Benjamin C Jens
- Associate Professor of Practice, Russian / Slavic Studies
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
Contact
- (520) 626-1404
- Learning Services Building, Rm. 305
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- bcjens@arizona.edu
Biography
Research interests include 19th-century Russian literature (especially Fyodor Dostoevsky), Eastern Orthodoxy, and East European cinema
Degrees
- Ph.D. Slavic Languages and Literature
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
- Kenotic Silence: Communicative Strategies in 19th-Century Russian Literature
Work Experience
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2015 - 2016)
- The College of New Jersey (2014 - 2015)
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (2012 - 2014)
- University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont (2011 - 2012)
Awards
- COH Teaching & Outreach Grant
- College of Humanities (UA), Fall 2017
Interests
Teaching
Russian language and literature, East European cinema, Eastern Orthodoxy
Research
19th-century Russian literature, Eastern Orthodoxy, East European cinema
Courses
2024-25 Courses
-
Russian Lit:19th Century
RSSS 696C (Fall 2024) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2024) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Fall 2024)
2023-24 Courses
-
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Summer I 2024) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RELI 325 (Spring 2024) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RSSS 325 (Spring 2024) -
Elementary Russian I
RSSS 101 (Spring 2024) -
Independent Study
RSSS 599 (Spring 2024) -
Senior Capstone
RELI 498 (Spring 2024) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Spring 2024) -
Thesis
RSSS 910 (Spring 2024) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2023) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Fall 2023) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2023) -
Sports and Empire
RSSS 280 (Fall 2023)
2022-23 Courses
-
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Spring 2023) -
Hist Soviet+Post Svt Flm
RSSS 304 (Spring 2023) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Spring 2023) -
Topic Slavic Lit+Culture
RSSS 696A (Spring 2023) -
Healthy Places, Toxic Spaces
RSSS 335 (Fall 2022) -
Independent Study
RSSS 699 (Fall 2022) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Fall 2022) -
Sports and Empire
RSSS 280 (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
-
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2022) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RELI 325 (Spring 2022) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RSSS 325 (Spring 2022) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Spring 2022) -
Sports and Empire
RSSS 280 (Spring 2022) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2021) -
Healthy Places, Toxic Spaces
RSSS 335 (Fall 2021) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Fall 2021) -
Utopian Vis:Promise+Real
RSSS 210 (Fall 2021)
2020-21 Courses
-
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 301 (Summer I 2021) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Summer I 2021) -
Communicat in Cultural Context
RSSS 308 (Summer I 2021) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2021) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Summer I 2021) -
Russ:Empire-Federation
RSSS 160C1 (Summer I 2021) -
Balkans:Identity/Crisis
RSSS 275 (Spring 2021) -
Hist Soviet+Post Svt Flm
RSSS 304 (Spring 2021) -
Topic Slavic Lit+Culture
RSSS 696A (Spring 2021) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2020) -
Independent Study
RSSS 499 (Fall 2020) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2020) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Fall 2020)
2019-20 Courses
-
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2020) -
Russian Media Fluency 3
RSSS 363 (Summer I 2020) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Spring 2020) -
Communicat in Cultural Context
RSSS 308 (Spring 2020) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RELI 325 (Spring 2020) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RSSS 325 (Spring 2020) -
Elementary Russian I
RSSS 101 (Spring 2020) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Spring 2020) -
Russian Conversation Fluency 4
RSSS 367 (Spring 2020) -
Russian Media Fluency 4
RSSS 364 (Spring 2020) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412A (Spring 2020) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2019) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Fall 2019) -
Independent Study
RSSS 599 (Fall 2019) -
Intermediate Russian I
RSSS 201 (Fall 2019) -
Intermediate Russian II
RSSS 202 (Fall 2019) -
Russian Media Fluency 1
RSSS 263 (Fall 2019) -
Russian Phonetics
RSSS 362 (Fall 2019) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2019) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Fall 2019) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412A (Fall 2019)
2018-19 Courses
-
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 301 (Summer I 2019) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Summer I 2019) -
Adv Tps Russ Lang+Lit
RSSS 415 (Summer I 2019) -
Communicat in Cultural Context
RSSS 308 (Summer I 2019) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2019) -
Russian Conversation Fluency 3
RSSS 366 (Summer I 2019) -
Russian Conversation Fluency 4
RSSS 367 (Summer I 2019) -
Russian Media Fluency 3
RSSS 363 (Summer I 2019) -
Russian Media Fluency 4
RSSS 364 (Summer I 2019) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412A (Summer I 2019) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412B (Summer I 2019) -
Adv Tps Russ Lang+Lit
RSSS 415 (Spring 2019) -
Conversation III
RSSS 410B (Spring 2019) -
Grammar III
RSSS 402A (Spring 2019) -
Hist Soviet+Post Svt Flm
RSSS 304 (Spring 2019) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Spring 2019) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Spring 2019) -
Nwsppr Reading Russia I
RSSS 360B (Spring 2019) -
Russia: Hist /Global Context
RSSS 160C2 (Spring 2019) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Spring 2019) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412B (Spring 2019) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 301 (Fall 2018) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Fall 2018) -
Adv Tps Russ Lang+Lit
RSSS 415 (Fall 2018) -
Communicat in Cultural Context
RSSS 308 (Fall 2018) -
Conversation III
RSSS 410A (Fall 2018) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2018) -
Grammar III
RSSS 402A (Fall 2018) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Fall 2018) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Fall 2018) -
Nwsppr Reading Russia II
RSSS 460A (Fall 2018) -
Russian Lit:19th Century
RSSS 696C (Fall 2018) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2018) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412A (Fall 2018)
2017-18 Courses
-
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 301 (Summer I 2018) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Summer I 2018) -
Conversation III
RSSS 410B (Summer I 2018) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2018) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Summer I 2018) -
Elementary Russian I
RSSS 101 (Summer I 2018) -
Elementary Russian II
RSSS 102 (Summer I 2018) -
Global Soccer
HUMS 376 (Summer I 2018) -
Grammar III
RSSS 402B (Summer I 2018) -
Independent Study
RSSS 499 (Summer I 2018) -
Intercultural Competence
PAH 372 (Summer I 2018) -
Intermediate Russian I
RSSS 201 (Summer I 2018) -
Intermediate Russian II
RSSS 202 (Summer I 2018) -
Russ Phonetic+Intonation
RSSS 316A (Summer I 2018) -
Adv Grammar+Composition
RSSS 302 (Spring 2018) -
Communicat in Cultural Context
RSSS 308 (Spring 2018) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Spring 2018) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RELI 325 (Spring 2018) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RSSS 325 (Spring 2018) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Spring 2018) -
Nwsppr Reading Russia I
RSSS 360B (Spring 2018) -
Reading Russ Newspapers
RSSS 309B (Spring 2018) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Spring 2018) -
Treasures Russ Culture
RSSS 412B (Spring 2018) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Fall 2017) -
East European Science Fiction
RSSS 310 (Fall 2017) -
Independent Study
RSSS 599 (Fall 2017) -
The Soviet Experiment
RSSS 350 (Fall 2017)
2016-17 Courses
-
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Summer I 2017) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Spring 2017) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RELI 325 (Spring 2017) -
Eastern Orthodoxy
RSSS 325 (Spring 2017) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Spring 2017) -
Independent Study
RSSS 399 (Spring 2017) -
Slavic Folklore/Culture
RSSS 315 (Spring 2017) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Fall 2016) -
Honors Thesis
RSSS 498H (Fall 2016) -
Russian Writers+Society
RSSS 340 (Fall 2016)
2015-16 Courses
-
Balkans:Identity/Crisis
RSSS 275 (Spring 2016) -
East European Cinema Soc Cntxt
RSSS 150B1 (Spring 2016) -
Russian Lit:19th Century
RSSS 696C (Spring 2016)
Scholarly Contributions
Chapters
- Jens, B. C., Lucey, C. M., & Rifkin, B. (2020). Oral History in the Russian Language Curriculum: A Transformative Learning Experience. In The Art of Teaching Russian.More infoForeign language learners benefit from engaging with target language native speakers; oral history projects provide a theoretical framework for the purposeful integration of such interactions into the Russian-language curriculum. By incorporating oral history projects into their Russian language curriculum, instructors give students the necessary support to engage in meaningful and productive interactions with native speakers of Russian that will substantially improve learning outcomes in a number of different ways. In this chapter, we first provide a theoretical framework for the development and implementation of oral history interviews in the Russian language curriculum.
- Rifkin, B., Lucey, C. M., & Jens, B. C. (2020). Oral History in the Russian Language Curriculum: A Transformative Learning Experience. In The Art of Teaching Russian(pp 211-230). Georgetown University Press.More infoForeign language learners benefit from engaging with target language native speakers; oral history projects provide a theoretical framework for the purposeful integration of such interactions into the Russian-language curriculum. By incorporating oral history projects into their Russian language curriculum, instructors give students the necessary support to engage in meaningful and productive interactions with native speakers of Russian that will substantially improve learning outcomes in a number of different ways. In this chapter, we first provide a theoretical framework for the development and implementation of oral history interviews in the Russian language curriculum.
Journals/Publications
- Jens, B. C. (2016). Silence and Confession in The Brothers Karamazov. Russian Review, 75(1), 51-66.More infoSilence is an integral part of discourse, shaping our utterances and imparting meaning in a variety of ways. Fyodor Dostoevsky proves to be especially attentive to the communicative possibilities of silence, using the phenomenon in diverse ways in a wide range of contexts in his works. In The Brothers Karamazov Dostoevsky draws on Eastern Orthodox icon theology and tradition to imbue a particular form of silence, molchanie, with the ability to facilitate communion (in the fullest sense of the word) in certain contexts. This use of silence is most clearly articulated by Dmitrii Karamazov in his “Confession of an Ardent Heart,” and practiced by Alyosha during the confessions of his brothers Dmitrii and Ivan.
Presentations
- Jens, B. C. (2020, February). Dostoevskian Subtexts in the films of Christi Puiu. AATSEEL National Conference. San Diego, CA.
- Jens, B. C. (2020, February). Roundtable: Successful Strategies for Teaching Large-Enrollment Classes. AATSEEL National conference. San Diego, CA.
- Jens, B. C. (2020, November). Questions of Psychology in Dostoevsky. ASEEES National Conference. Virtual.More infoChair / Discussant of the panel
- Jens, B. C. (2019, July). Bezobrazie and Krasota in Dostoevsky’s Idiot and Andreev’s Judas Iscariot. XVII Symposium of the International Dostoevsky Society. Boston, MA: International Dostoevsky Society.
- Jens, B. C. (2018, December). Icon, Art, and Performance in the works of Vsevolod Garshin. ASEEES. Boston, MA: ASEEES.
- Jens, B. C. (2017, November). Florensky, Tarkovsky, and the Icon. ASEEES. Chicago: ASEEES.
- Jens, B. C. (2016, January). Oral History: The Logistics of Community Engagement. AATSEEL. Austin, TX: AATSEEL.
- Jens, B. C. (2016, November). Bezlikie ikony: Gorky's Polemic with Dostoevsky. ASEEES. Washington, DC: ASEEES.
- Jens, B. C. (2015, January). Depictions of Faith in the Works of Dostoevsky and Gorky. AATSEEL. Vancouver, BC.More infoAlthough Maksim Gorky famously labeled Fyodor Dostoevsky an “evil genius” and railed publicly against “Karamazov-ism,” even Gorky’s contemporaries noted the influence of his predecessor. Gorky’s problematic relationship with Dostoevsky’s works has been explored by scholars such as Boris Bialik, Richard Peace, Robert Louis Jackson, and James Goodwin, to name just a few. However, Ol’ga Sukhikh warns against creating easy contrasts or strong connections between the two authors; instead she advocates for separating the social questions from the philosophical explorations in order to better understand points of conflict and intersection.One of the key issues for both authors was faith. Here, again, one encounters an easy contrast between Dostoevsky’s Christianity and Gorky’s atheism. But the search for faith calls for a more nuanced understanding of the problematic relationship between the two writers, especially when one considers Gorky’s God-Building phase. This paper will explore the ways in which Dostoevsky and Gorky depict faith and the search for faith by juxtaposing key scenes in major works by Dostoevsky with scenes from Gorky’s Mother, The Lower Depths, and Confession. In particular, special attention will be paid to the language used in these scenes to demonstrate the ways in which Gorky builds on and continues Dostoevsky’s methods.
- Jens, B. C., & Rifkin, B. (2015, November). INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING THROUGH ORAL HISTORY. ACTFL. San Diego, CA: ACTFL.More infoIn this session we will describe the design and tools necessary for conducting oral history interview projects for students to interview target-language senior citizens in the community, whether students meet with them in the community or as guests in their own classroom. We will share samples of student work from such a project and help attendees brainstorm strategies for developing such projects in their respective languages in their own schools and colleges. During the session, we will encourage attendees to consider the perspectives of immigrants from their target cultures on historic, political, cultural, and economic events and trends such as protests of the grandmothers in Argentina, the booming economy in Shanghai with the destruction of traditional neighborhoods, the impact of the Beatles in Russia, natural disasters, or regime change because it's all the stuff of cultural memory worth documenting and preserving and sharing.
Reviews
- Jens, B. C. (2019. "Celestial Hellscapes: Cosmology as the Key to the Strugatskiis' Science Fictions" by Kevin Reese.
- Jens, B. C. (2018. Digital Orthodoxy in the Post-Soviet World: The Russian Orthodox Church and Web 2.0. Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society, vol. 155.(pp 745-746). SEEJ.
- Jens, B. C. (2016. The End of Russian Philosophy: Tradition and Transition at the Turn of the 21st Century.
- Jens, B. C. (2015. "Dostoevsky and the Catholic Underground" (Review)(p. 1). Slavic and East European Journal.More infoBook review of a published volume ("Dostoevsky and the Catholic Underground", Elizabeth Blake)