Russian

I love Michael Katz and his Dostoevsky J terms. I took his Brothers Karamazov and then this, the Idiot. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience to immerse yourself in such existential, religious-themed, powerful literature during the snowy ski season of Vermont, when you do not major in anything related to Russian or literature. An invaluable book. I will remember every discussion with my classmates. It was also refreshing to take an in-class blue book essay and exam alongside final presentations on a topic of our choice. Truly the epitome of the liberal arts experience. This made me a better thinker in my STEM field and has made my life feel fuller. Sometimes I think about this class randomly.

I love Michael Katz and his Dostoevsky J terms. I took his Brothers Karamazov and then this, the Idiot. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience to immerse yourself in such existential, religious-themed, powerful literature during the snowy ski season of Vermont, when you do not major in anything related to Russian or literature. …Read more

This class was fascinating but really dark. Heavy material is covered. The guest speakers were amazing to listen to and ask questions from. Readings were mainly summaries/analyses of the Chechen war/invasion of Ukraine, but some other conflicts are mentioned. Good class if you're interested in journalism.

Professor Portice is without a doubt one of the finest, most effective instructors/professors I've had in my time in Middlebury. Her skills as an academic and teacher speak for themselves, bu for me one of the most important aspects that she brought was her cultural knowledge of Russia. She was able in class to show us examples of the grammatical concepts we learned being put to real use in everyday Russian. She made us speak in Russian and had us relentlessly drill and repeat any mistakes or shortcomings in our speech, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. My Russian shot up during this time and she was an instrumental part of that. Besides her skills as an instructor of Russian language, Professor Portice is funny, exceedingly understanding about accommodations, test corrections and the occasional missed homework. Overall, Professor Portice has been a valuable and crucial part of my foreign language education here at Middlebury.

Professor Portice is without a doubt one of the finest, most effective instructors/professors I've had in my time in Middlebury. Her skills as an academic and teacher speak for themselves, bu for me one of the most important aspects that she brought was her cultural knowledge of Russia. She was able in class to show us examples of th …Read more