Membership matters. This publication is paid for in part by the dues-paying members of the Indiana University Alumni Association. Indiana University Depar tment of Slavic Languages and Literatures Alumni Newsletter Vol. 13 College of Arts & Sciences Summer 2009 From the department chair Federal grant supports study of A time of transition U.S.-Russia global health care and celebration On July , 2008, Ronald Feldstein has attracted science majors to the study of stepped down from the position of chair U.S. Department of Russian. of the Department of Slavic Languages Education project The IU–SFedU project also includes and Literatures and I assumed that role. development of intelligent computer-as- Please join me in thanking Ron for his enters third year sisted language learning (ICALL) materi- many years of leadership and wishing him success in all his future endeavors. by Olena Chernishenko als for Russian language training. One of the unique features of ICALL from the Over his IU career, Ron has served off and on as chair for 5 years. During this In 2007, the Department of Slavic Lan- perspective of language-exercise design time, he worked hard to keep day-to- guages and Literatures won a two-year, software is its ability to generate feedback day operations running smoothly and to $400,000, grant from the U.S. Department based on input during usage. maintain high standards of teaching and of Education (administered by the Fund for The grant project also helped pay for IU research within the department. I aspire the Improvement of Postsecondary Educa- students to study Russian at IUB and travel to continue with the same combination tion program and the Russian Ministry to Rostov-on-Don for a two-week sum- of acumen and energy he brought to of Education and Science). The project, mer program. In both 2008 and 2009, 20 these tasks. U.S.-Russia Global Health Care Course student applicants from IUB and IUPUI For those of you who do not know Study, supports IU faculty and students as were awarded a $,000 language-training me, I would like to use this column to they work with Russia’s Southern Federal stipend, and 0 also received $4,000 to say a few words about myself. I feel it University in Rostov-on-Don on language travel to Rostov-on-Don and attend “In- very important that you have a sense of learning and the study of public health ternational Health Care Delivery: In-coun- me as a person, and not just of my pro- and health policy. IU Bloomington faculty try Russian Field Experience.” Similarly, fessional background. Originally from members involved with the project include students from Southern Federal University New Jersey, I have been on the faculty Olena Chernishenko, Ronald Feldstein, traveled to Indiana to visit and study. at Indiana University Bloomington since George Fowler, Steven Franks, and IUB and SFedU signed a three-year col- 987. My appointment is joint with the Markus Dickinson (Linguistics). laboration agreement. In conjunction with Department of Linguistics. Not surpris- In the project’s second successful year, this agreement, the department hosted a ingly, then, my field is Slavic linguistics, three new courses were introduced: Global group of 3 SFedU faculty and staff from where my areas of specialization include Health Dialogue, Survival Russian, and nine academic fields. Likewise,George comparative syntax and South Slavic Specialized Russian: Public Health Care. Fowler of the IUB Slavic Department trav- languages. Students in Bloomington, Indianapolis, and eled to Rostov to present on teaching dis- As chair, I see my job as one which Russia took these courses via distance learn- tance-learning courses. At the conference, crucially involves people. My main role is ing and video conference. American and “Development of Scientific and Education- to facilitate the smooth day-to-day oper- Russian students collaborated on research al Cooperation between the Universities of ations of the department, and this practi- projects in the Global Health Dialogue Russia and the USA in the Humanities,” cal goal requires unflagging teamwork, course. Fowler worked on a collaborative publica- frequent compromise, and occasional Beginners learned the basics of the tion with SFedU faculty. sacrifice. Like all of us, I want the study Russian language in the Survival Russian We plan to continue this program into of Slavic languages and literatures at IU course, while advanced Russian-language year three upon U.S. Department of Edu- to flourish, and in order to accomplish students learned specialized vocabulary and cation approval. For more information on this I will need your help and input, your about health-care issues in Russia in Spe- the grant project and related IU courses, cooperation and support. cialized Russian: Public Health Care. The visit: http://www.indiana.edu/~iuslavic/ In this issue you will find stories grant program’s global health care focus USRussiaHCProgram.shtml. (continued on page 11) Departmental News Outreach to Indiana and Illinois high schools increases By Dan Tam Do presented a workshop on Sergei Rach- students took part, representing Rickover Led by Mark Trotter, REEI outreach maninov’s Vespers for the SATB Choir at Naval Academy (Chicago), Roosevelt High coordinator, and Slavic Department Un- Bloomington High School South. School (Chicago), Indiana Academy of dergraduate Advisor Jeff Holdeman, IU Thanks to the enthusiastic participation Mathematics, Sciences, and Humanities faculty, students, and staff took part in a of IU faculty and staff, Eastern Europe fig- (Muncie, Ind.), and Jefferson. This major series of events designed to promote the ured prominently in IU’s World Language event was coordinated by Trotter and by study of Russian and other East European Festival in March. Almost 200 Indiana Jefferson Russian teacher Todd Golding, cultures among pre-college students in high school students explored the world’s MA’93, MAT’96. Judges for the Olympia- Indiana and Illinois. cultural and linguistic diversity in a series da included Melnyk and Veronika Trotter, In October 2008, students at both of presentations and workshops. both Slavic instructors. Bloomington high schools experienced The festival included an East European In addition to these events, both Holde- the unique artistry of Reelroad, a Saint folk dance mini-workshop conducted by man and Trotter visited area pre-college Petersburg ensemble. Funded and coordi- lecturers Miriam Shrager and Gergana Russian programs to promote IU’s offer- nated by REEI, the demonstrations at each May (Germanic); crash courses in Russian, ings in Russian and Slavic languages and school featured performances of songs Hungarian, and Polish by Holdeman, make presentations on various aspects of from the group’s most recent album, along Valéria Varga (Hungarian Studies), and Russian culture. In February, Trotter deliv- with group leader Alexei Belkin’s commen- Wiola Próchniak; presentations on Polish ered a presentation on the Russian cartoon tary about the lyrics and Russian folk music and Russian cartoons by Justyna Beinek celebrity Cheburashka to Russian students traditions. Following the concerts, students and Trotter; performances of Ukrainian at Merrillville High School (Ind.). In the were able to chat with the musicians and songs and poetry led by Svitlana Melnyk; spring, Holdeman’s travels took him to take a closer look at their instruments. and a presentation on Polish music and the schools in Indiana and Chicago. He visited Later that month, Holdeman and his stu- media by Halina Goldberg (Musicology). the Indiana Academy of Mathematics, dents organized a Slavic culture program REEI provided significant organiza- Sciences, and Humanites in Muncie, Saint for a Multicultural Halloween Fair. The tional and financial support to the second Andrean High School in Merrillville, and program explored topics such as commem- Illinois-Indiana Regional Olympiada of Chicago-based Roosevelt High School and oration of ancestors, belief in vampires and Spoken Russian for high school students, Rickover Naval Academy for presentations other supernatural beings, mummery and which took place on March 28 at Jefferson on a broad array of topics: Russian Old Be- related practices of various Slavic peoples, High School in Lafayette, Ind. Turnout for lievers, Russian children’s games, Russian and featured hands-on activities. the competition far surpassed the numbers folklore, and Russian superstitions. In February, Brian Schkeeper, IU doc- established at the first Illinois-Indiana Dan Tam Do served as REEI Outreach toral student in choral conducting, Olympiada, held in 2003. A total of 9 Assistant in 2008–09. Neatrour- Edgerton Award To honor his late wife Elizabeth “Betty Joy” Neatrour, Charles Neatrour, EdD’68, wanted to establish a fellowship for graduate students concentrating in Russian. In 2003, he created the Neatrour-Edgerton Fellowship Endow- ment, an endowment that also honors late colleague, teacher, and friend Bill Edger- ton. In 2005, the department began making annual awards to its best graduate students, the recipients alternating specializations in literature and in linguistics. In 2009, due Bo-Ra Chung, Ksenia Zanon, and Steven Franks to Dr. Neatrour’s continued generosity, we were able to make an award to excellent her dissertation, and Ksenia Zanon, a first- great achievement. We thank Dr. Neatrour students in both areas. year graduate student of Slavic linguistics. for making it possible to recognize the These are Bo-Ra Chung, MA’05, a Chung and Zanon share a devotion to academic success of these individuals. literature student who recently defended Russian scholarship and the promise of 2 New faculty Long-time SWSEEL director Ariann Stern-Gottschalk Ariann Stern-Gottschalk joins the faculty reflects with gratitude to direct SWSEEL. In 2009–200, she will also teach Russian and a new course by Jerzy Kolodziej on Polish Jewish “Students are the lifeblood of the culture. Stern-Gott- The news is it looks like we will schalk comes to IU have another workshop this year.