The Russian Novel: Masterpieces of Russian Literature in the Age of Realism Credit Hours: 3 In the nineteenth century, Russia witnessed an unprecedented explosion of literary and intellectual activity, a renaissance which yielded some of the greatest masterpieces world literature has seen. Our course will examine the seven most prominent authors of this period, with special emphasis on Russia’s unique handling of the sudden influx of European philosophy and culture (Rationalism, Idealism, Romanticism, Atheism, Socialism). Through its literary canon, we will examine how Russia envisioned the problems of modern individualism in a culture divided between European and Slavic roots. Reading masterpieces by Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev, Nadezhda Khvoshchinskaya, and Lev Tolstoy, we will study the development of Russian literature as one of Russia’s most important cultural institutions, a place in which most prescient cultural, philosophic, social, and political questions could be investigated and dramatized. We will accompany our readings of major literary works with philosophical and critical texts by 19th- and 20th- century Russian philosophers and critics that aim to contextualize the novels.Taught in English. Semester Offered: Fall Offered in alternate years Course Type: Russian Courses Level: Undergraduate
