CODE 117688 ACADEMIC YEAR 2025/2026 CREDITS 6 cfu anno 1 LINGUE E COMUNICAZIONE INTERCULTURALE PER LE ISTITUZIONI E LE IMPRESE 11974 (LM-38 R) - GENOVA SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR L-LIN/21 LANGUAGE Italian TEACHING LOCATION GENOVA SEMESTER 2° Semester OVERVIEW This 6-credit 36-hour course will be taught in the second semester, in person, and in Italian. The course is aimed at Master’s students of the LM37/38 program and available to others as an elective. AIMS AND CONTENT LEARNING OUTCOMES The courses in Russian literature and culture examine specific moments and problems in Russian and Russophone literary and cultural in relation to the literary and cultural context of Europe and provide students with the tools necessary for reading in Russian and for analyzing texts of different types, as well as experience in completing individual projects of research (through seminar-style assignments). AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES This course provides (1) an introduction to the amazing development of the arts in the first decades of the 20th century in Russian and Russophone culture, (2) a general understanding of the radical changes to previous tradition that early 20th-century developments in the arts represented, (3) broad cultural knowledge capable of linking these developments to the evolution of the arts in Russian context, (4) an introduction to changes in the arts resulting from Stalinist policy, (5) general knowledge of the era’s historical and sociopolitical context, (6) familiarity with specific artists and their work, both in Russian and translation, (7) an introduction to research methods and techniques in the field of Russian culture through participation in individual projects. PREREQUISITES This course requires familiarity with the Russian language. 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, 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 This course will consider different moments in Russian and Russophone culture in the period of its richest flowering, the early 1900s, amidst significant events such as the Revolution of 1905, World War I, the Revolution of 1917, the Civil War and the establishment of the new Soviet state. We will examine this cultural “explosion” in different fields, including cinema, theater, painting, architecture, music and dance, paying particular attention to key examples of cultural exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration (such as Ballets russes). From the late 1800s, the increasingly rapid advance of modernity was accompanied by a dizzying speed in the arts, exemplified by inspiration and invention that attempt to keep up with the times. We will also discuss how artistic experimentation attempted to overturn previous tradition, the invention of cinema, the arts at the service of the Future and of the Revolution, as well as how new Soviet and Stalinist pressures inhibited processes of innovation, without, however, stopping them entirely. RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY (N.B. Despite the title of this section, the reading is not “recommended”, but mandatory!) More specific details on the items below may be found on Aulaweb during the course. TEXTS READING Riasanovsky, Nicholas. A History of Russia (selected pages). The theater of Majakovskij (in the context of Gor’kij, Čechov, Stanislavskij, Meyerhold, Bulgakov) LISTENING Excerpts from Čajkovskij, Rachmaninov, Stravinskij, Prokof’ev, Šostakovič VIEWING Selected architectural works by Tatlin, Mel’nikov, El Lissitzky, Rodčenko Selected paintings by the Wanderers, Serov, Benois, Bakst, Ekster, Larionov, Gončarova, Malevič, Kandinskij, Petrov-Vodkin Ballets russes The cinema of Drankov, Protazanov, Bauer, Starevič, Vertov, Kulešov, Ejzenštejn, Šub, Pudovkin, Dovženko TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD SARA DICKINSON Exam Board SARA DICKINSON (President) LESSONS Class schedule The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy 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 75% of the classes (25ore), (2) completing the assignments (whether individual or group) in an adequate and timely manner (before September 15, 2026), 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 2026 and September 2026, after which time students may take the exam by appointment. Students who do not pass the exam by February 2027 will need to move to the syllabus for 2026/27. 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 is strongly recommended and students who attend regularly will have more options on the exam.
