Introduction to Russian Literature

General Information about the Course:

LTRN 101 "Introduction to Russian Literature." An introduction to the works of major 19th and 20th century Russian writers (Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gorky, Solzhenitsyn and others), including a discussion of how Russian literature is translated into other languages and other media (such as film, music and art). All readings are in ENGLISH.

This course has been designed especially for first-year college students, but it is open to all students. The course may be used towards fulfilling the Humanities Distribution Requirement. This course also may be used towards fulfilling the requirements for the European Studies Minor.

The purpose of the course is twofold: to give students a basic introduction to Russian literature and to develop in them an appreciation of good literature. To meet these goals we will talk about literature in general and different ways of approaching a literary work, we will also analyze an array of Russian literature from both the 19th and 20th centuries. We will read not only prose, but poetry and drama as well; we will also read some literary criticism. The course will introduce students to several special topics, such as 1) problems of literary translation, 2) adapting literary works to radio, TV and film, 3) the current literary scene in Russia.

I. Required Reading

A.S.Pushkin. Eugene Onegin. Penguin, 1979 [novel in verse]
N.V.Gogol, et al. The Government Inspector and Other Russian Plays. Penguin Classics, 1991. [The Government Inspector, also Fonvizin's The Infant.
I.S.Turgenev. Fathers and Sons (Norton Critical Edition. (second edition) 1989. [novel and selections from the criticism]
D.Richards, ed. Penguin Book of Russian Short Stories. Penguin, 1981. [Pushkin's "The Shot"; Gogol's "The Nose"; Lermontov's "Taman"; Turgenev's "Bezhin Lea"; Dostoevsky's "Strange Man's Dream"; Garshin's "The Scarlet Flower"; Leskov's "The Make-Up Artist"; Chekhov's "The Party"; Gorky's "Twenty-Six Men and a Girl"; Andreev's "The Grand Slam"; Tolstoy's "After the Ball"; Bunin's "Ida"; Babel's "Guy de Maupassant"; Zamyatin's "The Lion"; Platonov's "The Third Son"; Nabokov's "Spring in Fialta"; Paustovsky's "Streams Where Trout Play"; Nagibin's "White Oak"; Kazakov's "On the Island"; Solzhenitsyn's "Zakhar-the-Pouch"]
C.Proffer and E. Proffer, eds. Contemporary Russian Prose Ardis, 1982. [Aksenov's "The Steel Bird"; Shukshin's "Snowball Berry Red"; Sokolov's "A School for Fools"; Trifonov's "The Exchange"; Bitov's "Life in Windy Weather"; Iskander's "Belshazzar's Feast"; Rasputin's "Downstream"]

We will also read some poems of various poets; excerpts from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment; excerpts from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and War and Peace; Chekhov's story "Ward Six" and his play Uncle Vanya; Ilf and Petrov's "How the Soviet Robinson Was Created"; a selection of Zoshchenko's short humorous pieces and his story "Adventures of a Monkey"; Polovoi's short novel He Came Back; Tolstaya's story "Sweet Shura"; and Aitmatov's play The Ascent of Mount Fuji, Petrushevkaya's monologue "Nets and Traps" and her play Cinzano. The cost of these Xeroxed materials is approximately $7. This collection of readings will be available for purchase by October 1st in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures office, top floor Carnegie. Other handouts (class notes, study questions, etc.)--free! You should purchase a large three ring binder for these materials.

II. Media Presentations:

performance "Eugene Onegin" (video of the opera),
movie excerpts: "The Inspector General" (US and Russian versions),
excerpts from movie, radio and TV (Masterpiece Theatre and other) versions of Anna Karenina,
excerpts from movie and TV (Masterpiece Theatre) versions of Crime and Punishment,
excepts from TV performance: Uncle Vanya,
movie excerpts from "Snowball Berry Red" and "Belshazzar's Feast" (in Russian)
videos on the lives and works of various authors
and other things...as available.

III. Lectures:

Brief lectures on literary theory--based mainly on the text by R. Wellek and A. Warren and that by R. Seldon (listed below). Also several brief lectures on special topics such as: Russian literary tradition; general characteristics of prose and poetry analysis; problems of translation; literature and the media; Socialist Realism; the current literary scene in Russia.

IV. Suggested Readings:

R. Wellek and A. Warren. Theory of Literature.
R. Selden. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory.
K. E. Beksen and A. Ganz. Literary Terms: A Dictionary.
D.S.Mirsky. History of Russian Literature: from its beginnings to 1900.
E.J.Brown. Russian Literature Since the Revolution.
V.Terras. Handbook of Russian Literature.

Some Links to Russian Literature on the Web

...for some general links to Russian literature try:

The Bucknell University Russian Program

Dazhbog's Grandchildren - Go to the topic "literature."

Friends and Partners - This site is also topical. Start at the category "FPLIB-Literature".

Little Russia - Start here with the topic "Russian Art and Literature."

REESWeb Virtual Library - Russian Resources includes some good literature links. Browse by subject, geographical region, culture, time period.

Sher's Russian Index - Literature category of this mega-site is particularly useful for this course.

last update 8/25/02