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CODE 65283
ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021
CREDITS
SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR L-LIN/21
TEACHING LOCATION
  • GENOVA
MODULES Questo insegnamento è composto da:
TEACHING MATERIALS AULAWEB

OVERVIEW

In this course we will read and analyze Russian prose and poetry. The precise focus of the course and the reading list will vary each year. The topic for 2017/2018 is:

TOLSTOJ: THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF A WRITER

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 largely from the 19th century; students who take the third-year course or Russian Literature in the M.A. program will go still more deeply into the literature and culture of a more specific historical period (such as the 1920s or the Thaw).

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course will provide students (1) familiarity with the basic tools of literary analysis; (2) a thorough knowledge of several works by Lev Tolstoy with their themes and problems; (3) an introduction to problems linked to the formation of a writer; (4) familiarity with the technique of ostranenie (defamiliarization).

TEACHING METHODS

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

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

We will examine in detail some of Lev Tolstoj's stories and short novels in the context of his life, his thought and his century: his technique of auto-analysis, his use of the Crimea and Caucasus (familiar to him from his personal experiences) as literary backdrops, his interest in the figure of the Other; the Tolstoyan approach to moral and existential problems, together with its contradictions.

The second semester, for students taking 9 credits, will be dedicated to the novel Anna Karenina.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The necessary texts will be available in the copy shop (NonSoloCopie halfway up via Balbi) and/or in various libraries, bookstores and online. NB. Insofar as these are classic texts, they are available in multiple editions, both in Russian and in translation and you are free to choose what you prefer. Obviously, students who can read Russian are encouraged to do so; others are encouraged to compare passages from their translations with the Russian source text.

BIBLIOGRAPHY - for alterations in the program, see AULAWEB!!! 

Tolstoj, selection from "The Diaries" (gli anni 1847-1851) – NonSoloCopie

Viktor Šklovskij, “Art as Device” – NonSoloCopie, pp. 16-23 (in Italian).

Tolstoj, Childhood” (1852) 

Tolstoj, "The Raid” (1853) – NonSoloCopie, circa 30 pp.

Tolstoj, “The Sevastopol Stories” (1855-56)

Tolstoj, “The Cossacks” (1863)

Tolstoj, “The Death of Ivan Ilič” (1886)

Tolstoj, “Father Sergius” (1898)

Tolstoj, "The Devil” (1889, 1909) 

Further reading – on Tolstoj's era in generale:

Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, History of Russia (relevant pages)

Roger Bartlett, History of Russia (relevant pages)

on Tolstoj in general (ask the instructor for similar recommendations in English):

Ettore Lo Gatto, Profilo della letteratura russa dalle origini a Solženicyn (Mondadori, 1975), pp. 221-42, 258-76.

Marija Pljuchanova ,“Tolstoj”, in AA.VV., Storia della civiltà letteraria russa (Utet, 1997), pp. 690-721.

Dmitrij Mirskij, Storia della letteratura russa (Garzanti, 1995), pp. 217-32, 250-72.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Tuesday, 17 October 2017.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral and/or written exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam is WRITTEN and will consist of answers to various questions in a 3-hour period. Details will be furnished in class and via Aulaweb. The final exam may be written in English, Italian or Russia - please select the language in which you can express yourself more clearly. Students taking 12 credits will need to divide the exam in two different sessions.

The WRITTEN exam will be offered five times a year: twice in February, twice in June/July, and ONLY ONCE in September/October. If you haven't passed the exam by Febrary 2019, you'll have to give up Tolstoj and move to the program (syllabus) for the 2018/2019 course.

Exam schedule

Data appello Orario Luogo Degree type Note Subject
21/01/2021 11:00 GENOVA Orale
03/02/2021 11:00 GENOVA Orale
09/06/2021 14:30 GENOVA Orale
09/06/2021 14:30 GENOVA Scritto + Orale
29/06/2021 14:30 GENOVA Orale
29/06/2021 14:30 GENOVA Scritto + Orale
17/09/2021 14:30 GENOVA Orale
01/10/2021 10:00 GENOVA Orale

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended. Please come to class prepared so that we can actually discuss these texts. 

In addition, please sign up for the course on Aulaweb in order to stay updated.

There may be optional assignments from time to time that will reduce the size of the final exam or even replace it.