Teaching The North Caucasus in an Anglophone Classroom
Teaching The North Caucasus in an Anglophone Classroom
Irina Kostina
Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Russian Program
Division of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Iowa
Abstract
This article addresses the course “Women Unknown: Fight for Independence,” which focuses on the pressing issues of the North Caucasus and is built on the principle of “from culture to language”. The class includes two categories of students—those with and those without knowledge of the Russian language. Working with a heterogeneous audience imposes responsibility on the instructor and increases the amount of preparatory educational work. The course considers the problems related to the status of women—bride kidnapping, early arranged marriages, polygamy, “female circumcision,” “honor killings,” etc.—based on the context of multiethnic Dagestan. The course includes video recordings of conversations between American and Dagestani students and communications by e-mail, Skype, and WhatsApp. We created a special chart to organize ongoing work in two languages (Russian and English). As a result, both categories of students were able to participate in the course; the students expanded their understanding of the situation in the North Caucasus; their knowledge was enriched in the field of international relations, religious studies, and gender issues; and some expressed a desire to visit Dagestan and learn Russian, which is an intermediary language there.
Keywords: bilingual classroom, women’s status, kidnapping, female circumcision, polygamy, honor killing.
Russian Language in the USA Today
The Russian language is among the top fifteen most widely spoken languages in the United States, and is one of the most widely spoken Slavic and European languages in the country. According to the 2019 United States Census, the number of Russian speakers is estimated to be 768,228, which makes Russian the 8th most spoken language in the country (Dietrich and Hernandez, 2022, p. 2).
In connection with the political situation in the world (the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine), there have been changes in attitudes toward Russia and, as a result, toward the teaching of the Russian language: The number of students in the United States studying Russian has reached a historic low. The number of students registered for first-year Russian language courses has decreased by 30–50%. (Tracey, 2023).
A recent Modern Language Association (MLA) report indicates that the number of Russian language students is falling at about double the rate of overall college enrollment losses (Baer, 2023) with modest enrollments of 17,598. (SRAS, 2023).
It is well known that Russian is one of the more difficult languages for English speakers: It belongs to the Language Group IV and takes around 1100 hours to learn it (ICLS, 2024).
Today, second-, third-, and fourth-year students of Russian receive four classroom hours a week, while there is not an out-of-classroom language environment. Enrollment, however, is declining due not only to political reasons, but also to economic ones.
Studying at universities in the USA is expensive. Why learn a language for which there is not enough time at the university; there are often no intensive summer programs; there is no opportunity to go to a country where you can use Russian; there is no opportunity to communicate freely outside the classroom with friends who are native speakers of Russian; and there are no prospects for getting a job with this language.
At universities today, the course schedule is determined by the numbers. At the University of Iowa, there must be sixteen people in a language group: if there are fewer students, the group is canceled. It is difficult to teach Russian in four hours a week in a large group.
In order to present an impressive enrollment, instructors are forced to combine students of different levels of language experience, for example, to combine students of the second semester of the second year of Russian with students of the first semester of the third year. Business defeats pedagogy. Such an approach seriously complicates the work of the instructor in the preparation of educational material because it is necessary to execute the following procedures:
Differentiate the content of training and create educational materials that will allow students of two distinct levels to master linguistic and communicative competence.
Individualize the material for different levels of proficiency.
Use various types of group learning, considering the characteristics of two types of students.
Diversify and adapt the methods of assessment for each group.
To solve problems in the classroom with multi-level students, it is necessary to master the forms, genres of text, and tactics.
Working in pairs, in groups, or with the whole class is extremely important. The separation of students leads them to lose interest in the language and, as a result, the students are lost. Only a student who engages in the learning process will stay in the program and succeed.
Technology, though, helps to diversify the learning process and motivate students: Students can use their mobile devices, collaborate with the instructor and with each other, participate in game tasks, develop new types of communication, and focus on joint projects. At the same time, the teacher considers the capabilities of students and provides them with the volume of work that will be within the proficiency level of each student.
On the other hand, varied types of collective work are utilized: creating information references, interactive posters, infographics, reports, discussions, debates, competitions, final group projects.
The ideas of collective work are presented in the textbooks Nadezhda 1 and Nadezhda 2 (Kostina et al., 2020 and 2021) and in the creation of the course “Women Unknown: Fight for Independence” (2020)[1] for multi-level students at the University of Iowa, with a focus on contemporary problems of the North Caucasus. This is a general education course: Any student can take it regardless of their level of Russian language proficiency and even in the complete absence of any.
[1] The name of the course has varied slightly in subsequent years, most recently being taught as “Women from an Unknown Land: The Fight for Independence.”
In this case, bilingual instructions (in English and Russian) are necessary: They motivate students, help develop reading skills in their native language (Luchkina et al., 2021) and expand intercultural competence regardless of their level of foreign language proficiency (Zheltoukhova, 2022).
Such courses attract as many students as possible to language classes according to the principle of “from culture to language,” and indeed, if students like the course and the instructor, they begin to study the Russian language and continue with interest.
Language and culture are linked together; the processes of mastering them are complex because, very often, people cannot understand each other correctly even when speaking the same language, and the reason for misunderstandings is the divergence of cultures (Vereshchagin and Kostomarov, 1990). At the same time, it is important to remember that language is not the only means of communication. There are situations where people lose the ability to communicate in their native language and do not know how to communicate in the foreign language. In these situations, a kind of compensation always occurs, a new opportunity arises, a certain system of signs serves for communication, a song accompanied by a visual sequence, the language of emoticons, dance, and even painting (Terminasova, 2000).
Intercultural communication is interdisciplinary in nature and includes the analysis and interpretation of facts from different fields: linguistics, etymology, history, and philosophy. For any type of communication to take place, it is necessary to have an atmosphere of real communication in natural situations.
Nonetheless, pedagogical technology provides a clear structure for the organization of educational work: learning goals leads the way to content of the educational material which then helps to formulate its organization—(methods and forms of teaching and interaction of participants in the educational process) plus assessment of the achievement of goals (Arutyunov and Kostina, 1992).
My course, “Women Unknown: Fight for Independence” received the Global Curriculum Development Award from The International Center of the University of Iowa and was designed to show the past and current global issue of violations of women’s rights in the North Caucasus. The North Caucasus is a mountainous region situated between the Black and Caspian Sea, close to Turkey, Iran, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, and it includes Chechnya and Dagestan-- a hot spot of ethnic and religious conflict.
Dagestan is a philologist’s treasure trove: It is the most multiethnic and multilingual region of Russia; thirty-two languages are attested in Dagestan, fourteen of which are considered to have a written language.
The overwhelming majority in Dagestan are Muslim and adhere to Islam, Mountain Jews practice Judaism, and Russians who practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Dagestan is a vivid example of how to live in a multiethnic environment and remain tolerant of each other. The map below shows Dagestan ethnic groups:
Figure 1
Ethnic map of Dagestan
1. mixed population, 2. Avars, 3. Dargins, Kaytags and Kubachis, 4. Lezgins, 5. Laks, 6. Tabasarans, 7. Aguls, 8. Rutuls, 9. Tsakhurs, 10. Kumyks, 11. Nogais, 12. Azerbaijanis, 13. Russians, 14. Chechens. (Dagestan etnicitiet.png, Wikipedia Commons, 2006)
The course helps students to understand contemporary issues from an international or global perspective by focusing on countries or issues outside of the United States while developing knowledge of women’s rights violations in North Caucasus. The problems in this region tragically affect the fate of women and relate to international problems such as male supremacy in Islamic society and the lack of rights for women: abductions for marriage, early and arranged marriages, “female circumcision” (genital surgery), polygamy, domestic violence, domestic abuse, honor killing, and the involvement of women in the war on terror.
We expect students to gain an awareness of various perspectives and a deeper appreciation of how differences arise. During the course, students get acquainted with the tools that help them identify women’s rights violations; analyze the causes of them; propose solutions; and contact local people of the Caucasus and discuss the situation with them via SKYPE or WhatsApp.
As the students get better at understanding contemporary Dagestani society, they are able to compare it with the realities in their own countries and produce positive and peaceful ideas for changes. For example: Arranged marriages in Dagestan have a long tradition. The main reasons for the arranged marriages are beliefs that they are better than marriages for love, they protect young women from abusive husbands, and they provide a guarantee against poverty because they conserve the inheritance of the wealth in the same group, clan, and family.
The disadvantages of such kinds of marriages are unlimited male control over the women in society; an increased risk of mental health problems when people feel trapped in a relationship; understanding of love as a secondary reason of marriage; limits to personal choices; and increased rates of congenital diseases (in marriages between close relatives).
Students adapt to the complexity and diversity of contemporary life through their understanding of international and global contexts. During the course, they watch videos that include meetings with the local people of Dagestan. I made the videos for the class discussions during my trip to Dagestan. The videos were recorded in Russian with English subtitles. They help students analyze situations, compare, create arguments, come to conclusions, and make the course unique and exciting.
This work covers important topics such as love and arranged marriages, bride stealing (pluses and minuses), marriage and polygamy (pro and con), men and machismo, the strong man cult and the army, abductions of women, and forcing women to participate in war.
The videos often include two opposite opinions on the same problem. It gives students a chance to get firsthand knowledge about contemporary issues in another country, appreciate differences, understand and explain the global context, make decisions, and formulate their own positions. Students will know and be able to apply at least one method of analysis and critical inquiry.
The methods of analysis and critical inquiry are knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values. Examining a global issue requires knowledge of the issue, the skills to transform this awareness into a deeper understanding, and the attitudes and values to reflect on the issue from multiple cultural perspectives, keeping in mind the interests of all parties involved. Global competence enhances young people’s ability to understand their place in the community and the world and improves their ability to make judgements and act (Hanvey, 1982).
For example, one part of the course touches on women’s involvement in religious conflicts and even terrorist attacks. This is a challenging task for students. We do not have a definition of terrorism that is accepted internationally. How do students decide what elements make a particular act one of terrorism? Working with students and reading the articles can help to build understanding and provide different perspectives on this definition: What is terrorism? Who engages in terrorism? Does terrorism target only civilians? What are the motives behind acts of terrorism?
Women of the North Caucasus participate in terrorist attacks for a religious cause—to become martyrs—or just to follow their spouses and share all the difficulties of war. This class provides the opportunity for discussions and evaluations of various scenarios in order to help to understand the conditions and motivations that create conflicts and find solutions to avoid them when possible.
In another example, students acquaint themselves with contemporary situations in Dagestani society where the number of families practicing polygamy have increased during the past 20 years. Students will need to form cultural competencies that let them examine this global issue, understand the reasons behind specific situations, interact with various representatives of another country, improve their ability to make judgements, and find a way to propose solutions.
This work is considered completed only if students master critical thinking, language skills (the “5 Cs”: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities; Edwards and Scott, 2011) and Benjamin Bloom’s methods of analyzing and evaluating communication (Bloom, 1956).
The critical inquiry method gives the instructor and students the ability to gather and evaluate valuable information, ideas, and assumptions to produce analysis, understanding, and results regarding current ideas and questions.
In one more example, there is a situation where a young man kidnapped a young girl. This tradition is still extremely popular in Dagestan and other countries in the world. After reading articles about the life of the girls in a Dagestani family, students understand that there could be two scenarios for this situation:
With a happy conclusion: Two young people love each other, but their parents never let them marry because the future husband or wife is too poor, and the parents do not want to have such a relative. In this case, the young man decides to perform the kidnaping of the bride. They know the moral code of the Caucasus well: If a girl has spent one night with a man outside the parents’ house, she can never come back. Young people use this approach in the hope of getting permission for their marriage after the fact.
With an unhappy ending: A young man spends a night with the girl and decides not to marry her. It is a tragic outcome: The girl will be homeless; she cannot return to her parents’ home and cannot be with a man who does not plan to share his life with her.
The understanding of the real situation in Dagestan and the formation of cultural competence are facilitated by student interviews with local youth, which are conducted by e-mail, Skype, or WhatsApp.
The course attracts the interest of young people from both countries: Students have met, worked together, made friends, participated at conferences (Carmine, 2022), and published an article in the university newspaper about the course (Boucher et al., 2021)
The University of Iowa International Center highlighted the development and presentation of the course, and the course has been regularly incorporated into the university curriculum. To implement a complex educational structure for the course, including constant work in two languages—Russian and English—a special chart and types of tasks were proposed as seen below:
Figure 2
Chart of student and instructor work formats for “Women Unknown”
Examples of the types of work
Textual tasks
Example. Read the text “Women’s Rights and Islam” and write briefly:
The main ideas of the text:
1.
2.
3.
Facts confirming the ideas of the text:
1.
2.
3.
Questions that interest you on this topic, explain the incomprehensible, etc.:
1.
2.
3.
Expression of opinion. Pro and con table.
Example. Bride kidnapping.
Look at both sides of the same phenomenon, event, or action. For each pro, find cons. This will prepare you for discussion and debate.
Choose your strongest arguments for and against. How many of them do you have?
What is the best idea/argument?
(During the discussion of these topics, interesting facts were presented that explain the positive reaction to the situation of bride kidnapping.)
Essay opinion
Example. Female genital mutilation.
The opinion essay has headings:
Introduction: topic and opinion of the author of the essay.
The main part: a list of other opinions and the reaction to them by the author of the essay, how he rejects the given points of view and explains the correctness of his position.
The conclusion, in which clearly, once again, but in different words, the author affirms his opinion.
Text syntax: connecting sentences and paragraphs.
Evaluation of the work in points:
Introductory part: 20 points
Main part: 50 points
Conclusion: 20 points
Syntax of the text—combination of sentences and paragraphs: 10 points
Main topics of the interview
Information about the woman participating in the interview.
Financial situation: access to the family budget—limited access—lack of access.
Life satisfaction—dissatisfaction with life and desired changes.
A happy marriage and an unsatisfactory marriage.
Monogamous family relations—polygamous family relations.
Behavior of the spouse:
(a) a ban on planning free time without the supervision of the husband and his relatives;
(b) criticism of women’s appearances;
(c) jealousy—beating—rape or sexual coercion.
7. Women’s awareness of services where professional support can be found.
Interview Fragments in Q&A
(1) —What can you say about women’s rights?
—They exist, but sometimes it is difficult to use them.
(2) —Do you think that women have equal rights with men?
—No.
(3) —Are you satisfied with the role of women in Dagestan?
—No. Many men do not allow their wife to work in a male team.
(4) —How often is female circumcision practiced, why is it necessary, and what is your
attitude toward it?
—The tradition is preserved in some mountainous areas. It is believed that such a wife will be faithful to her husband, but this cruelty must be stopped.
(5) —What is your opinion about arranged marriage?
—People should choose their own companions. However, I want to add: My parents did not know each other before their wedding, but they managed to create a good family and live happily.
(6) —What is your opinion on polygamy?
—Our faith teaches us not to commit adultery; there is an opinion that four wives help a man not to look astray.
(7) —Does a woman have the right to divorce?
—Yes, if there is domestic violence, the inability of the husband to support his wife and children, adultery, failure to fulfill marital duties, the terms of the marriage contract, bringing a second/third/fourth wife into the house without the consent of the first wife and unequal treatment of them, apostasy, and impotence.
(8) —With whom should the children stay after divorce?
—The child should be with someone with whom he feels safe, good and where there are favorable conditions for him.
(9) —What do you think about blood feud, murder for the sake of restoring honor?
—I am against murder of any kind.
(10) —What do you value most in your religion?
—In Islam, a woman is protected. Moreover, Islam exalts a woman—mother, wife, daughter.
—Is this being fulfilled in life?
—This is already the human factor.
(11) —What do you like most about Dagestan?
—People.
Outcomes of the course “Women Unknown: Fight for Independence”[2]
Outcome #1: Students developed knowledge of one or more contemporary global or international issues.
Outcome #2: Students demonstrated a greater awareness of various perspectives and a deeper appreciation of how differences arise.
Outcome #3: Students were better able to adapt to the complexity and diversity of contemporary life through their understanding of international and global contexts.
Outcome #4: Students knew and could apply at least one method of analysis and critical inquiry.
[2] Please see the Appendix, with a review of this course by a faculty colleague from the University of Iowa.
Conclusion
Students who spoke Russian and did not speak Russian were able to take part in the course. Students’ understanding of the Russian language and culture in the North Caucasus expanded. Their knowledge also expanded in the following fields:
international relations (building partnerships and understanding);
religious studies (coexistence of different religions in the Caucasus);
gender issues (the National Strategy for Women: prevention of domestic violence, provision of financial support, elimination of discrimination in the labor market, involvement in the socio-economic life of the country, conversations with psychologists about the shortcomings of forced early marriages, etc.).
The course also fostered a desire to visit Dagestan and learn Russian, which is an intermediary language, a bridge language, a lingua franca in the region.
References
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (2012). ACTFL proficiency guidelines.
Edwards, W., & Scott, S. (2011). ACTFL’s Standards of Foreign Language Learning and the Principles of Universal Design for Instruction. Project LINC, Longwood University. blogs.longwood.edu/projectlinc/files/2016/03/Module_UDI-5Cs_92011.pdf
Bloom, Benjamin S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals. New York, Longmans, Green.
Boucher, Е., Moeller, С., Merritt, G., & Cross, М. (2021). Reflections on the course Women Unknown: Fight for Independence. The Daily Iowan, https://dailyiowan.com/2021/03/31/guest-opinion-reflections-on-course-women-unknown-fight-for-independence/
Carmine, E. (2022, March 15-16). “The Culture of Dagestan, Russia from the American Perspective.” The International Student Scientific and Practical Conference (Armenia, Erevan). E-mail: stud.conference2022@gmail. com
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Dagestan etniciteit.png (2006, September 30.) In Wikipedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dagestan_etniciteit.png
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Appendix
Third Party Evaluation of the Course by a Colleague in the Asian
and Slavic Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Iowa
This analysis focuses on the general education (GE) outcomes, student learning, and the course structure. Following is the Peer Teaching Observation Report for Irina Kostina’s Annual Review by Dr. Yumiko Nishi (2022, April 6):
I observed RUSS:2050 ‘Women from an Unknown Land: The Fight for Independence,’ a course with GE status taught by Irina Kostina on Thursday, March 3, 2022, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Twenty-one students attended the class. I arrived in the classroom around 10:50 a.m. Kostina was already in class, setting up slides on the screen. She was all prepared to teach by 10:55 a.m. and made small talk with students who were already in class. Kostina started class with a warm-up discussion question about the importance of the gender of newborns in the US and other countries. This is the topic they touched on earlier, and students seemed at ease in raising their hands and speaking up. Even though the class atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, Kostina had good control of the class.
The following five minutes were spent reviewing the content from the previous class, showing a short video clip. Ten minutes after the class started, Kostina introduced the new topic, the birth of children and motherhood. Her slides included many pictures with cultural significance and interesting video clips. For each slide, she asked several questions to students; there was a lot of interaction between the instructor and students.
Kostina uses the system where students sign the form she circulates during class whenever they speak up. This encouraged student participation. Kostina had shared the slides with students in advance of the class, so students could focus on the lecture and discussion without being distracted by note-taking. It helped students to be engaged in learning throughout class time.
The class proceeded at a good pace, and whenever relevant, she brought up what students learned earlier so they could review the content and find connections to new information. Kostina is a passionate and creative instructor who can tailor and use the materials in the way that works most effectively for the target audience.
I was impressed the most by how Kostina was natural and organic in introducing potentially sensitive or controversial topics, such as pregnancy outside of marriage and abortion. Even the traditions or customs that may be difficult to understand or appreciate, she explained about them without being judgmental or defensive or stereotyping the people associated. The tone of her language was respectful, which allowed students to accept the differences as they are and yet think deeper about the historical and cultural meanings of the traditions and customs of others and their own. Kostina also incorporated her personal stories, making the materials more accessible and relatable to students and relevant in the current climate.
It was an excellent GE class. Lastly, I would like to note that my class observation took place right after the war between Russia and Ukraine intensified. It has been an extremely difficult time for Kostina, but she remained composed, thoughtful, and even fun at times in class. The class I observed reflected her professionalism and dedication to teaching and to her students.
