OVERVIEW

In this course we will read and analyze prose and poetry from the first half of the 20th century, a period of dramatic social, political, and cultural change. The precise focus of the course and the reading list will vary each year.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Our first-year course introduces students to Russian literature and culture from its medieval origins to the mid 1800s; in the second year, students focus more specifically on problems of literary style and evolution by examining texts from the 19th and 20th centuries that are linked by a particular theme; students who take the third-year course will go still more deeply into the literature and culture of a more specific historical period (such as the first half of the 20th century).

LEARNING OUTCOMES (FURTHER INFO)

This course will provide students (1) familiarity with the basic tools of literary analysis; (2) a thorough knowledge of several works that are significant for Russian literary tradition; (3) a general knowledge of the main cultural figures and events from the period in question. Moreover, the second part of Course B will introduce students to the analysis of literary texts in Russian

TEACHING METHODS

The course content will be delivered via classroom lectures with the support of Aulaweb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

This course has two parts: Course A and Course B.

COURSE A (1st semester, 6 credits, 36 hours) offers a general introduction to the specific topics of the course and is intended for ALL of the students registered. Those who need only 6 credits (whether they are in the third-year of Modern Languages and Cultures or the first year of the Master's Program) will finish the course with the 1st semester. (Please note: Course A is the required course for all students who need only 6 cfu unless other arrangements are made with the instructor).

COURSE B (2nd semester, 3 or 6 credits, 18 or 36 hours), which considers texts in greater detail, is available to students who have completed Course A: to both third-year students who need 9 credits (and who will complete only the first half of the 2nd semester) and Master's degree students who need 12 credits.

The programma for 2016-2017 is the following:

Course A: The Elite and Its Other: Worker, Asian, Alien

In the first semester, we will discuss three or four significant threads in Russian literature from the first half of the 1900s, such as the "identity crisis" that afflicts elite classes facing strong social pressures and their attempts to remake or reinvent the social fabric through art. In particular, we will focus on new ideas of the relationship between the elite and its others: the worker both celebrated and feared, the disquieting Asian, interplanetary peoples imagined in science fiction, and the Russian émigré abroad alienated from him/herself.

Course B: Peterburg

The second semester course addresses the image of the imperial capital in Russian texts, focusing primarily on Andrej Belyj's novel "Petersburg" (for the first three credits) and Aleksandr Puškin's narrative poem "Mednyj vsadnik" (in Russian) for the second three credits.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The syllabus will be available at the beginning of the course.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SARA DICKINSON (President)

MARIO ALESSANDRO CURLETTO

LAURA SALMON

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The week of October 17.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral and/or written exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on the exam will be available at the beginning of the course.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended.