Academics


Distribution of Slavic languages in EuropeThe Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers a rich program in the languages, linguistics, literature, film, art, and cultural history of the Slavic world, from the medieval period up through the present. As a faculty, we share a commitment to interdisciplinary study. We encourage students to see literature in the broader context of cultural production in and beyond Slavic cultures. Our linguistics courses offer synchronic, historical, and comparative approaches to the study of Slavic languages. Our approaches to Slavic cultures reflect the diversity found in the broader world of humanistic study today.

Undergraduate Program

The concentration in Slavic Literatures and Cultures offers Harvard undergraduates an opportunity to study the cultural traditions, past and present, in Russia and other Slavic countries. For a secondary field, we offer two options: Central European Studies or Russian Studies.

Graduate Program

Our PhD program in literature and linguistics offers seminars from many different theoretical perspectives, on topics from Old Church Slavonic to Literature, Film, and Visual Art in Contemporary Russia. Students select a major as well as a minor field. We also offer valuable pathways to independent research as well as travel and research opportunities in the countries we study.

Language Program

Our language courses place a high value on teaching the norms of social interaction, preparing students to navigate the many different kinds of situations they might encounter. The courses also emphasize speaking proficiency, reinforced through reading and writing on diverse themes. Literature, film, journalism, television, and other multimedia material provide topics for exploration in class discussion and written work. We offer programs in Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, and Polish, with instruction in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian by request. 

Study Abroad

The department encourages study abroad and we can help you learn more about these opportunities.

 

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We invite you to explore our Department through this web site, and to visit us on the third floor of the Barker Center at the University. Please feel free to contact the department for information about faculty office hours and for more information about our undergraduate concentration or graduate program.