Michael Pesenson

Course Description

This course introduces students to great short works of Russian literature, which similarly to the sprawling Russian novel possess a long and distinguished place in Russian literary history. Since the early nineteenth century, Russian writers have used the genres of short story and novella to create polished and brilliant gems demonstrating the possibilities of character development, narrative voice, plot, and the judicious exposition of ideas in compact prose. Over the course of the semester we will read a selection of works by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Leskov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Babel, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstaya, Pelevin, and others.  All readings and discussion are in Russian.

Requirements and Grading for Undergrad level

Several Short Response Papers (2-3 pp.): 30%

Midterm Paper: 30%

Final Paper: 30%

 For graduate credit, students are expected to read some works in Russian, discuss additional secondary sources, and write the short response papers in Russian.  In addition, they will be expected to do one class presentation and lead class discussion on a work of their choice.

Requirements and Grading for Grad level

Several Short Response Papers (2-3 pp.) in Russian: 30%

Midterm Paper: 20%

Final Paper: 30%

Class Presentation/discussion: 10%

Attendance and Participation: 10%

This course serves as an introduction to the colorful and exotic literature and culture of medieval and early modern Russia.  Over the course of the semester, we will learn about all aspects of medieval Russian life, exploring important texts from Kievan and Muscovite Rus’ that reveal a vibrant and thriving literary and cultural community.  These texts include notable examples of historical writing, military tales, saints’ lives, homilies, adventure tales, biographies, polemical treatises, and miracle tales.  We will also devote time to the study of medieval Russian art and iconography, examining in particular regional differences in icon painting and other artistic production. In addition, we will watch several well-known Russian films and operas based on medieval historical subjects, such as Alexander Nevsky, Andrei Rublev, Ivan the Terrible, and Boris Godunov, and discuss how composers and directors re-imagined medieval Russian culture for their own times.  All class discussion and reading will be in English.

Texts:

1. S. Zenkovsky, Medieval Russia’s Epics, Chronicles and Tales
2. D. Likhachev, A History of Russian Literature, 11th-17th Centuries
3. On Blackboard: selections from Kievan Caves Paterikon, Domostroi, Kurbsky-Grozny correspondence, I. Timofeev’s Chronicle; J. Meyendorff, Byzantium and the Rise of Russia; R. Crummey, The Formation of Muscovy, 1304-1613; J. Billington, The Icon and the Axe.

Films to be screened:

1. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
2. Andrei Rublev (1966)
3. Ivan the Terrible (1944)
4. 1612 (2007)

Operas:

1. Prince Igor (Borodin)
2. Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky)
3. Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin) (Glinka)

Requirements and Grading:

1. Short Essay (5pp)                      20%
2. Longer essay (10-12 pp)            30%
3. Final examination                       30%
4. Active enthusiastic participation 20%

Prerequisites

Upper Division Standing.

Introduction to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe through each of the major disciplines represented in the program: language, literature, anthropology, geography, history, government, sociology, and economics. Core course required for a degree in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. Meets with SLA 301 and GRG 309. May not be used to fulfill the foreign language requirement for any Bachelor’s degree. Course number may be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

Texts:

1.Slavenka Drakulic, 2005, They Would Never Hurt a Fly, Penguin

2. Heda Kovaly, 1997, Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968. New York: Holmes

and Meier

3. Brigid Pastulka, 2009, A Long Time Ago and Essentially True, Boston, New York,

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

4. Bella Bychkova Jordan and Terry G Jordan-Bychkov, 2001, Siberian Village: Land and

Life in the Sakha Republic, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Additional readings might be recommended for individual lectures.

Requirements and Grading:

Attendance 10%

Participation in lectures 10%

Participation in book discussions 10%

Book quizzes 40% (each)

Course Description

This course introduces students to great short works of Russian literature, which similarly to the sprawling Russian novel possess a long and distinguished place in Russian literary history. Since the early nineteenth century, Russian writers have used the genres of short story and novella to create polished and brilliant gems demonstrating the possibilities of character development, narrative voice, plot, and the judicious exposition of ideas in compact prose. Over the course of the semester we will read a selection of works by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Leskov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Babel, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, Tolstaya, Pelevin, and others.  All readings and discussion are in Russian.

Requirements and Grading for Undergrad level

Several Short Response Papers (2-3 pp.): 30%

Midterm Paper: 30%

Final Paper: 30%

 For graduate credit, students are expected to read some works in Russian, discuss additional secondary sources, and write the short response papers in Russian.  In addition, they will be expected to do one class presentation and lead class discussion on a work of their choice.

Requirements and Grading for Grad level

Several Short Response Papers (2-3 pp.) in Russian: 30%

Midterm Paper: 20%

Final Paper: 30%

Class Presentation/discussion: 10%

Attendance and Participation: 10%

The Russians have been famously termed “wanderers in search of God’s truth”. In much of their literature there is a discernable thirst for another life, another world, a clear displeasure at what is. There is an eschatological directedness, an expectation that there will be an end to all that is finite, that a final truth will ultimately be revealed, that in the future an extraordinary event will take place. This new course will explore and analyze apocalyptic consciousness in Russian literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. Emphasis will be on such themes as the expectation of the end of the world, identification of the Antichrist, messianic prophecy and visions of an afterlife. Readings will include works of Gogol, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Bely, Merezhkovsky, Soloviev, Bulgakov, Makanin, and Tolstaya.

The graduate component of this class will involve an additional moderate amount of reading in Russian (for Slavic graduate students) or other apocalyptic traditions (for Comparative Literature graduate students).  Slavic graduate students will also be expected to write their response papers in Russian.  All graduate students will make brief presentations in class on an agreed upon topic of their choice depending on their individual interests.

Reading List: (These works are all available in the bookstore, on Blackboard or on Google Books)

D. Merezhkovsky, Peter and Alexei

A. Pushkin, Bronze Horseman

F. Dostoevsky, Demons

N. Gogol, Dead Souls

M. Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

V. Soloviev, Third Conversation and Short Story on the Antichrist

A. Bely, Petersburg

M. Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

T. Tolstaya, Slynx

V. Makanin, Escape Hatch

Description: 

The Russian novel represents one of Russia’s greatest contributions to world culture.  This course surveys classic authors as well as experimental works from the 19th through the 21st centuries.  Students in the course will deepen their understanding of the cultural context for Russian writers from Turgenev, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy through Pelevin and Sorokin. They will gain familiarity with literary movements and genres including romanticism, realism, modernism, and the postmodern as they developed in Russia.  We will highlight issues including the relationship of Russia to the West, the question of national identity, and the complex relationship of literature to politics.

Readings:

M. Lermontov, A Hero of Our Time

I. Turgenev, Fathers and Sons

F. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

L. Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

M. Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

A. Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

V. Pelevin, Yellow Train

T. Tolstaya, The Slynx

V. Sorokin, Ice

Grading:

 1. Attendance and Class Participation 10%

2. Response Papers 30%

3. Midterm Paper 30%

4. Final Paper 30%

The Russians have been famously termed “wanderers in search of God’s truth”. In much of their literature there is a discernable thirst for another life, another world, a clear displeasure at what is. There is an eschatological directedness, an expectation that there will be an end to all that is finite, that a final truth will ultimately be revealed, that in the future an extraordinary event will take place. This new course will explore and analyze apocalyptic consciousness in Russian literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present. Emphasis will be on such themes as the expectation of the end of the world, identification of the Antichrist, messianic prophecy and visions of an afterlife. Readings will include works of Gogol, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Bely, Merezhkovsky, Soloviev, Bulgakov, Makanin, and Tolstaya.

The graduate component of this class will involve an additional moderate amount of reading in Russian (for Slavic graduate students) or other apocalyptic traditions (for Comparative Literature graduate students).  Slavic graduate students will also be expected to write their response papers in Russian.  All graduate students will make brief presentations in class on an agreed upon topic of their choice depending on their individual interests.

Reading List: (These works are all available in the bookstore, on Blackboard or on Google Books)

D. Merezhkovsky, Peter and Alexei

A. Pushkin, Bronze Horseman

F. Dostoevsky, Demons

N. Gogol, Dead Souls

M. Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

V. Soloviev, Third Conversation and Short Story on the Antichrist

A. Bely, Petersburg

M. Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

T. Tolstaya, Slynx

V. Makanin, Escape Hatch

Course Description

This course serves as an introduction to the exciting and exotic literature and culture of the medieval and early modern Russia.  Over the course of the semester, we will learn about all aspects of medieval Russian life, exploring important literary texts from Kievan and Muscovite Rus’ that reveal a vibrant and thriving literary and cultural community.  These texts include notable examples of historical writing, military tales, saints’ lives, homilies, adventure tales, biographies, polemical treatises, and miracle tales.  We will also devote time to the study of art and iconography, examining in particular regional differences in icon painting and other artistic production. In addition, we will watch several well-known Russian films and operas based on medieval historical subjects, such as Alexander Nevsky, Andrei Rublev, Ivan the Terrible, and Boris Godunov, and discuss how librettists, composers, directors, and screenwriters re-imagined medieval Russian culture in their own times.  All readings and discussion will be in English.

Prerequisites

Upper Division Standing.

Course Description

Introduction to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe through each of the major disciplines represented in the program: language, literature, anthropology, geography, history, government, sociology, and economics.  Core course required for a degree in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies. Meets with SLA 301 and GRG 309. May not be used to fulfill the foreign language requirement for any Bachelor’s degree. Course number may be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

Texts:

1. Slavenka Drakulic, 1992, How We Survived Communism and even Laughed, Harper-Collins.

2. Bella Bychkova Jordan and Terry G .Jordan-Bychkov, 2001. Siberian Village: Land and Life in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

3. Heda Kovaly, 1997. Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968. New York: Holmes and Meier.

4. Figer, Orlando. Natasha’s Dance.

Requirements and Grading

Map quiz: 5%

Participation: 5%

Essays (5-7 pages each) on books listed above: 20% each (60%)

(assignments will be distributed in class)

Final exam: 30%

Prerequsite

None