The International Institute of Russian Language and Culture and the Institute for International Communication, two independent, non-profit educational centers of Tver InterContact Group, announce the opening of the First International Journalism and Political Studies Practicum in Tver.
The Practicum is primarily aimed at present and future journalists, sociologists, political scientists, and specialists in Slavic Studies and other professionals studying Russian language, history, and culture, as well as the modern life of Russian society, economics, and politics.
For students of universities and colleges intended a four-week program, including both an academic part and an internship in local organs of the mass media.
Participants in the four-week program will receive:
-professional internship with one of the local Tver newspapers (the journalism internship program will be supervised by the Deputy Editor in Chief of the first independent Tver Newspaper, "Veche Tveri")
-to prepare their own journalism reports or a topical research project
-participate in discussions and meetings with Russian politicians, economists, municipal leaders, military men, scientists, and the common people of Russia
-audit seminars in history, culture, and the contemporary political and economic situation in Russia
-receive practical work experience in the operations of Russian organs of the mass media in the aftermath of the Duma elections and on the eve of the Presidential elections
-to make real progress in studying the Russian language
-to undertake educational trips and excursions
For professional journalists, political scientists, sociologists, and other specialists studying contemporary Russia, we offer a three-week field study program which includes topical seminars, as well as informational, consulting, and organizational support of their individual projects.
Participants in the three-week program can expect
-to take part in seminars on the history, culture and economic and political life of Russia
-take part in discussions and roundtable panels with the participation of specialists from the Gorbachev foundation, Tver politicians, and representatives from various electoral parties and movements
-conduct individual research and prepare their own material with the support of consultants and assistant translators
-undertake educational trips and excursions
-receive exposure to basic communication skills in Russian
Why is Tver the best place, and now the best time, to hold this Practicum????????
The Practicum will be held on the eve of an event of worldwide importance -- the Russian Presidential Election. The former leader of the USSR, Gorbachev, used to say that "We live in interesting times." The December of 1995 stunned the world with the Communists victory in the State Duma elections. The forecast for the upcoming Presidential election are equivocal, and much will depend on the mass media's role in the campaign. The Duma elections of 1995 attracted the attention of thousands of foreign journalists and observers from all over the world. The race for the Duma included 43 individuals, parties, and movements of various sizes and strengths. A similar situation will be faced in the upcoming Presidential election.
The political life on the brink of the third millennium seems to be developing most dynamically and has left far behind the development of the Russian economy. In less than ten years, the country has traced the path from a totalitarian, single-party state to an (plethora???) incredibly multi-party state. The task of modern politicians to a great extent lies no longer in increasing diversity, but rather in unifying around a central idea and plan for the future of Russia. The relations between the central metropoli and the provinces of Russia also offer a fascinating process to observe. It is no secret that the December Duma elections revealed the gulf laying between the path chosen by the two capitals and that chosen by the provinces, which in most instances voted for communist and nationalist movements.
The city of Tver (population 500 000) is situated between Moscow (150 km distant) and St. Petersburg (500 km). Numerous and convenient methods of transportation to the southern and northern capitals of Russia make Tver an ideal place in which to acquaint yourself with the national culture, both of the capitals and of the provinces. In addition, the Tver region is a perfect vantage point from which to observe the societal, political, and economic processes going on in modern Russia, as well as the life of a typical provincial region. Tver has its share of both the assets and dilemmas aspects of many Russian provinces: -stagnation of local industry
-underdeveloped agricultural sector
-weak transportation infrastructure
-unemployment growth -complex demographic situation: declining birth rates, noticeably greater female than male population, aging of the population -"Red" political orientation of industrial and agricultural workers -political apathy within the educated classes -recent emergence of the private sector -standard provincial array of higher educational institutions and research and technological centers -local representative offices of numerous national political blocs, parties, and movements -full spectrum of political views and biases represented in the local organs of mass media The city has its own traditions of political activism. The pages of history are covered with the heroic deeds of Tver's Prince Mikhail Tverskoy, competition with Moscow for the leadership of Russia, and political reform writings of Saltykov-Shchidrin, and the city's recent success in winning back its ancient historical name of Tver (during the Soviet era the city was labeled "Kalinin").
Tver itself has everything needed to provide an active and interesting holiday: museums and galleries, theaters and concert halls, gyms and nightclubs. The bulk of the Practicum's programs will take place at the Institute, which is located in the historical center of the city on Tryokhsvyatskaya Street. In the spring this street becomes the city's favorite place for relaxation, strolling around the shops, and meeting with friends. It is only a few minutes walk from Tryokhsvyatskaya Street to the ancient city park, which is located on the right bank of the Volga River. This great Russian river has its source in one of the lakes of the Tver region, Lake Seliger, a natural pearl of European Russia.
Besides regular academic programs of various lengths throughout the academic year, the Institute organizes special topical and professional programs.
The Summer of 1995 saw the Second Annual Summer School of Russian Language and Area Studies in Tver. Building on its three previous years of experience in offering Russian language courses to students and professionals, the Institute organized an unforgettable program in which 150 Russian and 60 international students from all over the world (including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, and Japan) took part.
In 1996, the Institute began its first Winter School of Applied Russian Studies, which attracted students from the United States, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, and France. The core curriculum of intensive Russian language training was complemented by creative workshops and studies of the cultural traditions which the Russians in the provinces hold so dear.
Through the end of 1996, the Institute will offer three more special Russian language and cultural programs, in addition to its regular group and individual offerings:
-Spring Journalism, Political Science, and Societal Studies Practicum (May 27 through June 23, 1996)
-Summer School of Russian Language and Culture (25 June through 16 September, 1996)
-Fall Semester Program in Translation and Communication Sciences (1 October through 20 December, 1996)
Four-week program (May 27 through June 23) -intensive Russian language course (for all levels of fluency, from novice through advanced) -- 12 hours per week -seminar series on area studies, Russian literature, and the political history and geography of Russia (seminars will be given in Russian with simultaneous translation into English) -- 6 hours per week -journalism internship (orientational seminars on Russian journalism, the operations of the mass media in Tver and Moscow, and internship placements with mass media companies in the towns of the Tver region) -- 12 hours per week -preparation of supervised group and individual research projects on one of the topics offered, and presentation of research results at an end-of-program conference -- 8 hours per week
Three-week program (June 2 through June 23) -elementary Russian language course -- 8 hours per week -orientational seminars on the history of the democratic movement in Russia, and on the political, social, and economic geography of Russia in general, and of her Central Region in particular -- 6 hours per week -discussions and roundtable panels (meetings with news analysts, reporters, and election observers) -- 6 hours per week -excursions and meetings in Moscow, Tver, and the towns of the Tver region, with visits to the district election committees, editorial boards, political clubs, and press conferences -- 8 hours per week -individual field work with the assistance of consultants and translators -- 8 hours per week
The Practicum will be held with the assistance of the independent Russian press monitoring agency "What the Papers Say", which will permit all participants to work with their archives and current digests canvassing all the print and broadcast media in Russia. WPS publishes daily digests of more than 1000 Russian central and regional print publications and transcripts from the broadcasts of 14 television and radio companies in Russia, in both Russian and English.
Participants will have access to the following topical digests, for use in their research:
-WPS Daily Digest
-Russian Regional Press Digest
-Human Rights in Russia
-15 Nations Digest
-Banks and Exchanges
-Economic Teledigest
-Defense and Security
-Conversion of the Military-Industrial
Complex
-Jews in Russia and the CIS
Participants in the Practicum will take part
in the publication of a weekly electronic
journal, which will record their experiences
and discoveries throughout the program, and
be published over the Internet.
I. Russian Language -Basic Russian Language Course for Beginners -Elementary Conversation Course -Structure of the Modern Language -Russian for Professional Communication -Russian Grammatical Patterns -Text analysis and interpretation -Basic Models of Translation and Interpretation
II. Russian Literature and its History -History of Russian Social and Political Journalism -Politics as Mirrored in Literature (Chaadaev, Pushkin, Chernishevsky, and Tolstoy) -Political Satire (Zoshchenko, Olesha, Bulgakov, and Pyetzukh) -Social Utopia in Literature (Zamyatin and Platonov)
III. Area Studies -Economic Geography of Russia -Political and Social Geography of Russia -History of the Democratic Movement in Russia (history of electoral laws in Russia) -Human Rights in Russia: Prospects for the Emergence of Civil Society -Cycles of Russian History -The Russian Idea in Russian and Western Philosophy -Politics and Cinematography -History of the Civil War in Russia -The Russian Empire -Politics and the Russian Orthodox Church -Political Hermeneutics
IV. Professional Seminars -History of Journalism in Russia -State and Free Press -Specifics of the Journalistic Process in Russia: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow -Traditions of Journalism in the Provinces and in the Metropoli -Freedom of the Press and Information in Russia
The orientation stage of the internship placement will include a program of seminars, visits, and introductions to: -the work of the mass media in Tver (newspapers of various political orientations) -provincial television and radio stations -the major media offices in Moscow -internship and guided individual research Practical studies and work on participants' individual projects will follow one of four tracks: -Municipal and regional government -Social activities, education, culture, and sports -Industrial restructuring, private enterprise, economics, and finance -Political reporting
Participants in the four-week program will also be awarded an additional Certificate indicating the place, hours invested, and successful completion of their internship.
-Visits to the polling stations; observation of the work of the district election committees and how the voting progresses
Topical educational excursions
-"Problems of a small city: Preservation of its history and culture; demography of a small city"
Staritsa (May 29, Wednesday) -- meeting with the director of the ethnographic museum; visit to an exhibition of "Russian national dress" Ostashkov (June 15, Saturday) -- meetings with the heads of the city departments of culture, tourism, and youth programs; excursion through the historic quarter of the city; visit to the Nilov Pustyn Monastery.
-"Problems of local industries: restructuring of local enterprises; political orientation of a small city"
Rzhev (June 5, Wednesday) -- meetings with departmental specialists in economics and industry at the office of the mayor of Rzhev; meetings with local trade union representatives; visit to the local crane- building company (one of the largest in Russia).
Torzhok (June 19, Wednesday) -- meetings with the mayor's public relations secretary; meeting with the editorial boards of local newspapers; visit to the country's largest paint and print-ink factory; excursion to the museum of wooden architecture
-"Russia faces the choice -- Russia after the election: prospects, forecasts, and conclusions"
Moscow (June 13, Thursday) -- roundtable with representatives from the Gorbachev Foundation and major Moscow newspapers; and excursion around the city
-"Environmental Dangers"
Vishni Volochek, Udomlya (June 8, Saturday) - - meeting with the directors of a privatized textile mill in Vishni Volochek; meeting with the administration of the nuclear power station in Udomlya
Local Excursions
-Meetings with political clubs and visits to the local headquarters of political parties and blocs
-Visits to municipal and regional enterprises and organizations as required by individual and group project plans (second half of the day)
-Tver museums (Picture Gallery, Local Lore Museum, Provincial Handicrafts Museum, Literature Museum)
-Workshops and studios of local Tver master craftsmen and folk artists: Tver School of Icon-Painting, Woodcarving Workshop, ceramic art studio
Final conference (June 22, Saturday)
Presentations by Practicum participants reporting on the results of their activities; discussion with the Gorbachev Foundation representatives, journalists, and deputies of the Tver regional Duma
9:00 - 10:30 Russian language
10:30 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:45 Russian language / seminars
12:45 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 18:00 Interactive seminar on area
studies/journalism topics; internship time;
excursion to enterprises and organizations
18:30 - 21:00 Evening events (gatherings,
excursions, and parties)
Note: Classes run from Monday through Friday. Wednesdays and Saturdays feature excursions. Sundays are free time.
For participants in the three-week program
09:00 - 10:30 Elementary Russian lesson
10:30 - 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 - 12:45 Orientational seminar on area
studies; local excursions
12:45 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 18:00 Work on individual projects;
local excursions
Note: Classes run from Monday through Friday. Excursions and trips are offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sundays are free time.
1. To live with a Russian family, in a private room with all conveniences, not far from the Institute. The students are guaranteed room and half board (i.e. breakfast and dinner will be provided every day of the week).
2. To live in a separate apartment with all conveniences, but without meals provided.
For registration, one should fill out the attached registration form and send it to the Director of International Programs of the Institute by fax or email. Within one week you will receive a confirmation of your registration in the capacity of a program participant, and if necessary, will receive the Institute's official invitation in order to obtain an entrance visa.
To register for the Practicum, no previous knowledge of Russian is required. Furthermore, all program participants will receive Russian language training as part of their program.
The Institute will provide free transportation for the meeting and seeing off of all Practicum participants at Moscow airports and train stations on May 26, June 2, and June 24. For arrivals, departures, and transfers on other days, an additional fee of $50 US is charged.
The organization of the Practicum has been made possible by financial assistance from the educational and consulting organization, Tver InterContact Group, and the Tver Regional Administration, who have paid the costs of internship placements, excursions and trips, cultural enrichment program, and transportation expenses.
The Practicum participants will cover the costs of the academic program and orientation programs, plus the cost of accommodation and meals.
Interested applicants should forward the attached application form to:
International Institute of Russian Language
and Culture
c/o Tver InterContact Group
P.O. Box 0565
Central Post Office
Tver 170000, Russia
Phone: +7.0822.425419 or .425439
Fax: +7.0822.571765
Email: info@ic.redline.ru
Email: info@ic.tunis.tver.su