What is Slavic Languages and Literatures?
What is it like being a Slavic major?
What are common misconceptions about SLA majors?
What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
How will Slavic majors save the world?
Why would anyone want to date a Slavic major?
What is Slavic Languages and Literatures?
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, perhaps not surprisingly, concentrates on the study of Slavic languages and cultures—Russian is the most common, but others include Polish, Czech, and Bosnian. The department therefore pulls from a number of academic disciplines—comparative literature, Russian language, anthropology—to analytically discuss literature and culture.
Basically, you learn about the literature, culture, and history of the region. Indeed, almost all of the courses within the department are about Russia and its neighbors. However, the department is unparalleled precisely because you interact with these objects of study in so many different ways. Because so many disciplines are involved in the study of these cultures and regions, classes can analyze the great classical Russian authors—Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc.—for their literary glory, analyze the anthropology and politics of modern Russia, discuss the literature and culture of the Soviet Union in terms of its social content or its "beauty." While concentrating on one area of study, one can learn from a variety of disciplines in the process.
What is it like being a Slavic major?
In comparison with other departments, life as a Slavic major is ideal. Unlike some of the larger departments at Princeton, the SLA faculty bends over backwards to help its majors and attract students of different backgrounds - even then, every year there are more faculty in the department than majors, a fact which allows one's interaction with the department to be incredibly personal.
Secondly, there are the course requirements. Only 8 courses are required for the major—four of which can be taken from another department if they pertain to SLA—while there are only three required classes—SLA 219, 220, 221—which cover in English the classics of Russian literature. Therefore, majors can craft their study around Slavic literature, Slavic politics and economics, or Slavic culture, or any mixture of the three.
The first general hurdle for majoring in SLA is the language requirement, the equivalent of three years of Russian Language. While this may seem daunting, anyone who starts Russian as a freshman or sophomore in order to fulfill the language requirement should have no trouble finishing it. The department organizes a summer program, Princeton in St. Petersburg, designed for students who have had as little as one year of Russian at Princeton.
Like many other majors, the department requires 2 JPs. One, either in the fall or the spring, must be a two thousand word paper in Russian, while the second is a more traditional paper, five to six thousand words in English. Both are very reasonable, especially given the length of some papers you will no doubt have to write in the two years prior to junior year. However, a Russian JP can be difficult for students with lesser Russian, and the department anticipates such problems. The thesis should be about 20,000 words, certainly a burden but no different from any other major.
What are common misconceptions about SLA majors?
Firstly, the Russian language is more doable than some would imagine; certainly, learning a new alphabet is difficult, but the language has a sort of logic that allows students to understand it. Secondly, Slavic majors come from all different backgrounds—there is certainly no pattern, and students in the program also interest themselves in comparative literature, history, politics, economics, and even mathematics.
What kind of internships and international experiences have majors had?
Internationally, Slavic majors tend to go to Russia and its surrounding areas. However, students participate in a variety of internships and programs there, from financial internships at Alfa Capital, to study in St. Petersburg or Moscow, to work with Russian news agencies or oil companies. The diverse background of the major also prepares students for work in the United States—internships in banking, marketing, teaching, etc., are all attainable within the major.
How will Slavic majors save the world?
They'll be some of the few people to understand Russia and its neighbors, an asset which grows more and more vital as, for instance, the situation between Georgia and Russia becomes more contentious. Russia will always be a very important place culturally, politically, and economically; therefore, the world will need people who understand Russia and can apply the lessons they've learned from Russia to the wider world.
Why would anyone want to date a Slavic major?
Everyone knows the Russians, and by extension students in the Slavic Department, know how to have a good time.
