The Institute of Modern
Russian Culture
A rich archive and international study center devoted to the cultural history of Russia, especially the visual arts and literature of the 19th and 20th centuries
WELCOME!
Dedicated primarily to the study of the language, literature, and culture of modern Russia, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers students the opportunity to witness the dramatic renaissance of one of the world's major cultures as it redefines itself and its place in the world.
Slavic Department faculty are active nationally and internationally in a variety of fields ranging from literary theory to Romantic poetry and the avant garde. They are united by a central focus on language and literature in their broader cultural context, which includes study of the fine arts, theater, history, and cinema.
The Department features language classes with a focus on communicating in Russian, literature courses in Russian as well as English translation. We share faculty with the departments of Comparative Literature, Linguistics, the School of Theatre, and History, and offer opportunites for Exchange and Study Abroad programs.The department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers students the opportunity to participate in a 6-week study program in Moscow, the capital of Russia
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What's New
Free Russian Dance Program: The Barynya Ensemble
Saturday, November 14, 2009, 11:00 AM & 12:30 PM
W.M. Keck Amphitheatre, Walt Disney Concert Hall
Be prepared to get up off your seat and dance along with the Barynya ensemble, a unique group of top Russian, Cossack, and Ukrainian dancers and musicians. Immerse yourself in the delightful sounds of traditional Russian instruments such as the balalaika, garmoshka, and Gypsy guitars as you feast your eyes on the breathtaking crimsons and sapphires of each costume. Barynya has performed internationally with the Moiseev Dance Company and the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company, as well as within the United States at such prominent locations as Lincoln Center in New York City as well as the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
Performance tickets are FREE and are distributed on a first-come basis Grand Avenue at 2nd Street. Tickets for 11 a.m. performance distributed beginning at 10:00 a.m. Tickets for 12:30 p.m. performance distributed beginning at 11:00 a.m.
NOTE: The W.M. Keck Children's Amphitheatre is an intimate outdoor performance space. Sunscreen and appropriate seasonal attire are strongly encouraged. In the event of rain, event will be moved to a nearby indoor location.
For more information, please visit musiccenter.org, email education@musiccenter.orgor call 213-972-4396.
The University of Southern California Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies, established in 
2009 by the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures under the auspices of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, is awarded annually for an outstanding monograph published on Russia, Eastern Europe or Eurasia in the fields of literary and cultural studies in the previous calendar year. The 2009 award will be presented in November at the AAASS National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.
John Bowlt received a Phi Kappa Phi Faculty 
Recognition Award in May 2009 for his Moscow and St. Petersburg 1900-1920. Art, Life & Culture of the Silver Age (Vendome Press).
Academic Studies Press recently published three works by our faculty:
Thomas Seifrid's A Companion to Andrei Platonov's "The Foundation Pit"; and
Marcus Levitt's Early Modern Russian Letters:
Texts and Contexts and his translation of Viktor Zhivov, Language and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Russia.
Alumnus Mikhail Gronas (Ph.D. 2002) has been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure at Dartmouth College.
Our graduate student Zlatina Sandalska has been awarded the Center for Exellence in Teaching's University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for 2009.
Another of our graduate students, Mila Nazyrova (ABD and nearly done), has been hired as a visiting instructor of Russian at Ohio University.
This past April the Institute for Modern Russian Culture, directed by John Bowlt, re-opened in its new facilities in the Shrine Auditorium adjacent to the USC campus.