No One is Interested in Russian Studies Anymore
Well, almost no one. Eric Owens of the Daily Caller reports that very few people are majoring in the subject.
Russia Is Such A Backwater Dump Nobody Wants To Study It Anymore
The state of new research and graduate-level instruction on Russia in American colleges and universities is depressingly sad because, in a nutshell, nobody thinks the country that makes up nearly 12 percent of the earth’s landmass is important enough to study.
A report by the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies reveals the extent of the problem, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The Carnegie Corporation-funded report was issued earlier this month and completed from January to April of 2015.
Researchers surveyed 36 American universities that offer specialized graduate-level coursework in Russian studies. They also contacted over 600 Russia-related experts to obtain insights.
The faculties at the three dozen schools include 50 tenured or tenure-track political science professors who have expertise in some Russia-related area. While 50 may seem like a big number, it’s actually just 1.39 professors per school.
Collectively, the 36 schools award an average of only seven — seven — Ph.D. degrees to newly-minted Russia experts each year in the field of political science.
Historically, America’s political science departments have produced more Russian specialists than other faculty departments.
Russia Is Such A Backwater Dump Nobody Wants To Study It Anymore (The Daily Caller)
Comments
Why study Russia when all the exciting opportunities for Marxists are right here in the USA?
Studying the failures of Russia might just cause another annoying bout of cognitive dissonance.
There is more to Russia than Communism. It’s a worthy subject with a long history and a lot to offer. I’ve only barely scratched the surface myself.
How do the stats cited in the article compare to other country-based studies programs, I wonder? China Studies, Japan Studies, Northwest Europe Studies, whatever. That would be interesting to know–is it a question of such curricula dying out across the board in favor of whatever the latest fad is among the faculty, or is it that interest in Russia specifically is dwindling while others are holding steady?