Vladimir Padunov
Office: 1433 CL
Phone: 624-5713; e-mail: mailto:padunov+@pitt.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 10:00-11:00, Tuesdays 2:30-3:30, Thursdays 3:00-4:00, and by appointment

I. Required Texts:

• Condee, Nancy, ed. Soviet Hieroglyphics: Visual Culture in Late Twentieth Century Russia. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1995.
• Lawton, Anna. Kinoglasnost: Soviet cinema in our time. London: Cambridge UP, 1992.
• Mickiewicz, Ellen. Changing Channels: Television and the Struggle for Power in Russia. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1999.
• Photocopies of articles that will be distributed in class.

II. Reading, Writing, and Viewing Assignments:

All assignments-reading, writing, and viewing-must be completed prior to the next scheduled meeting of the class. Students are expected not only to read the assigned materials but also to review the information in their minds prior to class, to be prepared to discuss the assigned readings in detail, and to be able to pose questions about the assigned readings. Writing assignments are due at the beginning of class on the days indicated in the Schedule of Assignments. All late submissions-with the exception of documented illness-will receive a grade penalty. Students can view the assigned materials in Hillman Library (ground floor in the back).

III. Absence and Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all meetings during the fifteen weeks of the course. Occasionally the materials introduced and covered in class (video or data projection, acoustic tapes, in-class "show-and-tells") will not be available outside of class. Attendance will be taken at each meeting of the course and students will receive a grade for each meeting. These "daily grades" will be based on each student's contribution to classroom discussion. Excused absences due to illness-personal or in the family-must be documented and absent students are responsible for acquiring relevant class notes. Five absences (that is, two-and-a-half weeks of classes) will automatically result in an "F" for the course.

IV. Course methodology:

Each meeting of the course will consist of several parts. Each meeting will begin with a question-and-answer period during which students can pose specific questions about the week's assigned readings or about material covered during earlier meetings. The Q&A session will be followed by a general review of the week's reading assignment. The review will occasionally take the form of a mini-lecture (no longer than 20 minutes), but more frequently will consist of a dialog between the instructor and the students as a way to prepare for a detailed examination and discussion of the assigned materials. Students are expected to participate in the discussion and will receive daily grades for the quality of their interaction in the course.

V. Quizzes:

There will be three unannounced quizzes during the semester. Quizzes may focus on assigned readings and viewings, as well as on class handouts and material covered in classroom discussions. There will be no make-up quizzes. Students will not be penalized for being absent on the day of a quiz.

VI. Examinations:

There will be three examinations during the semester (the dates are indicated in the Schedule of Assignments). Each examination will be limited only that material covered during the preceding weeks. There will be no make-up examinations unless students can document a medical illness. The specific form of the examinations will be discussed at a later date. The form of the three examinations will be the same.

VII. Writing assignments:

There will be two writing assignments during the semester. Topics for the assignments will be distributed in class on the dates indicated in the Schedule of Assignments and each assignment is due at the beginning of class on the day indicated. All late submissions-with the exception of documented illness-will receive a grade penalty.

General topics for the writing assignments will be worked out in class in a discussion between the instructor and the students; the specific topics will be formulated and distributed by the instructor.

Students will have to do some research beyond the texts assigned for or covered in the course for each of the writing assignments. As a consequence, each writing assignment must make use of secondary materials, and these sources must be documented both in the body of the text and in the Works Cited. For specific information of proper layout, citation, and documentation students should consult Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (fifth edition, 1999). A significant bibliography of materials on Russian cinema is available on the Slavic Department web page at http://www.pitt.edu/~slavic/video/cinema_biblio.html.

VIII. Evaluation and Grades:

Students will be evaluated on the basis of their participation in the classroom discussions, quizzes, examinations, and two writing assignments. Students are encouraged to meet with the instructor during scheduled office hours (or by appointment) to discuss their work and grades in the course. Grades will be calculated using the following formula: participation (10%), quizzes (15%), three examinations (15% each), and two writing assignments (15% each).

IX. Schedule of Assignments:

Spring Break (March 6-10)

Copyright © 2000 by Vladimir Padunov.
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