Fall 2007

REE 325 • Crime and Punishment-Czech Style

Course Description

Fyodor Mikhail Dostoevsky is the single most influential novelist of all time, and Crime and Punishment his greatest work. His particular, morbid genius has both fascinated and repelled authors from Vladimir Nabokov to Milan Kundera to Woody Allen. This course will examine the influence of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment on the writers of a small Central European nation not normally known for its seriousness. We will compare Dostoevskys novel to those of Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera, Karel Apek and a host of other Czech writers in an attempt to come to an understanding of Dostoevsky and Czech culture.

Grading Policy

3 6-8 page papers 20% each, 2 exams, 10% each, critiques 10%, participation 5%, attendance 5%.

Texts

F.M. Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, Franz Kafka, The Trial, Karel Apek, Hordubal, Meteor, An Ordinary Life Tales from Two Pockets, Wayside Crosses, Milan Kundera, The Farewell Waltz, Vladimir Paral, Lovers and Murders, Ludvik Vaculik, The Guinea Pigs, Ladislav Fuks, the Cremator.

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