Culture and Explosions: How Russian Culture Changed the World

Examination of Russian contributions to advancements in the sciences, mathematics, and the arts (visual/textual/musical). Special attention is paid to the contributions of Mendeleev (chemistry), Vygotsky and Luria (cognitive and developmental psychology/neuroscience), Lobachevsky (non-Euclidean geometry), Sakharov (nuclear physics, dissident), Kandinsky and Filonov (visual arts), Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev (composers), Zamiatin, Jakobson, Lotman, Bakhtin, Voloshinov (semiotics, theories of artistic texts). Taught in Russian. Students must be at CEFR B1 proficiency level.