OVERVIEW

This course proposes the reading and analysis of Russian prose and poetry. The specific topic and reading list change every year. The topic for 2017-2018 is:

TOLSTOJ: THE BEGINNING AND END OF A WRITER

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

These courses examine topics and problems in Russian literature and culture from its origins to the present. In class work includes the reading and translation of excerpts from the works of significant authors and critics.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course will provide (1) an introduction to problems regarding social unrest and cultural identity as reflected in literary and cultural texts during a tumultuous period in the history of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union; (2) familiarity with specific Russophone writers and their texts in both the original Russian and in translation; (3) an introduction to research methodologies and techniques in the field of Russian literature; and (4) the opportunity to participate in individualized research projects.

TEACHING METHODS

This course will be conducted in person. 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 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.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Title of the course: A CENTURY OF UPHEAVAL: TOPICS IN 20TH-C. RUSSOPHONE LITERATURE

In this course we examine some examples of art and literature (poetry, prose, criticism) from the end of the 19th century to the mid 1930s. We will discuss an era rife with conflict (pogroms, revolutions, wars) in which time itself seems to accelerate, from the Revolution of 1905 to the Revolution of October in 1918 to the establishment of Socialist Realism in 1934 and beyond. We will discuss the increasing difficulties of artists and writers against the background of dramatic historic events such as the First World War, the end of the Russian Empire and the birth of the USSR, the Civil War and the Russo-Polish War, famine, industrialization, collectivization, Stalinist purges. Among artists, we will discuss convinced revolutionaries, “fellow travelers” (poputčiki), individualists and émigrés. The program includes texts by Blok, Achmatova, Zamjatin, Babel’, Majakovskij, Cvetaeva, Platonov, and Nabokov.​

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

Some of the texts needed for this course will be available in electronic format (as either pdfs on Aulaweb or online). Insofar as many of these are classic texts, they are available in Italian translation, but we will often examine them in Russian.

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

TESTI DI LETTURA/VISIONE

Riasanovsky, Nicholas. A History of Russia (selected pages).

The visual revolution: 

The evolution of the visual arts from the Peredvižniki to Socrealizm (1863-1934)

paintings and short films

The sound of the future: 

Blok, “The Twelve” (Двенадцать)

Majakovskij, selected poetry

Zamjatin, “The Cave” (Пещера)

Jakobson, “A Generation that Squandered Its Poets: The Problem of Majakovskij” (О поколении растратившем своих поэтов)

La donna e il modernismo: 

Garšin, Vsevolod. “Nadežda Nikolaevna” (1885)

Bunin, Ivan. “The Affair of the Cornet Elaghin” (Дело корнета Елагина, 1926) (1925)

Achmatova, selected poetry

Cvetaeva, selected poetry

Sentimentalità, Sperimento, Socrealism (2 settimane)

Bulgakov, “Heart of a Dog” (Собачье Сердце)

Nabokov, “Desperation” (Oтчаяние)

Platonov, “The River Potudan” (Река Потудан)

Sinjavskij, “What Is Socialist Realism?” (Что такое социалистический реализм?)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

at the beginning of the second semester in February 2025

Class schedule

RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE MOD. 1

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 3/4 of the classes (27 ore), (2) completing the assignments (whether individual or group) in an adequate and timely manner (before September 15, 2025), including one or more written assignments and an oral presentation. The assignments will be explained in class and on Aulaweb and completed, in part, together.

Students who attend less than 3/4 of the course but are still able to complete the assignments as above will have a somewhat reduced exam. Students who attend at least 3/4 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 June/July 2025 and September 2025, after which time students may take the exam by appointment. Students who do not pass the exam by February 2026 will need to move to the syllabus for 2025/26.

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

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