Message thread for the Seelangs list was: "Cultural impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine"
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Sent: Wednesday, November 8, 2023 10:26 AM
To: 'seelangs Literatures list' <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [seelangs-l] Cultural impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Understanding the cultural effects of shifting geopolitics is one of the main reasons SRAS took up the task of carrying on the Survey of Russian Enrollments from the CCPCR. There is a lot of speculation on what should happen to enrollments in and interest in learning Russian, for instance, but without hard data, it is not possible to actually say what is happening.
There was an Inside Higher Ed article that came out that headlined "30-50%" drops - but it relied on just 6-7 institutions' first-year data. Our survey last year had 169 respondents - providing the best-ever snapshot of our field. This year, we have a historic opportunity to begin building a solid data set off that success that can be maintained over time - meaning that we'll have an even clearer view of what is happening nationwide. (PS - I don't know what the source is for the "60% drops nationwide" that was mentioned earlier in the thread, but I would love to see it if anyone knows).
Our findings from last year and all preceding years can be seen here: https://sras.org/survey
In short, we found that the downturn in international relations certainly did not help Russian language enrollments; they hit new historic lows. However, the overall average drop for programs reporting year-on-year was only 1.6%. Average program size fell from 40 to 38. We found that many programs did experience large drops, with large programs being most affected. However, some programs saw substantial increases. Further, while an overall drop was seen, it was not a dramatic one-off event, but rather appears to be a continuation of a process that has had multiple long-term and short-term causes over the history of the survey.
More than anything, we are seeing that, like everything these days, the actual reality on the ground is more complex and nuanced than would initially meet the eye. We are hoping to do even more with this information in the future - especially if we can keep the dataset well-maintained.
If you are not sure if your institution has contributed or not, you can find a list of this year's contributors here: https://sras.org/surveydone
You can find the survey itself here: https://forms.gle/fgdQzHPZn9deoqMy9
If you believe you will not have time to fill out the survey, but would like to contribute data, please contact me off list.
Our student survey (first ever - opened this year) is still open here: https://forms.gle/oQRyoXQXCXT5HC8i7 and can be distributed to any student currently enrolled in a Russian language class at an institution of higher education. We currently have more than 150 respondents there and would love to see many more. (And so far, the number of students reporting that the current war has affected their decision-making in learning Russian is surprisingly low - with nearly 60% saying "not at all.")
I hope that you all find this information as interesting and valuable as I do. :)
Best,
Josh Wilson
Assistant Director
SRAS.org
Editor in Chief, Vestnik
SRAS.org
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