Eurasian Exiles and Literature in New York examines Eurasian exile literature in the United States and especially New York over the course of four emigration waves: so called Second Wave writers who fled the Russian Revolution (Vladimir Nabokov), the Third Wave exiles, who came after World War II (Joseph Brodsky and Sergei Dovlatov), the exile literature of the last Soviet generation who came as refugees in the late 1970s and early 1980s (Gary Shteyngart, Irina Reyn), and the perestroika and post-Soviet diaspora, who came to New York after 1991. All four waves drew upon a rich Russian cultural heritage and influences that they encountered abroad to create innovative work: new topoi and urban fiction as well as unique images of New York. All four have complicated and fascinating engagements with American society and the cultures of New York City, and also with the Russian and Eurasian émigré communities, vibrant worlds unto themselves. The initial waves drew mainly on East European themes and were still attached to Russia while the latter were increasingly concerned with non-Russian nationalities like Bukharan Jews, Georgians, and Tajiks. The course looks closely and critically at the meanings of “exile” and “Eurasia,” as well as the poetics of exilic and urban writing; it asks whether we can still speak of exiles and exile fiction in the postSoviet age of globalization, social media, and unprecedented migration. Ukrainian Language and Literature
- Subject
- SLLT GU
- Credits (min)
- 3
- Credits (max)
- 3
- Credit unit
- points
- Type
- course
- Edition
- 2026-2027
- Catalog
- 2026-2027 Bulletin
- Source
- bulletin.columbia.edu