This summer, 2011, The Program in Russian and East European Languages and Literatures, jointly with Rutgers Study Abroad, is organizing its third annual six week program of study in Saint Petersburg. Plan to arrive in St. Petersburg on May 27. Classes end on July 8. Plan to leave on July 10. For more information contact either Professor Gerald Pirog or Professor McCoy-Rusanova

There are cities that can be more than just a place to study: a city can itself be a space that holds the story of a nation’s culture. Some cities are more “storied” than others and St. Petersburg is certainly such a place.  Some of the most important writers made their homes in this “the most premeditated of Russian cities,” as Dostoevsky once wrote, and some of the most significant historical moments in Russia’s history are tied to this city.  Our summer program will make this the central subject in all the learning environments in which you will work. You will have a more vivid and profound grasp of the significance of this great city and its place in Russian culture and history.        

White Nights Excursion 2009 around 11:23 PM

Spend your summer abroad in St. Petersburg! Founded by Peter the Great in 1703 to be his “window to Europe,” St. Petersburg has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its historic center is filled with majestic plazas, gorgeous palaces, beautiful churches, museums, monuments, parks, and winding canals. And you’ll be there during White Nights, a magical time of year filled with exciting festivities and celebrations. During these few weeks around the Summer Solstice, the sun does not sink far enough below the horizon for it to get truly dark. You can stroll the festive streets at any hour in perpetual daylight. As Pushkin put it, "Одна заря сменить другую спешит, дав ночи полчаса..." “One dawn hurries to meet another, giving night but half an hour.”

Around midnight

                             

Click here to view our Adobe PDF Photo Album from 2009. Best viewed in "full screen" mode

                                       

Click here to view photo album from 2010. Best viewed in "full screen" mode

        

Course of Study

In this six week intensive program, you will develop your language skills in Russian and use the city as a platform for learning about the literature, history, art, politics, and culture of St. Petersburg. Language classes will meet four mornings a week (6 credits). Teachers from The Center of Russian Language and Culture, an affiliate of St. Petersburg State University, will teach language courses in coordination with Rutgers Professor Svetlana Georgievna McCoy-Rusanova.

In the afternoons, a complementing course entitled “St.Petersburg: The City as Monument” will be taught in English by Rutgers Professors Jochen Hellbeck, (History) and Emily Van Buskirk (Russian and East European Languages and Literatures). This year's topic will be Leningrad Besieged: The City Transformed in War and Terror. You will study the Stalinist period, including the Leningrad Blockade during WWII. The class will meet 4 days a week with at least one day devoted to a relevant excursion (3 credits). Preparatory readings for this course will be available on Sakai several weeks before departure for applicants in good standing. For a course description click here (soon available)

Sample Schedule
Classes will be held in an annex of the Smolny Cathedral.	Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 9:30-11:00 Language Language Language Language Free or excursion Reserved for longer field trips  Grand Cascade, Peterhof    11:20-12:50 Language Language Language Language 12:50-2:00 Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch 2:00-3:20 Topics Topics Excursion Topics   Free

Pavlovsk

Excursions Excursions take place at least once a week in connection with your course “St. Petersburg: The City as Monument.” You’ll visit historical museums, tour famous palaces and the estates of the tsars and nobility, and visit the Piskaryovskoe Cemetery, a monument to the more than 500,000 people who perished during the 900 day Nazi Siege of Leningrad. Other more distant destinations such as Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, or Pavlovsk will be scheduled on weekends. You’ll be able to make arrangements to travel to Moscow on your own.

Housing and Meals  

You will be housed with a Russian family and provided with one meal a day. There will also be a few scheduled group meals, and you will normally enjoy the freedom to dine out at the various restaurants in the city. Use of family kitchens will vary with host family rules. Students will use public transportation to get to classes. Professor McCoy-Rusanova will invite small groups of students for meals in her apartment.

Final excursion to a Russian family home, 2011

Passports and Visas If you area US citizen and do not have a US Passport that is valid for no less than one and a half years after your departure from Russia, you must apply for one immediately. Students with valid Russian passports should contact Professor Pirog or McCoy-Rusanova as soon as possible. Students enrolled in any college or university may apply, and all levels, including absolute beginner, will be offered. All majors and minors are welcome. Out of state tuition applies to non-New Jersey residents. For more information about cost and application procedures go to the Rutgers Study Abroad site. Some scholarship funds may be available for eligible Rutgers students. Because of the time required to acquire a Russian visa, the application deadline is March 1, 2011. Later applicatiions will be considered. Click here to apply. Click here to view our Adobe PDF Photo Album.