LEARNING OUTCOMES

2021/2022 LEARNING OUTCOMES (permanent text) -- These courses examine moments and problems of Russian literary and cultural tradition from its beginnings until today in the literary and cultural context of Europe. Coursework includes the reading and translation of selections from Russian writers of significance and from relevant critical texts.

2021/2022 AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES -- This course will furnish (1) an introduction to the historical, political, and cultural context in the era in question; (2) deep knowledge of specific Russian writers and their texts, in both Russian and translation; (3) an introduction to research methods and techniques in the field of Russian literature; (4) the opportunity to participate in individual research projects.

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).

PREREQUISITES

2021/2022 PREREQUISITES -- some familiarity with the Russian language

2021/2022 SYLLABUS/CONTENT -- In this course we examine some examples of prose and poetry from the extraordinarily rich 1920s, taking "1920s" to mean the period extending from the October Revolution of 1917 to the imposition of the doctrine of Socialist Realism in 1934. We will discuss the growing difficulty of artists on the backdrop of dramatic historical events such as WWI; the end of the Russian Empire and the birth of the Soviet Union; the Civil War and the Russo-Polish War; the careers of Lenin and Stalin; hunger, industrialization, collectivization and the purges. Among the artists, we'll discuss convinced revolutionaries, "fellow travelers" (poputčiki), individualists and émigres. The reading will include texts by Blok, Akhmatova, Zamyatin, Babel’, Mayakovsky, Platonov, Pil’nyak e Nabokov.

2021/2022 TEACHING METHODS -- Online via Aulaweb and Teams. Details and updates on the course and on its evolution during the course of the semester may always be found on AULAWEB.

2021/2022 SYLLABUS/CONTENT -- The required texts will mostly be available on Aulaweb in electronic format. The one book to buy or otherwise find can be found in the library, at Libreria Bozzi (via S. Siro, 28/r, 010.246.1718), etc.

• Selected poetry by (e.g.) Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandel’shtam, Tsvetaeva, Mayakovsky – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Blok, “The Twelve” (Двенадцать, 1918) e “The Scythians" (Скифи, 1918) – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Zamyatin, “The Cave” (Пещера, 1920) – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Babel’, selections from "Red Cavalry" (Конармия, 1923-25, 1937) – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Platonov, “Chevengur” (1928) – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Pil’nyak, “Old Cheese” (Старый сыр, 1926) – in pdf on Aulaweb.

• Nabokov, “Luzhin's Defense" (Защита Лужина, 1929) – to find/buy.

• Students will additionally be required to read several pages on the historical context in Riasanovsky, “La storia russa” – in pdf on Aulaweb.

2021/2022 INIZIO LEZIONI: The week of 4 October 2021.

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.