Deadline: March 15, 2025
Bard Abroad is currently accepting applications for the Russian in Central Asia Summer Program, hosted by our long-term dual-degree partner, the American University of Central Asia (AUCA). The application deadline is March 15, 2025. This summer, we will be offering the following language courses:
● Beginner Russian: Taking Advantage of Multiculturalism (NEW)
● Beginners to Intermediate: Transitional Russian
● On the Road to Proficiency: Russian from Intermediate to Advanced
Please see the program description below for more details. If you have any questions or would like any further information, feel free to contact torlova@bard.edu.
RUSSIAN IN CENTRAL ASIA SUMMER PROGRAM
Program Dates: June 5 to August 2, 2025.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2025.
For more information and to apply visit the website.
Program Overview
The Russian in Central Asia Summer Program combines intensive Russian study with an exploration of the region from historical, political, ideological, and cultural perspectives. During this 8-week summer program, students will be enrolled in two 4-credit courses: a Russian language course, in which students are placed according to their level of proficiency, and Post-Soviet Central Asia: Sovereignty, Community, and Cultural Self-Expression.
This program is hosted by the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, a Bard College dual-degree partner.
Academic Structure and Requirements
Russian Language Course (4 credits)
● Beginner Russian: Taking Advantage of Multiculturalism – NEW
● Beginners to Intermediate: Transitional Russian
● On the Road to Proficiency: Russian from Intermediate to Advanced
Post-Soviet Central Asia: Sovereignty, Community, and Cultural Self-Expression meets four times a week. It is a requirement for all program participants.
In addition to daily language classes, the program includes:
● Russian Table lunches, which encourage vocabulary practice and conversation;
● Guided homework sessions with peer tutors from AUCA who provide valuable one-on-one interaction, language exercises, and communication tips.
Homestays
Students reside with local Russian-speaking families in Bishkek, experiencing daily life in Kyrgyzstan while immersing themselves in a Russian language environment. Homestays include two meals a day during the week and three meals on weekends.
Cultural Program and Extracurricular Activities
Participants experience the culture, history, society, and natural beauty of Kyrgyzstan through weekly excursions and museum visits in and around Bishkek. They also go on trips to sights of interest outside of the city, including the stunning Lake Issyk-Kul and the Ala-Archa Nature Park.
Course Descriptions
Beginner Russian: Taking Advantage of Multiculturalism (4 credits)
As an international language, Russian is often present in the linguistic landscape of other cultures. In Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek is a city where Russian is broadly spoken at home, in the streets, business and administrative offices, and places of leisure and entertainment. This eight-week course introduces students to the foundations of the Russian language and its versatile applications within the context of the vibrant multicultural environment of Bishkek. While focused on such basics as the elementary reading and conversation skills, beginner vocabulary of 1,000 words, and fundamental grammar with an emphasis on case structure, basic conjugation patterns, aspect, and verb tenses, Beginner Russian also aims to engage students in the gradually more sophisticated communication with their peers, host families, and other members of the community. The instruction is centered around oral and written exercises, special mnemonic techniques, dialogues, group work, and role play. Students’ performance is evaluated through vocabulary and grammar quizzes, oral presentations, and short essays.
Beginner to Intermediate: Transitional Russian Language Course (4 Credits)
The course aims to improve communication, reading, and writing skills of students who have completed two semesters of Russian studies at their home institutions. All coursework is done in preparation for an Intermediate-level Russian language study in the fall. The goal of the course is to bring students’ vocabulary and grammar to a more sophisticated level, expanding their beginner lexicon of approximately 800-1,000 words to twice as much through eight weeks of dialogues, hands-on reading and comprehension exercises, writing drills, and other activities. The language activities are connected to the group’s exposure and on-site investigations of the history, natural environment, lifestyle, and unique cultural atmosphere of Kyrgyzstan.
On the Road to Proficiency: Russian from Intermediate to Advanced (4 credits)
Geared towards second-year students of Russian who are planning to expand their oral and written literacy and gain vernacular competence, this course serves as a bridge between Intermediate and advanced levels of language study. It consists of several units, each aiming to develop skills in reading, listening comprehension, conversation, and academic writing. Students are challenged to explore the Russian language from a variety of perspectives: cultural, linguistic, artistic, sociological, and political. One of the goals of the course is to help redirect the students from merely acquiring the Russian vocabulary towards learning idiomatic expressions, idiosyncratic patterns of speech, and syntactical models unique to the Russian language. In addition to the regular coursework, there are special activities in creative self-expression and cross-cultural dialogue with an emphasis on Kyrgyz and Russian cultures.
Post-Soviet Central Asia: Sovereignty, Community, and Cultural Self-Expression (4 Credits)
This course addresses a variety of topics that are essential for the students’ in-depth understanding of Kyrgyzstan and its region, such as the incorporation of parts of Central Asia into the Russian Empire, Bolshevik reforms and practices, the Soviet concept of nationalities and the nationalist policies of the Soviet state, as well as Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The course explores dramatic transformations, including the recasting of traditional cultures, experienced by the Kyrgyz and other Central Asian peoples under the Soviet rule, the development of Soviet-style professional infrastructures and networks, the processes of ethnic and religious awakening, and the revival of Islam and Islamic values in the socio-political life of the region. The curriculum further reflects on nation and state-building in the newly independent states of Central Asia, their recent political and economic developments, and their relationships with Russia and other political actors in Eurasia. This course is taught in English.