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Learning from Oprah
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Learning from Oprah
Having taught Russian literature to Oprah’s Book Club, and having co-authored Russian for Dummies (2006),
I try to develop teaching methods that combine the best intellectual traditions of Slavic
Studies with the most useful pedagogical tools of contemporary popular and media culture.
If Oprah can inspire a million Americans to read Anna Karenina, then I see no reason
why professors of Russian language and literature can’t energize a nation of American
college students to take an interest in our field. One of my main goals as a teacher
and a scholar is to do just that. I believe that the extraordinary heritage of Pushkin,
Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn and other great writers belongs to all of us.
I want to excite students and remind colleagues about the continued relevance of great
literature to our lives today.
And I want college students to realize that to learn Russian is not nearly as hard as
some people think, and that there are many good reasons to start learning this fascinating
language today.
Thanks in part to Oprah’s inspiration, I constantly seek out creative teaching methods,
and I take advantage of multi-media technology, including film and television
show screenings and internet-based resources such as student discussion groups and blogs.
I also draw on my experiences as an actor, a public speaker, a radio personality, and
a businessman in Russia, to communicate with students of all backgrounds and levels.
Teaching remains one of my greatest professional and personal joys. I aspire to be outstanding
at it.
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