Spring 2010

RUS 356 • War and Peace in Russian Literature

Course Description

This course examines Russian narratives of war and revolution as represented in fiction, cinema, and journalism. We will read a variety of texts dealing with the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, World War II and the contemporary conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and explore how individual writers portrayed the calamity of war and its devastating effect on people's lives, while expressing hope for ever-elusive peace and universal brotherhood. Works to be read include Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Bulgakov’s White Guard, Babel’s Red Cavalry, and Grossman’s Life and Fate, as well as journalistic writings by Borovik and Politkovskaya. Films to be screened include S. Bondarchuk’s War and Peace, Tarkovsky’s My Name is Ivan, Bodrov’s Prisoner of the Mountains, F. Bondarchuk’s Ninth Company, and Kravchuk’s Admiral. All readings and discussion will be in English. All films will be screened with English subtitles.

Texts

Texts: 1. L. Tolstoy, War and Peace 2. M. Bulgakov, White Guard 3. I. Babel, Red Cavalry 4. V. Grossman, Life and Fate Selections from: 5. A. Borovik, Hidden War: A Russian Journalist's Account of the Soviet War in Afghanistan 6. A. Politkovskaya, A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya Films: 1. S. Bondarchuk, War and Peace 2. A. Tarkovsky, My Name is Ivan 3. S. Bodrov, Prisoner of the Mountains 4. F. Bondarchuk, Ninth Company 5. A. Kravchuk, Admiral

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