AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course will provide (1) an introduction to the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union with an emphasis on the emergence of social unrest and problems of identity (conceived ethnically, culturally, and socio-economically) in the tumultuous period of the early 1900s; (2) deep familiarity with specific Russophone writers and their texts, both in Russian and in translation; (3) an introduction to research methodologies and techniques in the field of Russian literature, sometimes via participation 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.

The code for access to this course on Teams will be provided via Aulaweb (course 62584), together with 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 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

Course Title: A CENTURY OF UPHEAVAL

In this course we examine some examples of Russophone literature, poetic, prosaic and critical texts born of an era that extends from the beginning of the 20th century to the mid 1930s. We will discuss an era rife with conflict(pogroms, revolutions, wars) in which time itself seems to accelerate, an epoch of enormous upheaval, as seen in the Revolution of 1905, World War I, the Revolution of October in 1917, and the birth of the USSR in the midst of the Civil War. We will contemplate the increasing difficulties that writers faced against the background of these dramatic historical events, characterized not only by episodes of violence, emigration and death, but also industrialization, collectivization, and Stalinist purges. We will also discuss breathtaking and innovative artistic experimentation and its clash with the doctrine of Socialist Realism in 1934. The writers in question include convinced revolutionaries, “fellow travelers” (poputčiki), individualists, and émigrés: Blok, Achmatova, Zamjatin, Babel’, Majakovskij, Cvetaeva, Platonov, and Nabokov.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

Details on the texts may be found on Aulaweb. 

READING LIST

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

The Sound of the Future:

Blok, “The Twelve” (Двенадцать, 1918)

Zamjatin, “The Cave” (Пещера, 1920)

Majakovskij, selected poetry

Jakobson, “A Generation that Squandered Its Poets: The Problem of Majakovskij” (О поколении растратившем своих поэтов, 1931)

Women, Modernism, Sexuality:

Pil’njak, “A Story about How Stories Are Composed” (Рассказ о том, как создаются рассказы, 1926) 

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

Achmatova, selected poetry

Cvetaeva, selected poetry

Sentiment, Experiment, Socrealism:

Sinjavskij/Terc, “What Is Socialist Realism?” (Что такое социалистический реализм?, 1988)

Bulgakov, “Heart of a Dog” (Собачье Сердце, 1925)

Nabokov, “Desperation” (Oтчаяние, 1934)

Platonov, “The River Potudan” (Река Потудан, 1936)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SARA DICKINSON (President)

MARIO ALESSANDRO CURLETTO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

at the beginning of the second semester in February 2025

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 70% of the classes (25 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 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 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

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