U.S. Summer School Arrives
By Aliona Bocharova
Special to The St. Petersburg Times
It has long since become common practice for Russian students to go abroad on exchange programs or take language courses at local language centers. The New York Institute of Cognitive and Cultural Studies, a summer school taking place at the St. Petersburg State University from July 4 through July 25, however, offers a different concept. American and some European professors from various educational backgrounds will be meeting with Russian students to experience a series of intensive inter-disciplinary seminars in humanities and social sciences. The project idea belongs to John Bailyn, Professor of Linguistics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Director of the Stony Brook Study Abroad program for St. Petersburg, and Anna Maslennikova, Professor at the Department of English Philology of the St. Petersburg State University, and founder of the university-based Center for American and British Studies, the official host institution for the course. The goal of the New York Institute is to create a program that does more than just teach English. "We would like to expose students to entirely new teaching styles, as well as innovative cutting-edge approaches to cultural and cognitive studies," said Maslennikova. "A great variety of courses is offered that unites two areas of modern research: cognitive science, which cuts across traditional boundaries of linguistics, psychology and philosophy and cross-cultural studies, which cuts across literature, history, and translation and includes gender studies and media studies. We will also have a 'teaching team' - two professors representing different cultural backgrounds - that provides a broader perspective on the issues discussed," said Maslennikova. "Another unique feature of the New York Institute is that its participants major in different fields, including philology, psychology, sociology and even Eastern languages," Bailyn said. "It is truly fascinating to watch linguists and psychologists debate over approaches to evolution theory in the 'Evolution of Language' class". Other classes taught are 'Studying the Human Mind', 'Entertainment, Media and American Politics', and 'Film and Cultural Anxiety'." The 120 participants in the New York Institute - all selected on a competitive basis - are students from various local institutions such as the St. Petersburg State University, the Herzen University, the Institute of Foreign Languages, as well as students from Moscow, Ivanovo, Cherepovets, and three students from the U.S., Bosnia and Austria. However, three quarters of the students and a majority of the teaching staff have backgrounds in lingusitics, which often results in a philological inclination in some courses. "Although I study linguistics at the Herzen University, I was more interested in cross-cultural issues, as it is useful for my future job at an agency for the adoption of children by American families," says Natalya Balyasnikova. "But even courses on cultural studies seem to bear a linguistic touch". However, the majority of students are very excited about the program, "I really appreciate the personal approach in classes and the wide variety of courses to choose from," said Anton Poletayev, also a Herzen University student. "The way of teaching is really liberal, and the discussions are great; they are exactly what we lack in our authoritative educational system", said Balyasnikova. The faculty consists of 15 professors from prominent universities, including Stanford, Princeton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SUNY, and Warsaw University. "It should be noted that the professors do not receive a salary for teaching at the New York Institute, as students do not pay for the program," said Bailyn. "Free accommodation is provided and part of their air fare is covered by the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the Fulbright Program, but generally the teachers work on a voluntary basis." Yet the teachers seem to be satisfied, as all of them have a personal interest in Russian culture and have other, non-material, reasons to be part of the program. It is a good start for Gregory Garvey, who teaches American history and culture at SUNY to prepare for heading the SUNY/Moscow State Center on the United States and Russia next year as a Fulbright scholar. He also sees the New York Institute seminars as an opportunity to express his views on American history which "American students - taught to view their history as a constant progression towards liberty and freedom - might find rather surprising". Polly Gannon, a professor at the Fyodorov Translation Center affiliated to the St. Petersburg State University, says, "I love teaching Russian students; they are very candid and generous in expressing their ideas, and even more so in this program. Besides, after living in Russia for six years I have made a sort of sacrifice and have accepted values that differ from the traditional Western ones." "In no way do we try to promote American culture, as [the New York Institute] is a joint initiative that incorporates both American and Russian visions and, so far, they have been co-existing harmoniously," said Bailyn. "I am also impressed that my expectations of a state institution being a bureaucratic structure to be struggled with were not justified: the Center and the Department of Philology have been very supportive, the Center even 'lent' its staff and premises for the New York Institute." As Bailyn and Maslennikova think of the program's future, they hope to engage more students and teachers next year, expand the range of classes offered and improve the balance of participants in order "to fill the gap in international educational cooperation between Russia and the U.S."
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