Russian Studies

[Renee Stillings]

> At the State University of New York at Buffalo we did have a Russian
studies
> "special major" made up of courses in Russian plus others in poli. sci and
> history. In recent years, however, the poli.sci. prof. has been saying
that it
> is better , for professional purposes, to have a major in a discipline,
such as
> political science, rather than in Russian studies. So then we had people
> minoring in Russian. Emily Tall,
>

I am not surprised to hear this and further, if to look at things from the
business world I also work in, until I get the impression that Russian area
studies offer enough depth in disciplines such as economics or political
analysis, and all other factors aside, I would probably hire a candidate
with the discipline I was looking for and would appreciate their foresight
in taking a minor in Russian. I would worry a lot about someone who was
applying for an analyst position in an investment bank working with Russia,
who's major life-investment decision was to major in Russian rather than
economics or finance. Not because they couldn't understand and do the job,
but because they at some point made that decision probably without thinking.
It's not like Russian is one of those majors that people finish up because
it is easy. There is considerable effort (and money!) put into it. (What is
truly amazing is that someone can easily spend $100K on a Russian degree and
never go to Russia during studies. Really, if I had my way, the student
should not be allowed to graduate with that degree--major or minor. Just
doesn't reflect well on the standards of the department and school.) If my
kid told me he was majoring in Russian, I'd minimally look very closely at
the curriculum plus the reputation of that school's curriculum in the
business world that will ultimately hire him. Then after a cost analysis I'd
probably send him to Russia for a couple of years instead. A lot of
employers, including myself, place more emphasis on in-country experience
than anything else.

Actually, from inside the business world of Moscow, one school does stand
out--Columbia. In good part it is through their networking, but really,
Columbia grads flooded the financial market scene in Russia pre-crisis.
Don't know what they are doing now, but certainly then, it brough my
attention more to that university. I believe I do recall hearing that study
abroad in the NIS is virtually required there though.

As much as I am a proponent of Russian language study (much of my livelihood
depends on it), I am first and foremost interested in making sure my
students have a chance at getting a job. Sure it isn't just a selfless
act--those same students that we sit and discuss job markets with are the
very ones that supply our organization with the very best and useful
references--not just about us, but about Russia and the opportunities there.
I also get a huge sense of satisfaction out of seeing a student find some
direction and focus, as I went through the same thing in 1990 and have been
involved in tremendously exciting things in Russia ever since. An increase
in the number of positions for teachers of Russian language and literature
will be driven not by a tremendous surge in the interest in Russian poetry
or art or anything else that more often than not garners a not-so-lucrative
job, but by an overall surge from other sectors that are much bigger and
begin to target Russia--oil & gas, finance and investment, hi-tech, int'l
trade, environmental, etc. Financially, it seems to me that it is more
interesting to have 200 Russian minors, than 12 majors, and that is a far
more natural balance to the job market.

As a parallel to this, we ourselves have actually spent more efforts on
marketing to departments other than Russian over the past year (for study
abroad). Given the current size of Russian departments, we see departments
of economics, history, etc. as a potentially bigger market and ultimately if
we can bring over business or science students, for example, and create some
enthusiasm for Russia, there is a greater chance they will take some Russian
classes again when they go home--again, as long as there is a relation to
practical disciplines and not only literature.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                http://members.home.net/lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------