OVERVIEW

This 6-credit 36-hour course is aimed at students in the second year of the LM37 Master’s program and available to others as an elective. It will be taught in the first semester.

AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course provides (1) deeper knowledge of a single novel that was fundamental for the story of Russian culture and for its radicalization in 1860s, along with its well-known author; (2) familiarity with diverse critical approaches to the novel and to the author in question and to ways of thinking about these; (3) knowledge of gender themes in the same era, (4) knowledge of one or more works by Russian women writers from the same era in the original Russian, (5) an introduction to research methods and techniques in the field of Russian cultural studies through participation in individual projects (e.g. reading and producing brief genres of academic writing).

PREREQUISITES

This course requires familiarity with the Russian language.

TEACHING METHODS

This course will be conducted in person and in Italian. Students who are unable to attend regularly from the beginning of the semester should contact the instructor as soon as possible.

Students must register for the course on Aulaweb in order to keep informed both via automatic notifications and posts regarding updates, materials, and details on the course syllabus, lectures, and the exam. N.B. If your name does not appear in the list of "participants", you are not yet signed up and will not receive any notifications.

Students are also requested to join the Team for the course, using the code available on Aulaweb.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Course title: “Radical Discourses in the 1860s”

This course examines Russia’s 1860s in depth, focusing on themes of gender in the era’s socio-political and literary discourse of the era. The first part of the course will be dedicated to the understudied theme of women in Russian radicalism and to the reading of a text by Apollinarija or Nadežda Suslova in the original, together with other short texts by women from the period (such as excerpts from memoirs or poems). The second part of the course will feature Fedor Dostoevskij’s novel “The Possessed” and its place in the interwoven views and experiences of different writers against the background of the evolution of socio-literary criticism.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

(N.B. Despite the title of this section, the reading is not “recommended”, but mandatory!)

Further details on the selections may be found on Aulaweb.

TEXTS

For 1st- and 2nd-year students       

                   Riasanovsky, Nicholas. “Storia della Russia” (selected pages)

                   Dostoevskij, Fedor. “The Demons/The Devils” (Бесы, 1873)

                   (if in Italian, “I demoni”, translated by Mirco Gallenzi, Oscar Mondadori )

                   Critical articles, excerpts from literary texts or memoirs and/or poetry.

Only 2nd-year students       

                   Suslova, Apollinaria o Suslova, Nadežda. A short story to choose and read together.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SARA DICKINSON (President)

MARIO ALESSANDRO CURLETTO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Monday, Sept. 28, 2026

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written exam at end of the course. The completion of homework assignments during the course may reduce the size of the final exam (see below).

This course is conceived as a laboratory that requires the active participation of the students. Those who participate regularly will have a reduced final exam. “Participate regularly” means (1) attending at least 70% of the classes (25 ore per 6 cfu), (2) completing the assignments (whether individual or group) in an adequate and timely manner (before July 31 2027), including one or more written assignments and/or an oral presentation. The assignments will be explained in class and on Aulaweb and completed, in part, together.

Students who attend less than 70% of the course but are still able to complete the assignments as above will have a somewhat reduced exam. Students who attend at least 70% of the course but are unable or unwilling to complete the projects assigned have two options: (a) discuss their individual situation with the instructor in order to understand if other “discounts” or extensions are possible (if the problem is deadlines); (b) take the full final exam; and/or (c) take the exam with a different program the following year.

Exams will be held in January/February 2027, June/July 2027 and September 2027, after which time students may take the exam by appointment. Students who do not pass the exam by February 2028 will need to move to the syllabus for 2027/2028.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students may sign up for the exam on the Unige site. The exam may be taken in Russian, Italian, or English. The exam will test general knowledge of the historical context, the students’ reading of the texts on the syllabus, and their ability to offer a critical interpretation of these. Students are advised to read attentively and to formulate their own opinion on the material. A key part of the exam will be the discussion of excerpts in Russian. The quality of the students’ self-expression in presenting their ideas and their correct use of relevant scholarly terms will figure into the grade.

FURTHER INFORMATION

ATTENDANCE: Strongly recommended – and students who attend regularly will have more options on the exam.

DISABILITY: Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and/or exams in this course or in general, should speak with the instructor, who is also the Department’s disability liaison.