MSU offers a range of courses focused broadly on Eurasia. The list below was compiled in Fall 2024 semester and is updated periodically.

Asian Languages

ASN 290: Independent Study
Fall & Spring Semesters – 1-6 credit hours
Special projects in an Asian Languages arranged by an individual student and a faculty member in areas supplementing regular course offerings.

ASN 490: Independent Study
Fall & Spring Semesters – 1-6 credit hours
Special projects in Asian Languages arranged by an individual student and a faculty member in areas supplementing regular course offerings.

Geography

GEO 336: Geography of Europe
Fall of even years – 3 credit hours
Major regions and nations, including their physical resources, peoples, political structures, and economies.

GEO 340: Geography of Eurasia

Spring of even years – 3 credit hours

Physical, ecological, and human geographies of the lands and peoples of the former Russian and Soviet empires and of neighboring regions.

History

HST 326: United States Foreign Relations since 1914

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Foreign policy of the United States from the outbreak of World War I to the present. Topics include Wilson's foreign policy, the policy of isolation, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and current developments.

HST 336: Europe from Bismarck to Brexit

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Politics, society, economy, and culture of Europe and Europe's relations with the wider world, from 1870 to the present, focusing on histories of violence and conflict and struggles for community, including world wars, revolutions, colonialism, decolonization, and European integration.

HST 338: European Power, Culture and Thought: The Modern Era

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Ideas in historical context, 1750-1980. Enlightenment, revolution, conservatism, romanticism. Liberalism, socialism, Marx. Science, realism; anti-positivism, Nietzsche, Freud. Modernism in art and social theory. Feminism. World Wars, Fascism, Communism. Existentialism, structuralism, post-modernism.

HST 344: Russia in the Twentieth Century

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

End of Imperial Russia. Soviet Union from the 1917 Revolution to 1991. Post-Soviet Russia and other successor states. Bolshevism, Stalinism, social transformation and identities.

HST 372: The Middle East: Islam and Empires

Fall Semester – 3 credit hours

Survey of North Africa and the Arab, Persian, and Turkic lands of Southwest Asia from the rise of Islam to the early nineteenth century.

HST 387: The First World War

Fall Semester – 3 credit hours

Causes of World War I, conduct of the war, and its consequences. Political, diplomatic, economic and social factors. Technological and cultural aspects.

HST 388: World War II: Causes, Conduct and Consequences

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Causes of World War II, conduct of the war and its consequences. Political, diplomatic, economic and social factors as well as technological and artistic aspects.

HST 483: Seminar in Modern European History (W)

Fall & Spring – 3 credit hours

A specific problem or theme in European social, political, cultural, or economic history since 1300.

HST 490: Independent Study

Fall & Spring – 1-4 credit hours

Special projects arranged by an individual student and a faculty member in areas supplementing regular course offerings.

HST 824: Seminar in Russian History

Fall & Spring Semesters – 3 credit hours

Political, social, and economic history of Russia. Major interpretations and research methods. Periods and topics vary.

Integrative Studies in Social Science

ISS 330B: Asia: Social Science Perspectives (I)

Fall & Spring & Summer Semesters – 4 credit hours

Comparative study of geography, cultures, politics, and economies of Asia. Diversity and change.

James Madison College

MC 321: The Cold War: Culture, Politics and Foreign Policy

Spring of odd years – 4 credit hours

Cultural representations to explore the Cold War's balance of power politics and domestic consequences.

MC 324D: Regional Politics, Cooperation, and Conflict in Asia

Fall of odd years – 4 credit hours

Sources and consequences of conflict and cooperation in Asia. Conflict and cooperation among states of the region. Government policies to promote security, democracy, and growth.

MC 324E: Regional Politics, Cooperation, and Conflict in Europe

Summer Semester – 4 credit hours

Sources and consequences of conflict and cooperation in Europe. Government policies to promote security, democracy, and growth.

MC 325: State and Society in Comparative Perspective

Spring Semester – 4 credit hours

Comparison of political systems and social-economic structures in capitalist and state-socialist societies. Political history, institutions, culture, and current policy issues.

MC 328: Russian Foreign Policy

Spring of even years – 4 credit hours

Evolution of Russian and Soviet foreign policy. Foreign policy decision-making structures and processes and domestic and international determinants of foreign policy.

MC 329: European Security: Challenges and Strategies

Summer Semester – 4 credit hours

Evolution of challenges facing Europe in post-cold war period. Critical examination of alternative policies and structures proposed in response to these challenges.

MC 331: Encounters With Post-Communism

Spring of odd years – 4 credit hours

Interdisciplinary approach to the study of the cultural politics of post-communism and of international relations with countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

PLS / MC 358: Politics of the U.S.S.R. and Its Successor States

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Political history, communist ideology, state institutions, and political processes in the Soviet Union and its successor states.

MC 386: Women and Power in Comparative Perspective

Fall Semester – 4 credit hours

Application of feminist theory to questions of gender and power in different economic and political systems and geographic areas.

MC 492: Senior Seminar in International Relations (W)

Fall & Spring Semesters – 5 credit hours

Major issues and theories of international relations.

Music

MUS 420: Music of the 18th Century

Spring of even years – 2 credit hours

Late baroque and early classical traditions: styles, genres, forms, theories, aesthetics, performance practices, instruments, and masterworks in sociopolitical context. Aural and score analysis of representative works.

MUS 421: Music of the 19th Century

Spring of odd years – 2 credit hours

Late classical and romantic period traditions: styles, genres, forms, theories, aesthetics, performance practice, instruments and masterworks in sociopolitical context. Aural and score analysis of representative works.

Philosophy

PHL 357: Philosophy of Karl Marx

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Marx's philosophical thought and its bearing on science, religion, art and politics.

PHL 416: Hegel Seminar

Spring of even years – 4 credit hours

Hegel's dialectic and its bearing on both the history of philosophy and issues about science, politics, art and religion.

PHL 421: Topics in European and Continental Philosophy

Fall & Spring Semesters – 3 credit hours

Discussion of movements, issues, or figures in Continental and European Philosophy. Variable by term in content.

Religious Studies

REL 320: Christianity

Spring of even years – 3 credit hours

Origins and historical development of Christianity. Rituals, institutional forms (Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant). Monastic and mendicant movements. Major doctrines and their development. Contemporary status and role.

Russian

RUS 101: Elementary Russian I

Fall Semester – 4 credit hours

Russian language and culture. Development of skills in speaking, reading, listening, and writing.

RUS 102: Elementary Russian II

Spring Semester – 4 credit hours

Further work on Russian language and culture. Further development of skills in speaking, reading, listening comprehension, and writing.

RUS 151: Russian Language Review

Summer Semester – 2 credit hours

Reviews and enhances the content of Russian 101 and 102 and broadens students’ knowledge of Russian culture.

RUS 201: Second-Year Russian I

Fall Semester – 4 credit hours

Intermediate-level development of Russian communication skills. Presentation and discussion of original oral and written texts on aspects of Russian life and culture.

RUS 202: Second-Year Russian II

Spring Semester – 4 credit hours

Further intermediate-level development of Russian communication skills. Further presentation and discussion of original oral and written texts on aspects of Russian life and culture.

RUS 231: 19th-Century Russian Literature in Translation

Fall Semester – 3 credit hours

Writings of authors such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky,and Tolstoy as they examine important ethical questions and reflect social and political concerns.

RUS 232: 20th-Century Russian Literature in Translation

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Writings of Chekhov, Bulgakov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn and Petrushevskaya as they examine the individual’s search for identity in twentieth-century Russian society.

RUS 241: Russian and Slavic Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Folk Traditions

Spring of odd years – 3 credit hours

Introduction to folklore studies through the lens of Slavic folklore. Folk religion and beliefs, superstitions, folk speech, proverbs, jokes, fairy tales, folk music, folk costume, folk dance, folk medicine, arts and crafts, and modern forms of folklore such as memes. Course will be conducted in English.

RUS 250: Russian and Soviet Cinema

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Development of Russian and Soviet cinematic styles and traditions in their historical and social contexts. Major films and directors. Introduction to film technique and analysis. Taught in English.

RUS 290: Independent Study

Fall & Spring & Summer – 1-6 credit hours

Special projects arranged by an individual student and a faculty member in areas supplementing regular course offerings.

RUS 420: Russian Life and Culture Before World War I

Fall Semester – 3 credit hours

Advanced Russian language course. Social and cultural developments in Russia before 1914, using primary documents and films. Themes include Russian folk belief, life under the Tsars, the place of minorities in the Russian empire, and gender issues in Russia.

RUS 421: Russian Life and Culture in the 20th Century

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Advanced Russian language course. Social and cultural developments in Russia and the Soviet Union between 1914 and 1991, using primary documents, television shows, and films. Themes include the revolutions of 1917, the rise of Stalin, the Cold War, the place of minorities in the Soviet Union, and the break-up of the Soviet Union.

RUS 440: Contemporary Russian Life and Culture (W)

Fall Semester – 3 credit hours

Advanced Russian language course. Social and cultural developments in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Significant internet component. Themes include Russian life today, organized crime and business, conflict in Chechnya, and Russian attitudes toward the United States.

RUS 441: Russian Literature (W)

Spring Semester – 3 credit hours

Advanced Russian language course. Reading and discussion of key works of Russian literature. Frequent interpretive essays.

RUS 490: Independent Study

Fall & Spring & Summer – 1-6 credit hours

Special projects arranged by an individual student and a faculty member in areas supplementing regular course offerings.

RUS 491: Special Topics in Russian Studies

Fall & Spring & Summer – 1-6 credit hours

Special topics supplementing regular course offerings, proposed by faculty on a group study basis.

RUS 493: Overseas Internship

Fall & Spring Semesters – 1-12 credit hours

Study of Russian language, culture, and literature at an approved site in the Russia. Exposure to Russian life and current events. Interaction with the Russian people.

Sociology

SOC 490: Special Topics in Sociology

Fall & Spring Semesters – 3 credit hours

Experimental courses and courses taught by visiting scholars.