After Communism: Animals, Avatars, Hybrids
RUSS 223
Fall 2020 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
REES 223, RULE 223, WLIT 256 |
During the last two decades of the 20th century, a wide array of Soviet and post-Soviet writers either replaced or merged the traditional human protagonist with another: the animal. Whether featuring a penguin avatar or disillusioned insects; a human centipede or a pack of werewolves, these literary works directly and indirectly shed light on the historical context in which they were written: the last decade before and the one immediately following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Keeping in mind this historical and social context, we will analyze representations of hybridity, violence, sexuality, and (imagined) communities--all through texts that challenge us to consider what the animal represents and how it affects our expectations of narrative. The secondary readings will situate the animal in a broader philosophical and theoretical framework, and special attention will be paid to postmodernism as a movement in literature and art. Conducted in English. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS REES |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (REES-MN)(REES-Lang/Lit/C) |
Major Readings:
Tentative reading list (selection):
Aitmatov, The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years
Aleshkovsky, Life: A Skunk
Erofeyev, "The Parakeet"
Kurkov, Death and the Penguin
Pelevin, The Life of Insects and selected stories
Petrushevskaya, selected stories
Sorokin, Day of the Oprichnik and selected stories
Tolstaya, The Slynx
Ulitskaya, selected stories
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