The Russian Mind (in English)

This class provides a valuable introduction to Russian history as well as the modern geopolitical problems in the former Soviet region. The format is based on take-home exams and papers, as well as the occasional quiz or short response. Assessments are manageable if you do the readings.

Professor Walker is an AMAZING professor who is very personable and enthusiastic about Russian culture and history. As a STEM major, I took this course to fulfill a distribution requirement and out of curiosity. I ended up loving the class as it unveiled so many mysteries of the Soviet government and its civilians. Even today, I constantly relate what I had learned from our readings, screenings, and lectures to what is going on in the news in relation to Russia. Strongly recommend, great class!

Professor Walker is an AMAZING professor who is very personable and enthusiastic about Russian culture and history. As a STEM major, I took this course to fulfill a distribution requirement and out of curiosity. I ended up loving the class as it unveiled so many mysteries of the Soviet government and its civilians. Even today, I cons …Read more

This class was a super fun overview of Russian/Soviet history and culture. The reading was significant at times, but definitely manageable and valuable. Sasha is a wonderful instructor and makes all standards of evaluation very clear. I really enjoyed this class and the environment was fun and relaxed.

I really liked this class. There were lots of readings/films, so you are always busy. However, there weren't lots of opportunities to participate in class since it is mostly lecture, so don't feel too worried about getting to everything. The class is very chill and I would say the lectures were really engaging. I knew next to nothing about the subject before taking this, but I walked away knowing so much about Russian history.

I really liked this class. There were lots of readings/films, so you are always busy. However, there weren't lots of opportunities to participate in class since it is mostly lecture, so don't feel too worried about getting to everything. The class is very chill and I would say the lectures were really engaging. I knew next to nothing …Read more

The class was definitely educational, but I fear that some of the media we were given to work with wasn't as helpful as the lectures. Sasha is good at giving interesting lectures, but many of the readings lacked interesting substance and were sometimes difficult to keep up with and understand, which is difficult in a class where discussion posts need to be submitted for every reading. As long as you attend and take notes, you will be mostly alright, but the readings do increase the difficulty of the class. I feel some were not allotted sufficient time or explanation, which also made it hard.

The class was definitely educational, but I fear that some of the media we were given to work with wasn't as helpful as the lectures. Sasha is good at giving interesting lectures, but many of the readings lacked interesting substance and were sometimes difficult to keep up with and understand, which is difficult in a class where disc …Read more

Professor Walker was an amazing professor. He taught the material with such passion I felt guilty when I didn’t read. He always tried to make the class lively and always talked about the readings. He never gave us readings just to have readings.

Professor Walker is a total legend. You only need to spend 5 minutes with him to realize how chill and easy-going of a guy he is. He is understanding about late work, accomodations, and extensions. Lectures were 75 minutes and could drag near the end but that says more about the length of the class than Professor Walker being a boring lecturer. The material for readings and in lectures were all so cool and interesting. Russian history and culture is not taught to Americans at all so this class will be a huge learning experience when it comes to understanding Russia's place in history and in the world today. Invaluable class and excellent professor.

Professor Walker is a total legend. You only need to spend 5 minutes with him to realize how chill and easy-going of a guy he is. He is understanding about late work, accomodations, and extensions. Lectures were 75 minutes and could drag near the end but that says more about the length of the class than Professor Walker being a borin …Read more

Professor Walker is an amazing professor-- he cares so much about his students being engaged and interested in the material and will work throughout the semester to ensure everyone finds something they resonate with. We watched lots of Soviet and Russian films and read excerpts from some of the greats of Russian literature. Class consisted mostly of discussions based on the films and readings, and some short essays were assigned throughout the semester. If you are at all interested in Russian culture or why Russians seem to view the world in such a different way, take this class!!

Professor Walker is an amazing professor-- he cares so much about his students being engaged and interested in the material and will work throughout the semester to ensure everyone finds something they resonate with. We watched lots of Soviet and Russian films and read excerpts from some of the greats of Russian literature. Class con …Read more

I learned so much about the Russian experience in this class, and I still think about many of the texts we read and the movies we watched. Particularly given the current political climate, this class is extremely fascinating. Professor Walker is extremely nice and intelligent. He is very approachable, and always happy to talk about any concerns you may have. It is clear he truly loves what he does, and that is reflected in this wonderful class.

I learned so much about the Russian experience in this class, and I still think about many of the texts we read and the movies we watched. Particularly given the current political climate, this class is extremely fascinating. Professor Walker is extremely nice and intelligent. He is very approachable, and always happy to talk about a …Read more

Very interesting course material, though could be a lot to get through at times. Expect weekly quizzes on readings and films. Classes were lecture based and pretty interesting. Professor Walker does a good job at keeping the class culture pretty low key, even if we had a lot of work to do outside of class.

Professor Walker is great! Very good course that was engaging and comprehensive. The course is alot of reading, but it teaches you a great deal about Russian culture. Professor Walker uses a ton of Russian films to portray the culture so that takes up a great deal of time but the course is amazing nonetheless.

I added this class almost two weeks into the semester and Professor Walker was very accommodating in terms of missed quizzes, readings, and films we had to watch. Prof. Walker told us he "front-loaded" the class, so at no point later in the semester did I feel behind or lost. The readings are not too lengthy, so they can be done with little effort. The same goes for the films we have to watch. Even if you happen to not do the readings for a specific day, you won't need to stress because he is not a fan of cold calling.

I added this class almost two weeks into the semester and Professor Walker was very accommodating in terms of missed quizzes, readings, and films we had to watch. Prof. Walker told us he "front-loaded" the class, so at no point later in the semester did I feel behind or lost. The readings are not too lengthy, so they can be done with …Read more

Professor Walker is amazing. He is very enthusiastic about the class and puts a lot of effort into initiating discussion in class. There's lots of readings and films, but they're all worth it. This class really captures Russian history and culture well, and allows for a great understanding. Would definitely recommend.

the most difficult thing about this course is finding the time to watch the movies, which i generally really enjoyed! usually a multiple-choice homework quiz once a week, with a midterm and a final that were each about 2 short essays. would recommend as a good survey course, even though the 75 minutes was sometimes a bit too long. lecture but he wants participation

Absolute gem. Decent amount of reading, but most of it is interesting and engaging -- a lot of shorter pieces. Portice is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic, as well as a very easy grader. Definitely worth taking as an easy A with some outside work.

Professor Walker is easily the best Prof I've had at this school so far. The course is very engaging and mainly due to Prof Walker's sheer enthusiasm for the material that he's teaching. Not a hard class and very interesting at the same time

Pretty laid back class. Lots of readings but you don't necessarily have to do them all. Class time is lectures and discussions which are usually in small groups. Exams were just essays, IDs, and a final project of your choice.