Course Description
Representative works in the original language. Conducted in Russian.
Athena Title
20th Century Russian Lit
Prerequisite
RUSS 3001 or RUSS 3011 or RUSS 3200
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course will introduce students to the major writers of the 20th century: their lives and works, their place in the larger Russian literary tradition, and the relationships between literature and other aspects of Russian culture and civilization. Close readings of representative texts. At the same time, this course is designed to further develop students' language skills. All readings, class discussion, and written assignments are in Russian. Students will be evaluated on the basis of participation in class discussions, oral presentations, and regular written essays.
Topical Outline
(Following is a representative topical outline. Different works or authors may be included at the discretion of the instructor.) Introduction: Historical background; Russian culture before the 20th c., with particular attention to the literature of the 19th c. The Silver Age and the Avant Garde movement of the 1910s and 20s. The totalitarian regime and literature in the Soviet period. Emigre literature. Literature from the Thaw to the period of glasnost' and perestroika and the fall of the Soviet Union. Individual authors and works to be discussed: I. A. Bunin: Biography, works written in Russia and as an emigre. "Light Breathing" A. A. Blok: selected poetry I. E. Babel: "Awakening", "My First Goose" Yu. K. Olesha: "Envy", "Love" A. A. Akhmatova: literary output from the Silver Age to the Thaw; selected poetry, including portions of "Requiem" A. P. Platonov: A genius destroyed by the Soviet regime. "Return" B. L. Pasternak: poetry from the novel "Doctor Zhivago" A. I. Solzhenitsyn: The victory of the writer in the fight against totalitarianism. "Right Hand"