You will be responsible for completing your own research projects through the semester. You will need to provide an analysis of representation of the Russian life and culture in one of the three distinctive genres: photography, literature and film. You are expected to answer the following questions: 1) What was the intention standing behind the creation of these works of art? 2) What kind of issues did the authors want to draw attention to? 3) What kind of images or broader picture did the authors seek to produce and what kind of expressive means did they use to achieve this goal? 4) What kind of reaction was expected on the part of implied audience? 5) Does this genre have any unique tasks, opportunities and specifics as related to other genres of Russian arts and to corresponding genre in other cultures you are familiar with? 6) What kind of cultural stereotypes portrayed and what kind of expressive means used by the authors did strike you, grab your attention or make you see Russian and your own cultures in a different way? 7) How do the issues analyzed in your essays relate to our class readings and discussions?

Essays must be double-spaced, have normal margins and be properly, consistently referenced. See http://www.aaanet.org/publications/style_guide.pdf for an American Anthropological Association (AAA) style citation guide (based on the Chicago Manual of Style).