CERES
2115 Francis Scott Key Hall
College Park, MD 20742-7315
phone: 301.405.4265
fax: 301.314.9399
general email
program email
CERES is administered through the History Dept.

Requirements

Requirements for the CERES major include the College of Arts and Humanities requirement of 45 upper-level credits completed. The College’s foreign-language requirement will be automatically fulfilled in the process of fulfilling the CERES requirement of taking either Russian, German, or a Central/East European language (including Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Serbian and Croatian, Bulgarian, and Romanian). The language requirement can also be fulfilled by a Eurasian language (ie, a language from a country formerly part of the Soviet Union). Those interested in fulfilling the CERES language requirement through a Central/East European or Eurasian language should consult the Director upon entering the program.

Students on the Russian language track must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours in the Russian language and literature courses selected among the following equivalent courses: RUSS 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302, 303, 321, 322, 401, 402, 403, and 404. Students interested in specializing primarily on Central/Eastern Europe have the option of the German language track, and must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours in the Department of Germanic Studies selected among the following equivalent courses: GERM 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, 302. Students on the Central/East European language track must complete the equivalent of 24 credit hours of language study. Also accepted will be 16 credit hours of Russian OR German and the equivalent of 8 credit hours of a Central/East European language. Fulfilling the language requirement through a Eurasian language (a language of a country of the former Soviet Union, such as Ukrainian, a Central Asian or Transcaucasian language) will be decided on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the director.

It is recommended but not required that the student who plans on doing graduate work complete at least 18 credit hours at the 300-level or above (which may include courses applicable to the CERE program) in one of the above-mentioned departments. It is also recommended that students who plan on doing graduate work in the social sciences, government and politics, economics, geography, and sociology take at least two courses in statistical methods.

The student’s advisor will be the program director or the designate. The student must receive a grade of C or better in all the above-mentioned required courses.

Students must complete 24 hours in CERES courses at the 300-level or above. These 24 hours must be taken in at least four different departments (with the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures counting as a single department), and may include language-literature courses beyond the required 24 hours. These courses include Russian 321-322 - Survey of Russian Literature I-II (in Russian); RUSS382 Russian Civilization II (in Russian); Russian 405 - Russian-English Translation I; Russian 409A/798A - Selected Topics in Russian Language Study: Russian Television and Journalism (in Russian).

Of the 24 hours, at least 9 hours must be in those CERES courses with substantial and specific focus on Central/East Europe (ART 488c, GVPT 359, 409, HIST 319, 340, 443, and other special courses offered in the CERE area with the approval of the director) and at least 9 hours must be in those CERE courses with substantial and specific Russian/Eurasian focus (GEOG 325, GVPT 445, 451, 459a, 481, HIST 344, 424, 425, 442, SOCY 474, THET 499, and other special courses offered in the CERE area with the approval of the director).

In addition to language courses, the following CERES courses count for the major’s requirements:
ARTH 488c—Modernism in Central and Eastern Europe
ECON 315—Economic Development of Underdeveloped Areas
ECON 380—Comparative Economic Systems
GEOG 325—Geography of the Soviet Union
GERM 349I: Germanic Literatures in Translation: Literature of the Holocaust
GERM 339: German Literature in Translation: Kafka and Film
GERM 439F: Germanic Literatures in Translation: Berlin und Wien um1900
GVPT 359*—East European Politics and Societies
GVPT 359*— Rise and Fall of Communism
GVPT 409—International Relations and World Politics: Developments in the Post-Communist World
GVPT 445—Russian Political Thought
GVPT 451—Foreign Policy of Russia and the States of the Former Soviet Union
GVPT 459a—Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics
GVPT 481—Government of Russia
GVPT 4** – Communism, Fascism, and Liberal Democracy in 20th-Century Europe
HIST 307/JWST 345 The Holocaust of European Jewry
HIST 340— Nationalism and Communism in Eastern Europe
HIST 344— Revolutionary Russia
HIST 419 – Empire and Nations: The Habsburg Monarchy, 1740-1918
HIST 424—Early Russia
HIST 425—Imperial Russia
HIST 442—Twentieth-Century Russia
HIST 443— Modern Balkan History
HIST 419*/JWST 419L History of East European and Russian Jewry
PHIL 328—Studies in Philosophy: Marxist Philosophy
RUSS 328—Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature in Translation
RUSS 398—Women in Russian Culture
RUSS 431—Russian Literature of the 19th Century I
RUSS 432—Russian Literature of the 19th Century II
RUSS 433—Russian Literature of the 20th Century
SOCY 474— Post Soviet Societies
THET 499– History of Performance and Theatre in Russia

The various cooperating departments also offer special seminars and non-permanent courses in the Russian, East European, and Eurasian field that can count for the major’s requirements, so students should regularly check the offerings of the core departments. HIST 237, Russian Civilization, is recommended as a general introduction to the program but does not count toward the fulfillment of the program’s requirements.

Advising

Please make an appointment with the CERES Director, Professor M. David-Fox, at mdavidf@umd.edu, 301-405-4295.
For CORE and College of Arts and Humanities requirements students need to be advised by the College: see www.arhuinfo.umd.edu