Russian core language modules at level 5, in RUSII language classes (Oral, AV, E-R Translation, R-E Translation) examine the ethnic diversity of the contemporary Russian Federation, and discuss the range of religions that coexist in the country (including Europe’s largest Muslim community).
In the compulsory first year module, students of Russian study and reflect critically on literary representations of the Russian colonisation of the Caucasus, and Russophone literature written by non-Russian authors. Module options from level 5 include Contemporary Russian Short Stories, which examines the Russo-Chechen war through a number of literary representations, including that of as Chechen writer; Postcolonial perspectives on the Russian Novel (from 2023-24) which engages with a canon of Russian novel and minor literature of the 19th century within the broader theoretical perspectives and questions of postcolonialism, and Russian Documentary Film, which looks at representations of Ukraine and Central Asia in Soviet era documentary film from a critical and post-colonial perspective.
Level 6 SML/COM5045 ‘Race and Racism in European Culture’ encourages students to analyse representations of race and racism within European culture from the Middle Ages to the present, mobilising key critical theories that relate to these issues. It engages with a variety of sources (literary, historical, material, and visual) and draws on evidence from a range of European traditions (such as French, German or Spanish) to explore these representations.