Being able to speak a language with a high degree of proficiency depends on much more than having an impressive vocabulary and a firm grasp of grammar. A knowledge of cultural codes, common references and allusions, and other intertextual references shared by most native speakers is essential to achieving a greater understanding of various kinds of discourse and to blending in more easily in the language environment. The aim of the course is thus to introduce students to a number of text-centered cultural phenomena that have found their way into the fabric of everyday speech in Russia and former Soviet republics.

Course materials will include a number of the most quotable and seminal late Soviet and modern Russian movies, animation films, songs, TV shows, and excerpts from literature references to which can be found in everyday usage and the language of the mass media. Students will be expected to watch and read the materials at home, with class sessions being structured as guided discussions of the content and its reflection in the mass culture.