Required Texts

Pushkin, Alexander. Complete Prose Fiction. Trans. P. Debreczeny.

Lermontov, Mihail. A Hero of Our Time. Trans. V. Nabokov.

Gogol, Nikolai. Diary of a Madman and Other Stories. Trans. R. Wilks.

Gogol, Nikolai. The Inspector General. Trans. Seymour and Noyes.

Turgenev, Ivan. First Love & The Diary of a Superfluous Man. Trans. C. Garnett.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground. Trans. M. Katz. (Norton)

Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. G. Gibian (Norton)

Tolstoy, L. N. The Portable Tolstoy. Ed. J. Bayley

Purpose of this Course

1) This course will introduce you to canonical texts of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. As we read, discuss, and write about these works, we will concentrate on issues of gender, genre, and history as well as the thematic concerns suggested in the title. We are most concerned not with murder, madness, and mayhem per se, but how they are represented or portrayed. Some of the other questions I hope we discuss include:

-How do traditional male and female roles figure into these works?

-More specifically, what is the role of women in a literary culture dominated by men?

-How is the form of literary texts transformed in Russia over the course of the Nineteenth Century?

-How do such changes reflect the society and culture they depict?

-To what extent does the reading public change over the century?

-To what degree does political activity influence these authors?

-How do Russians view their place in history, both their own and in a larger, global context?

-What do traditional oppositions such as "individual vs. society" and "private vs. public" mean?

-What role do they play in structuring these works?

-Is dueling really a form of murder? Why or why not?

-How, in a rapidly changing, modernizing, industrializing country, does one portray madness?

-How does identity, particularly national identity, influence these writers?

-What is the relationship between journalism and literature?

This is not an inclusive list, but merely a guideline of where I would like the discussion to go. After a few class meetings, I hope that you help to determine both the nature and content of our discussions.

2) This course will help you to express yourself more clearly in discussions about literature. Reading these days is mostly a private activity (remember that in Nineteenth Century Russia, reading was often a very social activity). Talking about what you have read is a social activity. Like any activity, there are certain codes or rules. The goal here is to learn and analyze the form and value of such codes so that we can both intuitively understand and vigorously express what we learn about what we read.

3) This course will help you to write better, clearer, and more concise essays. Whether your personal ambition is to become a CEO, a systems analyst, or the next Andre Braugher, better writing skills will make your goals easier to attain. Writing is hard work which demands time, energy, knowledge, and creativity. These happen to be the basic requirements for this course.

Attendance

Two or more absences from this course will lower your final grade.

Although I will lecture from time to time, the basic pattern here will be open classroom discussion. Therefore, you need to be in class to listen to and participate in the conversations. If, and only if, you are lying on your death bed, please inform me, either by phone or e-mail, BEFORE class begins.

Assignments

1) Class Participation

I will share with you my knowledge of the historical and cultural background to these texts. I will also offer you my interpretations of the stories. I expect you to do the same. Your responses in class will be given the same weight as your responses on written assignments. Ask questions or raise points during discussions or lectures. Also, be respectful of others' opinions. You probably will find times when you don't agree with something someone else says. That's great, but be sure to keep the other person in mind when you formulate your counterargument. Conversely, don't open your mouth unless you have thought about and can defend what you want to say.

2) Group Work

From time to time, I will divide you into groups to analyze a particular theme or subject we cover. In a class as large as ours, I feel that group work is an effective way for us to cover material we may not otherwise get to. I will frequently ask a particular group to prepare a formal statement to present to the class. This may involve meeting outside our regular class period. Please be patient and flexible enough to find the time to meet with your colleagues.

3) Response Statements

Scattered throughout the semester are four response statements. These papers must be NO MORE than one page in length (with standard margins and fonts). I must receive them by the beginning of the class for which it is assigned. I will not accept these assignments late, and you will receive zero credit if they are not submitted. What do I mean by a response statement? They can vary in format and direction, depending on how you react to a given reading assignment. Since you have limited space, focus the thesis of your statement on a specific issue and provide your explanation in concise terms. For example, the first response statement is assigned for Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. You could offer an analysis of a particular character, say Maksim Maksimich. You might compare him with a character from an earlier work we read (Ivan Petrovich Belkin or Samson Vyrin would be good candidates). Or you might pick a distinctive feature (his speech, his appearance, etc...) and offer your interpretation of his character based on that trait. Or you could take a broader subject (the narrator's depiction of nature, let's say) and analyze how it fits into your understanding of the story. Perhaps something will inspire you to do a bit of research. Refer to list of recommended readings or do a search of your own and read up on the aspect you deem interesting. Your findings could be summarized in your paper. On occasion you might feel inspired to make comparisons to your own life. Virtually anything goes, as long as the essay demonstrates that you have read the text carefully and have thought about it. Each response statement must end with a discussion question that you are willing to propose for discussion in the next class. Your essay could in fact be an outline of your response to that question...or the question could be a request for clarification of something you didn't understand in the text (in which case you could offer possible solutions). I hope that over the semester the kinds of essays you write, and questions you pose, will vary in type and manner of inquiry.

4) Quizzes

We will have four lengthy quizzes (or short exams) throughout the semester. I will give you approximately 30 minutes for each. The bulk of each quiz will consist of questions related to the specifics of the texts we cover. You should also know a few facts about each author we read: dates of birth and death, at least three other works which we will not read in class, including the genres in which s/he wrote (remember, for example, that Lermontov wrote mostly poetry, while Gogol was at least as famous for his plays as for his stories), and the few biographical details I give you in class. Most of each quiz, however, will test your ability to synthesize the details we read into an understanding of the stories. If you pay attention in class, keep up with the reading, and think about what we have done, you should pass these quizzes without a problem.

5) Papers

You will have two essays to write this semester. I will provide you with questions to consider, but I encourage you to develop your own thesis based on our discussions of the work. I will give you more details on the format of these papers as the deadlines approach. You should be aware of two things now:

1) For the first paper, each of you will be assigned a reader from the class. As reader, you are expected to provide constructive criticism of your partner's work. I will grade you as both writer and reader for this assignment.

2) For the second paper, I expect you to do some basic research. Again, I refer you to the list of recommended readings and to our librarians, who will be happy to assist you in finding sources for your topic. Don't put this paper off until the last minute.

6) Exams

Your four quizzes will count as exams

Grading

Experience has taught me that you like a mathematical formula for determining your grades. Hence, the following, though I add the caveat: this is not an absolute system, but a general guide to how I determine your grades. Significant improvement or decline will be taken into account before I assign your final grade. Remember that two or more absences will lower your FINAL grade.

Participation and group work 25 %

Response Statements 20%

Quizzes 20%

Papers 35%

Two other notes about your grades:

1) Please consult me about your progress at any point in the semester.

2) Some of you may have read a few or even many of these works before we have our first meeting. That's wonderful, but it doesn't necessarily translate into better grades. My evaluation of each of your assignments is influenced by your previous work in this class.

If you have any questions about this, raise them by the end of Wednesday's (Sept. 3) class. I want to clear up any misunderstandings now rather than later. If not, then consider this course policy a contract. You agree to the terms and you live by the rules stated here.

I truly love talking, thinking, and writing about the works we are covering this semester. I hope to infect you with some of my enthusiasm. I look forward to a good semester with all of you.