This course is an interdisciplinary survey of Russian popular culture and the changes PERESTROIKA and GLASNOST brought to it. It will focus on what is new about the Russian cultural scene now, attempt to find the roots of change in the past, understand what is different and what has stayed the same. Major topics will include youth culture (rock music, parties, and groups), popular media (TV, newspapers, and film), the arts (theater, art literature). Through literary and historical texts, works of visual art, film, and lectures by visiting experts, students will be introduced to the social and cultural climate from which perestroika emerged that continues to influence changes in Russian life. |