Russian 13 (2A), Spring 2008

Russian Literature of the Golden Age in Translation

Victoria Somoff

Tu/Th 2:00 – 3:50, X-period W 4:15 – 5:05

In his Philosophical Letters, Pyotr Chaadaev, one of the leading Russian intellectuals of the 19th century, compared Russian history to the history of Western civilization. Chaadaev claimed that Russia had been cut off from global unity, belonged to no cultural system, and contributed nothing to the progress of human spirit. Since the publication of his “First Philosophical Letter” in 1836, for which he was pronounced a madman and put under mandatory medical supervision, writers, scholars, and philosophers both inside and outside of Russia have wrestled with Chaadaev’s categorical verdict.

 One response was from the 20th-century poet Osip Mandelshtam who was sentenced to hard labor during the Stalinist purges and died in 1938. Mandelshtam pointed out that Chaadaev, in his evaluation of Russia, did not take into account one singular contribution: the Russian language.

“Such a highly organized, such an organic language is not merely a door into history, it is history itself.”[1]

 Taking Mandelshtam’s point to its logical conclusion, it is Russia’s literature rather than its history or socioeconomic structure that becomes the Rosetta stone to the exceptional nature of the Russian experience.

 In this course, we will explore some of the texts that make up this Rosetta stone.  It was during the 19th century that a Russian national literature emerged, developed, and acquired that international reputation which has since given it a prominent place in world literary history. As we readsome of the most celebrated works from the Golden Age of Russian literature – by Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov – we will attempt to account for the distinct character of Russian literature and its unique role in Russian history and culture.

             The course will consist of a combination of lectures and class discussions. You should have finished reading each work (or the assigned part of it) prior to the scheduled discussion of that work. Please keep in mind that Goncharov’s Oblomov and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment are especially long. It would be wise to begin reading these novels in advance. Please remember to bring your books to class and come to each discussion section fully prepared as you will be called upon to share your observations, questions, and insights.

 Discussion questions for every section are posted on the Blackboard Discussion Forum. Your responses to these questions need to be posted by 8 p.m. on Monday for the Tuesday class and by 8 p.m. on Wednesday for the Thursday class. Late postings will not be acknowledged. Each of your contributions to the forum should consist of at least two entries. You can post responses to the questions posted by the instructor, engage in written discussions with your classmates, or do both. 

Course Grading and Requirements:

Participation in class discussions and on Blackboard Discussion Forum – 15%

 Position Paper One, 3-4 pages – 15%

 Position Paper Two OR Creative Analysis Essay 3-4 pages – 15%

 Term Paper, 7-10 pages – 25%

 Final exam – 30 %

Requests for Accommodation:

Students with learning, physical, or psychiatric disabilities who will be taking this course and may need disability-related classroom accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see the instructor before the end of the second week of class – i.e., Friday, April 4, 2008.

Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with me before the end of the second week of the term (i.e., Friday, April 4, 2008) to discuss appropriate accommodations

Required Books

available at Wheelock bookstore and on reserve at Baker-Berry

Lermontov. A Hero of Our Time, trans. by I. P. Foote, Penguin.

Gogol. The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol, trans. by R. Pevear, L. Volokhonsky. Vintage.

Turgenev. Fathers and Sons, trans. by M. Katz. Norton.

Goncharov. Oblomov, trans. by S. Pearl. Bunim & Bannigan.

Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment, trans. by J. Coulson, Oxford UP.

Tolstoy. Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.

Chekhov. Anton Chekhov’s Short Stories, ed. By R. Matlaw. Norton

 

 Additional readings indicated by the asterisk* will be available online on the Blackboard website

 

 

Schedule

 

This is tentative and may be adjusted as we move along: it is your responsibility to keep up-to-date

 

On-line/handout readings are indicated by the asterisk*


Tuesday, March 25
Introduction: 19th-Century Russia and Its Literature: An Exception to the Rule?
Chaadaev, Philosophical Letters, Letter One*; Leskov, The Left-handed Craftsman*

Thursday, March 27
Pushkin, selected poems*; The Shot*; The Blizzard*; Peasant-Lady*

Tuesday, April 1
Pushkin, The Miserly Knight*; Mozart and Salieri*

Thursday, April 3
Pushkin, The Bronze Horseman*; The Queen of Spades*

Tuesday, April 8
Lermontov, selected poems*; A Hero of Our Time (Preface; Bela; Maxim Maximych; pp. 1-53)

Thursday, April 10
Lermontov, The Hero of Our Times (Pechorin’s Journal: Foreword; Taman; Princess Mary; The Fatalist, pp. 55-157)

Tuesday, April 15
Gogol, The Nevsky Prospect; The Portrait; The Nose; The Carriage; The Overcoat; Diary of a Madman

Thursday, April 17
Position Paper One due!
Turgenev, Chertopkhanov and Nedopiuskin*; The End of Chertopkhanov*; Mumu*

Tuesday, April 22
Turgenev, Fathers and Sons

Wednesday, April 23, x-hour
Turgenev, Fathers and Sons

Thursday, April 24
No class (the instructor attends a conference)

Tuesday, April 29
Goncharov, Oblomov

Thursday, May 1
Goncharov, Oblomov


 

Tuesday, May 6
Position Paper Two OR Creative Analysis Essay due!

Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (Parts One-Two, pp. 1-165)

Thursday, May 8
Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (Parts Three-Four, pp. 166-303)

Tuesday, May 13
Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (Parts Five-Six; Epilogue, pp. 304-466)

Thursday, May 15
Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata; Death of Ivan Ilych

Tuesday, May 20
Tolstoy, Hadji Murat
Term Paper topic due!

Thursday, May 22
Chekhov, Vanka (pp. 49-51); Misery (pp. 11-16); The Grasshoper (pp. 69-90); The Teacher of Literature (pp. 109-128); The Man in a Case (pp. 175-185); Gooseberries (pp. 185-194); About Love (pp. 194-202); The Darling (pp. 211-221); The Lady with the Dog (pp. 221-235)

Tuesday, May 27
Chekhov, The Seagull*

Friday, May 30, 4 p.m.
Term Paper due!

Monday, June 2, 11:30

FINAL EXAM!!


[1] Mandelshtam, O. On the Nature of the Word. Selected Essays, trans. S. Monas. University of Texas Press, 1977, p. 71.