AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course will provide (1) an introduction to the problems regarding the formation of a literary canon; (2) familiarity with diverse moments in the evolution of women’s writing in the territories of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the former USSR from the mid-1700s to the present; (3) an introduction to literary texts in Russian from the 18th and 19th centuries in the original language; (4) in-depth knowledge of several Russophone women writers, their historical contexts and texts; (5) an introduction to research methodologies and techniques in the field of Russian literature; and (6) the opportunity to participate in ongoing research projects, including the translation of a literary texts that have never been translated.

TEACHING METHODS

This course will be conducted in person and in Italian. Lectures will not be recorded. Students who are unable to attend regularly should contact the instructor.

In order to keep pace with the course, it is necessary to sign up on Aulaweb (course 62584). Not only will you receive announcements automatically, but you will also find there information regarding the course syllabus, lectures, and the exam. N.B. Access to the course on Aulaweb does not require a password, but actually signing up for the course requires an extra step: You do need to be sure that your name appears in the list of "participants" or else you have not managed to sign up and you will not receive any notifications.

It is also necessary to sign up for the course on Teams (with the code provided on Aulaweb).

Students with certification of learning or other disabilities should inform the instructor (who is also the Departmental contact for the Inclusion of Students with Learning and Other Disabilities) in order to discuss possible accommodations regarding this course or studies at the University of Genoa in general.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

In this course we examine various moments in the history of women’s writing in the Russian language from the mid 1600s onward. We will consider issues relating to the formation of a women’s literary canon in Russian tradition, exploring the definition of both “Russian tradition” (in terms of geography, language, ethnicity, social estate, etc.) and “literature”, along with the specific problems of women’s participation in an evolving literary context, including limited access to education and to the means of publication. We will follow the clues and traces that allow us to formulate hypotheses on women’s literary history, with its commonplaces and unresolved issues. The course will include: a general discussion of the evolution of women's writing from its beginnings to the present (along the lines of chronology, literary genre, and social estate); the collective reading of several literary texts in the original language; an analysis of the fortunes of some women writers in literary historiography; and reflections on the literary production of women writers in times of war.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

(N.B. The reading is not “recommended”, but mandatory!)

The texts needed for this course will be available largely in electronic format (as either pdfs on Aulaweb or online); many of the texts we will discuss do not exist in Italian translation and will be read together in Russian.

The reading list will include examples of women’s writing in different genres: corrispondence, memoirs (dating from 1738), selected poetry (dating from 1759), travel writing (from 1775), prose (from 1784), in addition to critical and reference texts online.

For details and adjustments over the course of the semester, see Aulaweb 62584.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SARA DICKINSON (President)

MARIO ALESSANDRO CURLETTO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

November 3, 2023, 1-3 pm in Aula A (Polo Didattico)

Class schedule

RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE MOD.2

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam and written exam at the 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 2/3 of the classes (24 ore), (2) completing the assignments and projects (whether individual or group) in an adequate and timely manner (before the end of July 2024). The assignments will be explained in class and on Aulaweb and completed, in part, together.

Students who attend less than 2/3 of the course but are able to complete the assignments as above will have a somewhat reduced exam.

Students who attend at least 2/3 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 in a year.

Exams will be held in June/July 2024 and September 2024, after which time students may take the exam by appointment. Students who do not pass the exam by February 2025 will need to move to the syllabus for 2024/25.

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. 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

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