Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body (Dalhousie University)
Authorized form of name
Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Russian Studies
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts. Department of Russian (1988-1993)
- Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts. Department of Russian (1971-1988)
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1971-
History
Dalhousie began offering Russian language classes in 1945, promoting the study of Russian as important for students expecting to read foreign scientific periodicals—thus the course in "Scientific Russian" that was offered alongside elementary Russian for the first few decades. The classes initially were listed under the loosely formed Department of Modern Languages, which later became the Department of Romance Languages. Officially recognized by Senate in 1971 as an independent department, the Russian faculty had been functioning as a department since 1962, having a discrete budget and an acting chairman. During the following decades the program grew to include the study of Russian history and literature and the department's name was changed to Russian Studies.
Places
The Department of Russian Studies is located in the Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building on Dalhousie's Studley Campus.
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The Department of Russian Studies offers a program in undergraduate courses leading to a BA with a major, double major or minor in Russian Studies. The department also coordinates an intensive program in Russian Studies, which emphasizes practical competencies with additional concentrations on Russian literature, art, architecture, music and religion, and the opportunity to study for a semester at Saint Petersburg University. The department supports the Nabokov Online Journal, a peer-reviewed, bilingual electronic edition devoted to Nabokov studies. Dalhousie's Program of Chinese Studies is administered by the Department of Russian Studies.
Mandates/sources of authority
The basic statute relating to Dalhousie University is Chapter 24 of the Acts of 1863. This statute replaced earlier statutes, and the 1863 statute itself has been amended and supplemented several times over the years. The provisions of these various statutes provide for the establishment and regulation of the university, the membership of the Board of Governors and its rights and powers, the authority of senate for the internal regulation of the university (subject to the approval of the board), and various other matters.
Internal structures/genealogy
The Department of Russian Studies is within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It is headed by a chair and, in 2021, is served by a faculty of four professors and and three instructors, supported by an administrative secretary.