RUSSIAN LIT.: EPIC CANON IN SHORT FORM

Catalog description

What comes to mind when you think about Russian Literature? Most likely, “War and Peace,” “Brothers Karamazov”, and other 600+ page-long books, and a healthy dose of intimidation at the thought of reading them. Fear not: we will take a different approach to get familiar with the epic canon. From Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut, to 19th-century superfluous romantics and their duels, to Russian diaspora in 90’s Brooklyn: we will sample the various offerings of Russian culture through skazs, short stories, and novellas. Our discussions will focus on both the internal organization and meaning of individual stories and the historical evolution of Russian prose and its changing political and cultural contexts. Fabulist, realistic, impressionistic, romantic, satirical—and manageably short—these stories are guaranteed to find a place in your mind as well as on your bookshelf. This course is open to everyone and should be of particular interest to prospective and current majors in literature as well as to students interested in creative writing. No knowledge of Russian is required.