RUSSIAN AND EASTERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

The treatment of Slavic languages and literatures at the undergraduate level traditionally focuses on an introductory study of the language and the classic literary works of major authors. The selections in Russian and Eastern European Languages and Literatures section are intended to support such programs. BCL3 focused on Russian language literature and language. To some extent, this was a necessity, as much of the literature available in English translation at the time was by Russian authors. However, political changes have increased interest in the other regions and the availability of English translations of their literary works. 

Selections were made with the intention of providing broader coverage of the literature of the region in English translation. A larger number of titles have been selected to provide a better overview of the literary development of all the countries of the region. In selecting titles for RCL, we have also included bilingual dictionaries and grammars for each of the languages of the region many of which were lacking from BCL3.

The coverage of classic Russian literature was especially thorough in BCL3. We sought to update and supplement what had been listed in BCL3. The reader is referred to BCL3 publication for a more comprehensive list of Russian titles.  
 
Websites presented unique considerations. Along with the usual concerns of authority and longevity, breadth and quality of coverage were also issues. The majority of works available online are translations of Russian texts. There are a number of excellent websites and databases available for literature and languages in general which are not listed in this section, as they are not primarily focused on Slavic materials. Some are fee-based sources such as questia.com or NetLibrary.com. Others, like Project Gutenberg and YourDictionary are freely available.

Sites that are specific to Slavic literatures, authors or languages have been included in those cases where they include quality translations of major works or major linguistic resources. Portals such as RUSSNET, with links to a variety of language resources have also been included when the authority was clear. 

Émigré publications are not included with one exception, the inclusion of major publications by an author before his or her emigration. New editions of older works have been included for the most important literary works and where a new translation or interpretive content is available.

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