wmmk
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
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I'm headed to college in the fall and considering what classes to take. Russian Literature (which I've only read in translation, as of yet) has always fascinated me, and my college has one of the strongest Russian departments in the U.S., so I've been toying with the idea of majoring in Russian there. The issue is, in order to really take advantage of the upper-level seminars and advising the department has to offer, I'd have to spend 4+ semesters taking Russian language classes.
Knowing Russian would certainly have its upsides: I'd love to look at the original structural nuances of the Russian novels I've read in translation, and it could be advantageous to know Russian if I ever get into diplomacy or international law.
But my major qualm about a Russian major is that it would would mean spending 4 of 32 total classes learning the alphabet, vocab, and grammar of a third foreign language (I've taken four years each of Latin and Germnan, and, while I've done decently well in both, I wouldn't consider myself a particularly 'natural' language-learner). I'm headed to the school I am (a small liberal arts college) because I see college primarily as a place to learn how to think, and I wonder whether I might end up doing deeper thinking about subjects that I already have strong foundations in (English, Latin, Econ) or ones that would require less memorization-based background knowledge (any non-language subject, really).
So, taking that all into consideration, any advice? Are the discipline and rigor of learning a language important counterpoints to the kind of thinking one might do in other liberal arts subjects? And can great professors go beyond teaching rigor and discipline in introductory/intermediate language courses?
Any input is greatly appreciated.
wmmk.
Knowing Russian would certainly have its upsides: I'd love to look at the original structural nuances of the Russian novels I've read in translation, and it could be advantageous to know Russian if I ever get into diplomacy or international law.
But my major qualm about a Russian major is that it would would mean spending 4 of 32 total classes learning the alphabet, vocab, and grammar of a third foreign language (I've taken four years each of Latin and Germnan, and, while I've done decently well in both, I wouldn't consider myself a particularly 'natural' language-learner). I'm headed to the school I am (a small liberal arts college) because I see college primarily as a place to learn how to think, and I wonder whether I might end up doing deeper thinking about subjects that I already have strong foundations in (English, Latin, Econ) or ones that would require less memorization-based background knowledge (any non-language subject, really).
So, taking that all into consideration, any advice? Are the discipline and rigor of learning a language important counterpoints to the kind of thinking one might do in other liberal arts subjects? And can great professors go beyond teaching rigor and discipline in introductory/intermediate language courses?
Any input is greatly appreciated.
wmmk.