Russian Masterpieces: Great Short Works (FYS)
RUSS 240F
Fall 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
REES 240F, RULE 240F, WLIT 240F |
This course is designed to help students improve their writing through the close reading and analysis of short stories and novellas by Russian masters of the form. Students will be asked to bring to each class their ideas on how to construct an argument that could be developed into a written interpretation of the work being discussed. These discussions, along with work on building logical arguments and polishing grammar and style, will inform students' own writing. We will read works from the 19th century to the late 20th century that include Tolstoy's novellas of faith, adultery, and facing death; Nikolai Gogol's surreal comedies and urbanistic fantasies; Anton Chekhov's subtle psychological tales; Ivan Bunin's reflections from exile on a lost Russia; Mikhail Bulgakov's sketches of life as a country doctor; Evgeny Kharitonov's experimental narratives of queer experience in a totalitarian society; and Lyudmila Petrushevskaya's modern stories of the tortured lives of women in the late Soviet period. All readings in English translation. No knowledge of Russian is expected. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA REES |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Minor)(Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. (Longman)
Leo Tolstoy, Tolstoy's Short Fiction (Norton)
Nikolai Gogol, The Nose and Other Stories (Columbia)
Anton Chekhov, Selected Stories (Norton)
Ivan Bunin, Collected Stories (Ivan R. Dee)
Mikhail Bulgakov, Notes of a Country Doctor (Melville House)
Liudmila Petrushevskaya, Immortal Love (Pantheon)
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Examinations and Assignments:
Four papers of increasing length and complexity. Short reading responses and grammar exercises. Attendance is required. Conducted in English. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
None |
| Instructor(s): Utkin,Roman Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
| 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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