are still accepting takers for all of our evening courses - the deadline has been extended to 28th September: Language courses:
Bulgarian
NEW: Croatian
Czech
Polish and
Russian
Culture courses:
Milestones in the History of Russian Culture (2 semesters)
NEW: Introduction to Polish culture (winter semester)
NEW: Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe (spring semester)
And second,we will resume the pub nights next week on Wed, 3rd Oct, on our fortnightly schedule - details to follow shortly!
Fifteen football
fans and Poland enthusiasts took part in a three-day intensive Polish course
organised by the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies last week. The
course covered a range of communicative situations, including ordering a meal
and buying a train ticket, as well as offering an invaluable insight into the
Polish culture. Here are a couple of phrases that might come in handy to those
who missed the course:
Dzień dobry. (Hello)
Jak się Pan/Pani ma? (How are
you?)
Nie, nie jestem Anglikiem. (No, I am not English)
Jestem z Irlandii. (I am from Ireland)
Kibicuję Irlandii.(I support Ireland)
Irlandia gola! (Go Ireland!)
Kochamy zielonych! (We love the
boys in green!)
The course was
followed by a raffle.
One of the students
with an official EURO 2012 mascot.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Euro 2012
Polish Survival Course
in Trinity College
Get ready for Euro 2012 in just three days!
Our intensive Polish courses focus on practical language skills which will help you to make the most of your time in Poland. The courses are for absolute beginners who want to learn everyday language and get a taste of local culture before embarking on their football adventure in June 2012. The sessions are fun and interactive and will help you to pick up the language and gain confidence in just a few days.
Dates and fees:
Three sessions of 4 hours, total of 12 hours
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,
30 – 31 May and 1 June
4.00 – 8.30 pm
Price: €100
Places are booked only on receipt of full course fee (non-refundable)
In order to secure a place we advise that you book well in advance as places are limited.
For more information on the course, please contact:
Bulat Okudzhava - The son of fervent communists from Georgia and Armenia, the Moscow-born Bulat Okudzhava was to see his father executed as a German spy during the purges and his mother sent to a gulag camp for 18 years. Volunteering for the Red Army at the start of Russia's entry into the Second World War in 1941, Okudzhava served until the end of the war. Working in outlying Georgia after the war, Khrushchev's 'Thaw' brought Okudzhava to Moscow and a position as head of the poetry division of the popular Literaturnaya Gazeta ('literary magazine'). It was during this time too that Okudzhava began to experiment with setting his own poems to music, becoming a pioneer of the avtorskaya pesnya, the 'author's song', a unique singer-songwriter tradition of 'the bard' that flourished in the Soviet sixties, whose deep philosophical and poetic lyrics were given simple musical settings that made them easy to master on the guitar and spread by unofficial private performance: a popular pastime for a new generation of Soviet baby boomers.
Okudzhava's 1959 song 'Paper Soldier', at once an apparently apolitical fable and a touching and humanist reflection of his own experiences in the Second World War with its poetics of the helpless and uncertain individual, became an anthem to the 60s intelligentsia.
Paper Soldier
Once there lived a soldier-boy,
None handsomer or braver,
but he was just a children's toy
A soldier made of paper.
He'd change the world, or so he said,
for joy and peace he'd labour,
but he was hanging by a thread,
a soldier made of paper.
He'd bravely go through fire and smoke,
He'd die for you twice over.
But he was just a laughing-stock,
a soldier made of paper.
You wouldn't trust a paper guy,
With secrets or your favour.
And why is that? I'll tell you why,
'cause he is made of paper.
He challenged fate, prepared to die,
Marched on another caper,
"Ready, fire!" was his cry,
Forgetting he was paper.
"Forward march! We stand or fall!"
He, burning into vapour,
Died under fire for nothing at all,
'cause he was made of paper.
Vladimir Vysotsky - The most famous of the 'bards' Vysotsky's impact in Russia (and abroad, playing concerts as far afield as Mexico thanks to his French actress wife Marina Vlady's connections) is hard to overestimate, leaving behind a legacy over 600 songs, numerous films and an iconic image of himself as individualist rebel and truth-teller. Despite the city's being closed for the Moscow Olympics, Vysotsky's death in 1980 at the age of 42 caused the streets to throng with an unauthorised gathering of thousands in tribute to him, noticeably decreasing attendance of the Olympics that day.
'When I wrote 'Wolf Hunt' it tortured me: I dreamed of that chorus at night. I didn't know what I'd write, but remembered only that 'The hunt for wolves is on, the hunt is on...' - Vladimir Vysotsky
Written in 1968, as the intellectual climate for criticism worsened following the Soviet crackdown on the Prague Spring and 'socialism with a human face', at a time when Vysotsky's films were being banned or heavily edited, and authorisation refused for his concerts and casting in many roles, Wolf Hunt portrays the individual struggle against for liberty against conditioned mental barriers. In December 1969 the Taganka, the most subversive and fashionable Moscow theatre of the 60s, staged the poet Andrei Voznesensky's 'Protect Your Faces', billed as 'an exploration of the way in which the individual face is lost under capitalism and regained under socialism' and climaxing in a performance of Vysotsky's 'Wolf Hunt' as a reaction to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The nominal criticism of capitalism covered and allowed a poetic exploration of the struggle to assert individuality, with Vysotsky shot down against a redlit background after his singing of 'Wolf Hunt' and the actors bringing out mirrors at the finale of the show to show the spectators their own faces. The show was a sensation – and banned after 3 performances. This rare footage of Vysotsky performing the song was recorded during a trip to France.
Wolf Hunt
With every sinew strained I hurtle,
But today like yesterday,
I'm cornered, chased, encircled,
Kept cheerfully at bay.
From the firs the shotguns blast,
In the shadows huntsmen lurk,
On the snow wolves tumble past,
Live targets - easy work.
The hunt for wolves is on! The hunt is on!
For the predators, the mothers and their brood,
Hounds bark themselves sick, beaters yell and run,
And the snow is red with flags and blood.
The hunter stacks the odds against us,
Fights unfairly, his hand won't shake,
With flags and ropes they've fenced us,
They'll hit squarely, and no mistake!
A wolf can't break with tradition,
Blind suckling cubs learn all is lost,
If you break mother's prohibition,
Ropes and flags cannot be crossed!
The hunt for wolves is on! The hunt is on!
For the predators, the mothers and their brood.
Hounds bark themselves sick, beaters yell and run,
And the snow is red with flags and blood.
Our legs and jaws are quick,
Answer, leader, why oppressed,
Do we stumble poisoned and sick,
Without putting the fence to the test?
A wolf's fate cannot be questioned;
And now my time is done.
The hunter to whom I'm destined
Smiled as he raised his gun.
The hunt for wolves is on! The hunt is on!
For the predators, the mothers and their brood.
Hounds bark themselves sick, beaters yell and run,
And the snow is red with flags and blood.
I burst through the flags in desperation,
The thirst for life is stronger still!
Behind I listened with elation
To yelling, cheated of their kill.
With every sinew strained I hurtle,
But today's NOT yesterday,
I was cornered, chased, encircled,
But the hunter lost his prey!
The hunt for wolves is on! The hunt is on!
For the predators, the mothers and their brood.
Hounds bark themselves sick, beaters yell and run,
And the snow is red with flags and blood.
Another interesting riff on the wolf persona came with the airing in 1969 of the first episode of 'Nu Pogodi!' ('Just you wait!') which was to become the Soviet 'Tom and Jerry', depicting the struggles of an antisocial hooligan wolf (a role originally intended for Vysotsky, whose casting wasn't authorised) to catch a cleancut, model citizen hare. Aside from the nods to Vysotsky's 'bandit song' persona in the character design, the first episode also features the whistling of a few bars of one of his rare radio hits, the 'Song About a Friend', as the wolf climbs the rope to the balcony. Click here to view 'Nu Pogodi!' episode 1.
Taken from the 'Milestones in the History of Russian Culture' evening course. *Just announced!* The course will be available next year. Email the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies for more information on how to enrol.
A new video made up of interviews with lecturer Ewa Stanczyk and representatives of the fourth year European Studies course on their experiences studying Polish in Trinity and thoughts on the country.
Freshly subtitled for the 'Milestones of Russian Culture' lecture on 19th century music, the 'father of Russian literature' Alexander Pushkin and the 'father of Russian music' Mikhail Glinka join forces for a musical setting of Pushkin's lyric poetry (this performance - Yuri Gulaev, 1978)
A glimpse into the thriving, unofficial 'salon culture' of the early 19th century, whose poetry recitals and philosophical discussions helped to shape the Golden Age of Russian literature as well as the birth of Russian classical music, much like the later influence of the unofficial 'Samizdat' and 'Magnitizdat' cultures of the Soviet 1960s. Notice the simplicity of the piano accompaniment, designed for circulation by intimate salon performance, the subtle reference within this sentimental love song to Pushkin's enforced political exile in the countryside for his writings after the Decembrist revolution: - “the rebel storm's blast scattered the dreams of former times [...] in remoteness in gloomy isolation” - which gives the song a subversive political edge for his contemporaries, and, lastly, the harmony between the rhythms of the song and the musical rhythms of Pushkin's Russian.
The distinctive character of Russian prose played a huge role in shaping the aesthetics of Russian music, with a staggering 141 operas being based on the works of Pushkin alone. The most radical 19th century Russian composer Mussorgsky, in works like 'Marriage' and 'Night on a Bare Mountain', drew inspiration from Gogol's chaotic breaking of the rules of composition and jolting shifts of tone between poetic lyricism and farce - listen to his famous'Night on a Bare Mountain', based on Gogol's St. John's Eve.
Against the backdrop of Russian history, this new lecture course (2011/12) offers an overview of major developments in Russian literature, music, film, painting, sculpture, architecture, theatre (including opera and ballet), crafts and costumes.
Spanning the history of Russian culture from its roots to the present day, the course is divided into two semesters. The first looks at the culture of pre-revolutionary Russia (from the icons of Kievan Rus’ through the times of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to the ‘golden age’ of the nineteenth century), while the second covers the culture of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia from the October Revolution to the present (the avant-garde of the 20s, Stalinist social realism, ‘the thaw’ under Khruschev, the culture of ‘glasnost’ and contemporary Russia).
This multimedia course is intended for a wide audience with a general interest in Russian culture. The class consists of a one and a half hour lecture per week. Lectures are delivered in English by staff of the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies.
The course is already running, but it is possible to enrol for the second semester.
The completed application form accompanied by payment in the form of a personal cheque, postal money order or bank draft, payable to Trinity College no. 1 account should be returned to: The Executive Officer, Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, room 5045, Arts Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2. Phone: 01 896 1896, email: slavonic@tcd.ie
Extracts from a public lecture delivered in the Trinity Long Room Hub as part of the 'Dublin Festival of Russian Culture' from 1 - 7 March 2011.
Russia is a hugely diverse and multicultural nation, home to over 170 recognised ethnic groups, many indigenous, and four world religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. As of 2007 over 1,350 newspapers and magazines, 300 TV channels and 250 radio stations were printed and broadcast in over 50 minority languages. For this reason, the Russian language has two words for 'Russian': 'russky', meaning 'ethnically Russian', and 'rossiysky', meaning 'of the Russian state'. But where are the boundaries of 'russky' culture? This extract discusses the many cultures that helped to shape the origins of the Russian state:
Following the Westernising reforms of Peter the Great, this extract discusses the multicultural origins of many of the leading figures of Russian culture, from the Golden Age of Russian literature to the present:
Trinity is offering a new evening course on 'The Milestones of Russian Culture'. View a schedule of the first term hereor download the application formhere. 'The Multicultural Culture of Russia' public lecture was delivered by Brigit McCone, who currently lectures on the 'Milestones of Russia' evening course and 19th century Russian culture course for undergraduates. Click here to see a video of Brigit discussing reasons to study Russian.
Russian is your passport to one sixth of the Earth's surface, from the Arctic to the Black Sea, from the canals of St. Petersburg to the Buddhist monasteries of Lake Baikal and the ancient capitals of the Silk Road in Central Asia.
Russian opens you up to a culture long hidden behind 'the iron curtain' with a dramatic history and world famous literature, theatre, film and art. Russia is also a major and growing business partner of the European Union and the language attracts attention on any CV. Click here for more reasons to study Russian!
Trinity College offers:
the only degree-level courses of Russian in Ireland
native-speaker language assistants
a range of Russian-themed festivities, film screenings and conversational pub nights
exchange programmes with a variety of Russian universities and institutes
Is it hard to learn?
The alphabet may look strange at first, but has not many more letters than our own and can be mastered in a week or two. You need no previous knowledge of Russian to study it as a degree subject in Trinity and you will be provided with small classes, personal attention and assistance from native speakers every step of the way, not to mention the opportunities and support to study in Russia itself. It is also possible to do a Russian degree in Trinity as a fluent or native speaker, with programmes geared towards this level.
Which degree is right for me?
Russian can be studied at Trinity as part of 3 different degree programmes:
TSM - TWO SUBJECT MODERATORSHIP
Take Russian with another subject of your choice: another language; literature, drama or film studies; history, archaeology or classical studies; philosophy or economics. Studying Russian with TSM offers the most intensive training in the language, as well as the chance to immerse yourself deeply in Russian literature, history and culture. If you love Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or Gogol, if you're fanatical about film or avid about the Russian avant-garde, then this is the degree for you!Click here to find out more.
ES - EUROPEAN STUDIES
Choose Russian as one of two European languages that you will study alongside history, political science and sociology. If you have a broad interest in modern European society, history and politics, if you would like to understand more about Europe's relations with Russia, and if the opportunity to study and travel in Russia for a year as part of your four-year degree sounds good, then this is the degree for you!Click here to find out more.
BSL - BUSINESS STUDIES AND A LANGUAGE
This programme offers a practical and focused training in the world of business, along with a high level of language training. The Russian you are taught is specially geared towards business and management needs, and is complemented by modules on the wider culture and business environment of the country, with a year's study and a two-month work placement in Russia as part of the degree. If you want to do business with Russians, this is the course for you!Click here to find out more.
EVENING COURSES
If you are not interested in a full-time degree, you can also learn Russian with us at our evening courses, designed for all ability levels, or enroll in a course on Russian culture taught through English. Find out more about evening courses here.
POLISH:
In the heart of Europe, Poland has a dramatic history and a dynamic culture that boasts 4 Nobel laureates in literature, the theatre revolutions of Grotowski and Kantor, renowned filmmakers like Krzystof Kieslowski (Three Colours Trilogy, Dekalog) and the three Oscar-winning directors Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski and Zbigniew Rybczynsky. As the language of one of the EU's fastest growing economies and Ireland's largest immigrant community, it is a major asset to any CV.
Trinity College offers:
the only degree-level courses of Polish in Ireland
native-speaker language teachers, small class sizes and personal attention
a range of Polish-themed festivities, film screenings and conversational pub nights
the opportunity to study for a year in the historic city of Krakow
Which degree is right for me?
Polish can be studied at Trinity as part of 3 different degree programmes:
ES - EUROPEAN STUDIES
Choose Polish as one of two European languages that you will study alongside history, political science and sociology. If you have a broad interest in modern European society, history and politics, want to learn more about the European Union's new members and would like the opportunity to study in the lofty spires of beautiful Krakow for a year, then this is the degree for you! Click here to find out more.
BSL - BUSINESS STUDIES AND A LANGUAGE
This programme offers a practical and focused training in the world of business, along with a high level of language training. The Polish you are taught is specially geared towards business and management needs, and is complemented by modules on the wider culture and business environment of the country, with a year's study and a two-month work placement in Poland as part of the degree. If you want to do business in New Europe, this is the course for you! Click here to find out more.
TSM - TWO SUBJECT MODERATORSHIP Polish can be studied as an option in the third and fourth years of TSM Russian (see above).
EVENING COURSES
If you are not interested in a full-time degree, you can also learn Polish with us at our evening courses, designed for all ability levels from beginner to advanced. Find out more about evening courses here.
CZECH:
Learn the language of the original bohemians and the beautiful city of Prague. Famous for the Art Nouveau stylings of Alfons Mucha, the sweeping strings of Dvořák and writers from Kafka to Kundera, the Czech Republic offers a wealth of history, culture and scenic Central European landscapes to discover. Trinity College offers evening courses in Czech for learners at the beginner and intermediate levels. The Czech Republic is also featured in our lecture series on Central and East European Cultures.Find out more
BULGARIAN:
One of the European Union's newest members, Bulgaria is a treasure trove of golden Black Sea beaches and archaeological riches, boasting no less than 9 UNESCO heritage sites, including the spectacular glacial mountain-scapes of Pirin, Thracian sun tombs, rock-hewn churches, ancient Greek acropolises and the world's oldest gold relics at Varna. With a rich culture and history that fuses Slavic and Ottoman Turkic elements, known for fire-walkers, folk-singers and quality Balkan cuisine, Trinity's evening course in Bulgarian for beginners is a great first step to discovering the country for yourself. Bulgaria is also featured in our lecture series on Central and East European Cultures.Find out more.
JUST ADDED: CROATIAN:
Just added to our roster is Croatian! On the fast track to joining the European Union, and world renowned for its beautiful beaches, delicious food and scenic towns such as Dubrovnic, as well as spectacular ancient Roman architecture from its days as the seat of the province of Dalmatia, Croatia is a land to discover and delight in. Trinity College's evening courses in Croatian are a great place to start. Croatia is also featured in our lecture series on Central and East European Cultures. Find out more
