1:00-2:15P TR  BH 321

Honors 203 fulfills COAS requirement.
Above section meets with HON H226

Pushkin is the best Russian poet. Americans do not read poetry, much less
Russian poetry. This course teaches Americans who know no Russian to read
Russian so that they can read and appreciate the poetry of Pushkin,
Russia's best poet.

How to do this? We take Russia's best poet Pushkin's best poem, "The
Bronze Horseman." We learn to read the cyrillic alphabet (one week). We
learn just enough vocabulary and just enough grammar to figure out how
Pushkin's words work (six and a half weeks). Then we start reading: no
need to look up vocabulary (it's all in the margin), no need to worry
about grammar (every form has been explained). It's Russian without (much)
pain, and poetry for pure pleasure.

What's the catch? One midterm (Week Nine), one final exercise (Week
Fifteen, but then there are no class meetings), one final exam based on
the exercise. What's required: a reasonable knowledge of English, no prior
knowledge of Russian or poetry, and a willingness to learn something new.
What's the pay-off? Experiencing first-hand the best poem of the best poet
of the (still) biggest country in the world.

Students are graded on the basis of their attendance and active
participation in class discussions (40%), written assignments (20%),
midterm (20%) and final examination (20%). The only text required for this
course will be available in zeroxed form and will cost approximately $10.