Slavic Languages and Literatures

Slavic Languages and Literatures department has created a number of outreach events in an effort to share knowledge about Slavic cultures and languages with the Seattle community. In addition to being quite entertaining events, the following outreach activities take Salvic literature and the expertise of scholars in the department and make it accessible to non-academic communities:

• The University of Washington SlavicFest brings the region's Slavic communities together for a week-end to celebrate the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Greek missionary priests who in the ninth century translated the Orthodox liturgy and scriptures into the Slavonic language using an alphabet they devised for the purpose. Every year hundreds of enthusiastic participants attend workshops on cooking and crafts, a children's parade and concert, and an evening celebration with dancing, live music and traditional food and drink.

• World Languages Day is a University of Washington Educational Outreach Program for K-12 educators and students, organized annually to show high school juniors and seniors the opportunities the UW provides for learning the languages and becoming familiar with the cultures of our neighbors in a rapidly shrinking world. The Slavic Department participates every year with sample language classes, and presentations on subjects ranging from Polish Customs to Russian Superstitions, Czech Castles and Bulgarian Authenticity.

• The Olympiada of Spoken Russian is a competition hosted every spring quarter by the Slavic Department for students studying Russian in Washington State high schools. The winner receives a tuition scholarship for study in the department's Intensive Summer Language Program.