program survival

[Renee Stillings]

I agree 100% that Russian language & literature needs to be expanded--not
only into area studies, but into concrete areas such as economics/politics
(their study and analysis). Technical translation (business and scientific)
is also of considerable use to students and is very rarely offered. Most
students I encounter who are studying Russian do not present a very clear
view to me of how exactly they plan to make a living with their Russian
skills. Language and Literature just to not provide enough jobs later on so
as to make the study of Russian attractive to a larger group. Look at Asian
languages. If you go into a classroom of undergrads taking Chinese or
Japanese, a very large % will indicate that they are studying it because of
a wide range of recognized job opportunities. Students of Russian seem much
more confused about how they might use the language later and usually tell
me they haven't given it much thought.

It seems to me that business schools are a large body to draw from for
building up Russian departments, but for a combination of reasons this has
not happened. On reason may be the negative portrayal of business in Russia
in the press, and thusly probably in the business schools themselves, but
also these students are just not that interested in literature, and thus
don't see a Russian program offering them practical skills.

I recall being quite irate when I studied in an engineering school that I
couldn't study language for credit for more than a semester (based on
national board recommendations/requirements). I don't know if this has
changed (it was quite awhile ago) but my opinion was that in the areas of
science and technology, I was actually MORE likely able to achieve a level
of usefulness in a foreign language and directly apply it than would
students of humanities. Now that most of my high-tech friends tell me that
every other person in their company is Russian, it seems I would have had
ample opportunity to use Russian had I stayed in technology in the US. Now
that I see rapidly increasing interest in the US in investing in
internet/technology projects in Russia, it seems to me there is a great
opportunity here for Russian speakers savvy in technology. In fact, at a
recent conference in Boston on "High Tech Opportunities in Russia," it was
mentioned by several speakers that there is a huge lack of management-level
candidates in Russia and that there is an existing and growing need for
managers of internet/technology projects there.

In summary, it has been clear for quite some time now that simply being
fairly bilingual is not nearly enough to get a job in or related to Russia.
Russians will learn English far faster than we will train Russian speakers,
as it makes more sense for them to do so now. And, more importantly, there
are plenty of Russian immigrants here who easily qualify if the only
requirement is language. For graduates to find work, they need a
professional skill that is in demand, and then the Russian language is a
very nice advantage. I believe it is possible to create an area studies
program that incorporates all of the areas of language, literature, and
culture (as they are important to understanding the people and environment)
along with in-depth study in areas of economics, political analysis,
journalism, engineering/science, management, or other subjects that provide
some extra ammunition in the job search later on.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Devin Browne" <dpbrowne+ at PITT.EDU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2000 12:22 AM
Subject: Re: program survival


> Emily's message about the health of Russian programs is interesting,
> because it comes on the heels of the messages that hit the list recently
> about the development of a Russian Studies major at some institutions.  I
> did some reading about language program enrollment attrition a few years
> ago and one of the recommendations I read was for institutions to develop

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