At State University of New York institutions, students can major in Spanish, French and many other languages, but until now, students wishing to study Russian have been forced to design their own major.

In the fall of 2017, Binghamton University will become the first SUNY school to offer a Russian and Eastern European studies major, which will be housed under the department of German and Russian studies. Students will be required to complete a minimum of 40 credits within the department and honors options will be available. The major will be open to both heritage and nonheritage speakers. According to Nancy Tittler, a senior lecturer in Russian and the undergraduate director of the Russian and East European program, the new major is the result of over four years of work.

“We had to look over our full current curriculum and revamp it on the model of other language-based majors,” Tittler said. “This really was a wonderful process to go through because we really assessed what we wanted somebody graduating with a Russian major to do.”

Until now, students pursuing a Russian and Eastern European studies major could only do so through Harpur College’s individualized major program. Tittler stated that she believes the new major is a necessary addition to the University’s major offerings.

“We have had [a] steadily increasing array of courses to offer and steadily increasing numbers of people wanting to do the IMP Russian major,” Tittler said. “The time was ripe: we have staff, an array of courses and expertise and mainly, students. Hence, it was time for a departmental and recognizable major.”

Sidney Dement, an assistant professor of Russian, stated that the major will feature two tracks, one in literary and cultural studies and the other in area studies, which will focus on history and politics.

“One you take more literature classes, and the other you take more history and political science courses,” Dement said. “Area studies is a broader view of a topic, whereas language and literature focuses just on that aspect of Russian culture.”

A Russian and Eastern European studies major was previously available at the University until 1975, when BU administration decided to discontinue it due to lack of enrollment. Marina Zalesski, a lecturer in Russian, stated that some of the classes were revived in 1979, although the major was never reinstated.

“It trickled down to nothing because there were less and less students interested,” Zalesski said. “Then, in 1991, the Soviet Union fell apart and all eyes were on the country. Interest toward Russian studies and language increased during this time. That’s why students started to demand Russian classes.”

The University already offers all of the classes needed to complete the major and has a large number of library resources pertaining to the major. According to Zalesski, there are approximately 20,000 volumes related to Russian studies in Glenn G. Bartle Library.

“Historically, Binghamton has had a very large population of Russian-speaking peoples who donated their books,” Zalesski said. “On the shelves of our Russian collections, one might find 19th century books of Russian poetry, books that even in Russia would be considered rare.”

As the major begins, the department has high hopes for its future. The Russian department offers different courses every semester, with topics ranging from Soviet cinema and literature to activism and protest in Russia, and professors hope that these courses will push students to consider majoring or minoring in Russian and Eastern European studies.

“We cover a lot,” Dement said. “We have a whole course on Slavic folklore, which explores the beginning of a national identity and how that continues, and we have courses on film and drama and architecture. There is always room for new courses, and we do propose them regularly. Professors would love for students to write them and to propose ideas for new courses.”