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Languages@Muhlenberg.edu
Newsletter 2004
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The Many
Faces of Russian Studies
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Zoya Feldman ’04 enjoys her
trip to Ellis Island
and the Statue of Liberty |
This past year has been an exciting and expansive year for members
of the Russian Studies program. The Russian Club started its year
by participating in the annual activities fair, held in September,
which allows students to experience the wealth of extra-curricular
activities available at the College. Though the weather was poor,
spirits were high and the club succeeded in signing up over twenty
new members.
The Club visited Ellis Island with the First Year Seminar: Strangers
in Paradise. Students went on a tour of museum and were allowed
to explore its extensive halls on their own. Some even succeeded
in finding the names of their family members who were processed
at Ellis Island. The visit ended with a traditional Russian meal
at Uncle Vanya’s restaurant in Manhattan.
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Russian students enjoyed a quick lunch after preparing salads for the Holiday Party |
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While members of the Intermediate Russian I class were studying
cooking and food vocabulary, they spent a class period making
Russian salads at Dr. Iskold’s house in Allentown. The
delicious salads were then served at December’s International
Holiday Party.
When Yevgeny Yevtushenko visited Lehigh University
for a poetry reading, the Russian Club was in attendance. Yevtushenko
is one
of the most famous twentieth century Russian poets. He is the
author of Babii Yar, a poem about death during the Holocaust.
With help from several students, Yevtushenko led an immensely
interesting and theatrical performance. Even indifferent students
were converted by his energetic presentation. Yevtushenko signed
autographs and interacted with his audience. It was truly an
amazing experience to be sitting only three feet away from such
a legendary Russian poet.
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Yevgeny Yevtushenko presented his poetry
with the help of theater arts students
at Lehigh University |
The Russian Club held the first
of several planned Russian Tea Night discussions in January.
During each Tea Night, Russian
club officers speak about a period
of Russian history or about current events. The first Tea Night went extremely
well and students enjoyed the charismatic presentations covering the Period
of the Kievan Rus’ through the Appenage Period.
More recently, the Russian
Club has collected school supplies for Ukrainian schoolchildren. Ari Mittleman,
son of Hillel Director Patti Mittleman, donated
the stickers, markers, and crayons to schools he visited in the Ukraine
during
his spring
break as part of a program sponsored
by George Washington University.
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The samovar is the traditional method for preparing and serving tea in
Russia |
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2003 is the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg, Russia’s ‘Window
to Western Europe.’ To mark
this anniversary, Dr. Iskold, Russian Studies
students, and members of Allentown’s Russian community prepared a display
window.
St. Petersburg is the cultural and art center of Russia as well as
the second largest city, next to Moscow.|
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Zoya Feldman ’04 displays just a few of
the many schools supplies collected for Ukrainian schoolchildren
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The Russian Club will hold additional
Russian Tea Nights and will participate in the annual Geek Week events with
the help
of other language clubs. I encourage all students to attend a
Russian Club event: see what Russian culture is like!
--Matt Jakubik, ’06 |
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