This is a TBA course. TBA means "time to be arranged" (to accommodate as many students as we can). We hold an organizational meeting for all TBA courses at the beginning of each semester. The time and place of the meeting are posted under "Current Announcements" at our home page, russian.cornell.edu (click Welcome in the navigation bar on the left).

Курс состоит из двух частей — просмотр фильмов и чтение газет. Обе части преподает Виктория Цимберова.

Материалы:

• Тексты для чтения (газетные статьи или веб-сайты по вашему выбору). Выбирайте статьи такого размера и содержания, чтобы вы могли рассказать о них за 7-8 минут.
• веб сайт «Коммунальная квартира»
• документальный фильм «Интервью из России» (watch online; transcript is also available online)
• художественный фильм «Олигарх» (watch online; transcript is also available online)

Watching the films and the Kommunalka videos:

You may watch both films on YouTube (see links under Online course materials) while consulting the transcript in a separate window (see links above). You may also watch them in the language lab in Noyes Lodge on the lab computers: log in (a password, if required, is provided by the lab staff) and start a browser. Check the browser's Bookmarks or Favorites menu; if it has Movies for Courses, click that and log in to Video on Demand using russian9999 both as the user name and the password. Scroll down to the film you want, and click the cover picture. Note the links for online transcripts that you can open in a separate window as you watch the film. If there is no bookmark, visit http://lrc.cornell.edu/ and click Media Library, then Streaming Videos for Class, then log in with the same user name and password. If you have any technical difficulties, or prefer using a DVD and its menus, ask for the DVD at the counter in Noyes Lodge: Interviews from Russia DVD RV95 and Tycoon DVD RV86.

To work with the site Communal Living in Russia, use any multimedia computer and visit kommunalka.colgate.edu.

• Consult the Syllabus and watch the assigned episodes. Make sure you understand at least 80% of the dialog. If some of the passages are difficult to understand, consult the transcripts and your dictionary.
• Prepare four questions on these episodes that you will ask in class.
• When each student is also assigned a few scenes for more careful study, read the scene descriptions and summaries of your scenes and prepare a brief report (3 to 5 minutes). In class, you will be asked to present your report on your own, without any prompting. Try to use as many actual expressions from the text as you can.
• Prepare to act out in class the scenes that are assigned for you individually in the Syllabus. Try to use as much of the actual language from the film as you can.

Reading the Web sites (or newspapers)
Read the story you have selected form a Russian Web site or newspaper. Prepare to report on it in 7 to 8 minutes.

Сочинения
К последней неделе вы должны будете написать письменные работы (1 - 1.5 печатных страниц) на темы, указанные в расписании.

Зачеты и оценки
Ваша оценка будет зависеть от вашей работы в течение всего семестра (75%) и от того, как вы подготовитесь к зачетным занятиям на последней неделе: два сочинения и устные сообщения на те же темы (25%).

Attendance
Attendance is very important for your learning and your grade. If you have to miss a class, be sure to write to your teacher, preferably ahead of time.