Reading Stories
RUSS 240
Spring 2012
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
REES 240, RULE 240 |
How does narrative form create meaning? Many of the best works of 19th-century Russian literature reflect upon the nature of storytelling and the capacity of stories to represent truth. In the 20th century, Russian literary theoreticians like Eikhenbaum, Bakhtin, Jakobson, and Lotman joined fiction writers in developing a powerful and useful critical vocabulary for describing and understanding narrative. Their work led them and writers of their generation into innovative experiments in short fiction. This course looks at the creative interplay between story writing and thinking about stories in modern Russian literature. We will read short stories and short novels by Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Zoshchenko, Platonov, and Petrushevskaia. We will also read articles and selected chapters on theory by Iser, Hirsch, Chatman, Booth, Culler, White, Caws, Bakhtin, Lotman, Frye, and Jakobson. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Intercultural Literacy, Interpretation
This course raises the question: how can we in our culture, our period, understand stories written in other cultures, other periods. It answers this question in two ways: 1) by using our theoretical and literary readings to identify meaningful structures intrinsic to all stories; and 2) by providing insights into modern Russian social/cultural history that will enable students to understand our literary readings in their original context.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RUSS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (REES-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYI |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Pushkin, QUEEN OF SPADES, THE BELKIN TALES
Gogol, IVAN SHPONKA AND HIS AUNT, HOW THE TWO IVANS QUARRELED
Turgenev, FIRST LOVE
Dostoevsky, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Tolstoy, DEATH OF IVAN ILYCH, MASTER AND MAN, THE KREUTZER SONATA
Chekhov, LADY WITH THE DOG, ANNA ON THE NECK, THE NAME-DAY PARTY, UNCLE VANYA
Zoshchenko, VICTORIA KAZIMIROVNA, THE ARISTOCRAT, THE BATHHOUSE
Platonov, POTUDAN RIVER
Petrushevskaia, THE TIME: NIGHT
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Examinations and Assignments:
Frequent one-page papers for facilitating class discussions, a mid-term exam, a 7-page paper, and a final writing project. |
| Instructor(s): White,Duffield Times: ..T.R.. 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: FISK412; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 8 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 19 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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