72 courses with the subject RUSS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
RUSS 001Intensive Russian1.5
Students who start in the RUSS 001-002 sequence must complete and pass 002 in order to receive credit for 001. For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004 , RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010 , and RUSS 008A . See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Fall 2026. Forrester, Alley. Fall 2027 Forrester, STAFF.
Students who start in the RUSS 001-002 sequence must complete and pass 002 in order to receive credit for 001. For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004 , RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010, and RUSS 008A . See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Spring 2027. Forrester, STAFF. Spring 2028 Forrester, STAFF.
For students who wish to begin Russian in college or who did not move beyond an introduction in high school. Designed to impart an active command of the language. Combines the study of grammar with intensive oral practice, work on phonetics, writing, web materials, and readings in literary and expository prose. Conducted primarily in Russian; normally followed by RUSS 004 , RUSS 011 and ideally by RUSS 010 , and RUSS 008A. See the explanatory note on language courses in the first section of modern languages and literatures. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Fall 2026. Svynarenko, Alley. Fall 2027 Svynarenko, STAFF.
For majors and those interested in reaching advanced levels of proficiency in the language. Advanced conversation, composition, translation, and stylistics. Considerable attention to writing skills, phonetics, and spontaneous speaking. Readings include short stories, poetry, newspapers, and the Russian web. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Spring 2027. Svynarenko, STAFF. Spring 2028 Svynarenko, STAFF.
RUSS 005First Year Seminar: Back to the Future: Contemporary Russian Culture and Society1
(Cross-listed as LITR 005R ) Hailed as the “end of history” and “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century,” the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We’ll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism, protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (WWII, Stagnation, Soviet anti-Semitism, the Leningrad Siege) to understand Russia today. We will also have the opportunity to speak with some of the authors we’ll be reading. FYS and W. Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all. Humanities. W 1 credit.
This course meets once a week for 1.5 hours. Students will read newspapers, explore the Internet, and watch videos to prepare for conversation and discussion. Each student will design and complete an individual project based on his or her own interests and goals. Can be repeated once for credit.
RUSS 004 in the current or a previous semester or by permission of the instructor. 0.5 credit. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian Access the class schedule to search for sections.
RUSS 007FYS: Childhood in East European Literature1
(Cross-listed with LITR 007R ) Ever since Philippe Ariès, in his seminal study Centuries of Childhood (1962), startled the reading public by positing the concept of childhood as a fairly recent, 17th-century invention, debates on its historical and cultural conditioning have been raging unabated. The very defining features of childhood are still contested by enduring dichotomies: is it an autonomous world unto itself, or just a crucible for imminent maturity? A mere time span or a category of experience; a sanctuary of original innocence or a playground for diabolical adventure? Does the child’s mind amount to a clean slate or a network of predetermined patterns? Who bears the ultimate responsibility for the welfare, as well as transgressions, of the child: the parent or the state?–and what, then, can be said for the child’s own agency? The child’s knotted symbolic status, caught between exemplarity and dispensability, promise and confoundment, is what we will grapple with in this course, along with other meanings that this figure has accrued over the years in various East European contexts. No knowledge of Russian or any other Slavic language is required; all readings, papers, and discussions will be in English. FYS Humanities. Writing Course. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LING 008A ) This course does not require any previous knowledge of Russian. It was originally conceptualized as an opportunity for students of Russian to develop their pronunciation; however, it will also allow linguists to put theory into practice with the pursuit of the acquisition of Russian phonetics. This is ultimately a practical course; therefore, attention will be focused on resetting the default positions of the tongue, jaw and lips (or, as the Russians have it, the “articulation foundation”). Work on the production of the individual phonemes will be followed by the study of phonetic rules, which govern the production of consecutive sounds in word and phrases, and by the study of intonational constructions. 0.5 credit.
The course includes practice in speaking, understanding, reading and writing Russian through the use of authentic Russian language materials, including film. Students will consolidate previous knowledge of Russian grammar, and will significantly increase their vocabulary and improve their level of coherent language and writing. Students will acquire conscious knowledge of the meanings of the grammatical forms applied to discourse, i.e. to specific verbal situations, based not only on the underlying linguistic phenomena, but also on the content of lingua-cultural situations. Humanities. 1 credit.
The purpose of this course is to study the ways in which Russian filmmakers have used the medium of cinema to explore history, culture, politics, and social issues prevalent in the Russian society at different periods of its development. The course will follow the development of Soviet and Russian cinema from the Golden Age of silent films, through the periods of Socialist Realism, WWII, the Thaw, Stagnation, Perestroika, and finally - the Russian Federation up to the present day.
RUSS 013The Meaning of Life and the Russian Novel1
(Cross-listed as LITR 013R ) This course surveys nineteenth-century Russian-language literature, with a particular focus on the novel, and considers its major themes: nationalism, colonialism, and the ideology of Empire; the meaning of life in the face of death; women’s fate in a patriarchal society; the individual, the collective, and the experience of modernity; reason and irrationality; and the danger and promise of utopian thought. Our approach will be 1) to read and closely analyze a series of texts that became the foundation for the novelistic tradition in Russian within their own contexts and 2) to explore how these texts speak to contemporary issues, our lives, and eternal questions that all of humanity faces. We will read major novels by Fedor Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy, as well as novels, poems, and stories by numerous other authors, including Mikhail Lermontov, Sophia Khvoshchinskaya, and Nikolai Gogol. Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian language or culture required. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for CPLT Fall 2027 Svynarenko.
RUSS 014The Russian Novel: Revolution, Terror and Resistance1
(Cross-listed as LITR 014R ) What does a culture look like after it undergoes a series of revolutions-sexual, political, linguistic-in short succession? To answer this question, this course surveys literature from the last days of the Russian Empire, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, and the turbulent present of the Post-Soviet World. Together, we will consider how literary authors grapple with catastrophic upheaval, from the rapid construction of industrial socialism, to Stalin’s purges, World War II, the Gulag labor camps, and the Russian war on Ukraine in 2014 and the present. We will encounter fantastic, tragic, and absurd tales from a wild century: a battle of values in the early USSR between a rebel and a sausage maker; the joys and tribulations of post-revolutionary sexual liberation; a surreal night of drunkenness on the Moscow Metro; a lifetime in Soviet Central Asia recounted as astronauts make contact with a utopian society in a distant galaxy. All are welcome. Taught in translation. No previous knowledge of Russian language or culture required. Humanities. Writing course. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for GLBL-paired
RUSS 015First-Year Seminar: East European Prose in Translation1
(Cross-listed as LITR 015R ) Novels and stories by the most prominent 20th-century writers of this multifaceted and turbulent region. Analysis of individual works and writers to appreciate the religious, linguistic, and historical diversity of Eastern Europe in an era of war, revolution, political dissent, and outstanding cultural and intellectual achievement. Readings, lectures, writing, and discussion in English; students who are able may do some readings in the original languages. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for GSST, CPLT
Cross-listed as LING 016A This half-credit course provides an overview of linguistic approaches to the study of law and language. It combines a theoretical discussion of selected issues with practical analysis of texts. Written texts will be analyzed for their stylistic features, spoken texts will point out the interaction between discourse participants. The course will report on the findings of the newly developing discipline of forensic linguistics. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand the role of the emerging discipline of forensic linguistics as well as understand the specificities of various genres of legal English. Humanities. .5 credit.
RUSS 017First-Year Seminar: Love and Sex in Russian Literature1
(Cross-listed as LITR 017R ) Best known for political priorities and philosophical depth, Russian literature has also devoted many works to the eternal concern of love and sex. We will read significant and provocative works from traditional folk tales through the 20th century to discuss their construction of these most “natural” impulses -and how they imagine the relationship of human attraction to art, politics and philosophy. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for GSST Spring 2028 Svynarenko.
The Russian media (средства массовой информации) offer a wide range of political positions, language styles, and thematic interests. In this course we will read and watch widely, following both current events and particular student interests. Projects will emphasize all areas of language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and may contribute to your work in other courses. Can be taken for .5 or 1 credit.
RUSS 004 or permission of the instructor. .5 - 1 credit. Eligible for GLBL-paired. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/russian Access the class schedule to search for sections.
(Cross-listed as MUSI 004C ) Music has always played a central role in Russian cultural life. By shaping and responding to various cultural, social, and political changes, it has served as a space for the construction and negotiation of individual and national identity. This course will begin with a brief historical survey, touching upon the folk tradition and the beginning of Russian classical music and opera - Glinka, Musorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich , etc. We will also examine the development of Russian music through different historical periods, concentrating on an area of common interest for the specific group of students enrolled in the course. Some of the questions this course will pose, and hopefully answer, at least partially, are: How does a piece of music reflect the ideological and political situation of its time? How does it reveal the aesthetic sensibilities and aspirations of the composers, their listeners, and society at large? How has music’s function as breeding ground for social and cultural values changed in post-Soviet times? Humanities. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 021R ) Writer, gambler, publicist, and visionary Fedor Dostoevsky is one of the great writers of the modern age. His work influenced Nietzsche, Freud, Woolf, and others and continues to exert a profound influence on thought in our own society to the present. Dostoevsky confronts the “accursed questions” of truth, justice, and free will set against the darkest examples of human suffering: murder, suicide, poverty, addiction, and obsession. Students will consider artistic, philosophical, and social questions through texts from throughout Dostoevsky’s career. Students with knowledge of Russian may read some or all of the works in the original. Humanities. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 023R ) The long and strong relationship of Russia and Islam has been neglected in scholarship until recently. This course will examine texts (and films) spanning more than a thousand years, to introduce actual interactions of Russians and Muslims, images of Muslims in Russian literature (and a few Muslim images of Russia), the place of Muslim writers in Soviet literature, and the current position of Muslims in Russia and in Russian discourse. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ISLM, CPLT, GLBL paired.
(Cross-listed as LITR 024R ) This course will introduce students to cinema from “the other Europe.” We will begin with influential early Soviet avant-garde cinema and survey the traditions that developed subsequently with selections from Caucasian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Yugoslav cinema. Screenings will include films by Eisenstein and Tarkovsky, Wajda, Kusturica and Paradzhanov, among others. Students will hone critical skills in filmic analysis while considering the particular cultural, national and political forces shaping the work of filmmakers in this “other Europe” from the early 20th to the early 21st century. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for FMST. Spring 2027. Svynarenko.
(Cross-listed as LITR 025R ) This course will explore Russian literature in its cultural and historical contexts. In Russia, a poet has always been a voice, a herald of freedom or non-conformism, if not an envoy of the regime. The poet is also a philosopher and a thinker. Students will read Russian literary texts from the early 18th century through the beginning of the 21st century. The circle will begin with Lomonosov, whose poetry glorified the Tsarinas. We will continue with censored works by Pushkin, Griboedov, Chaadaev, Gogol, Akhmatova, Chukovskaya, Solzhenitsyn and others who underwent political or social pressure from the Russian or Soviet state. We finish with postmodernist Pelevin, who was neither harassed nor arrested for his prose in a new phenomenon for Russia: during the last two decades literature has come to exist independently from power, in a parallel world. Humanities. 1 credit.
RUSS 026Russian and East European Science Fiction1
(Cross-listed as LITR 026R ) Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and Eastern Europe, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Karel Čapek, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Evgenii Zamiatin. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction provided a refuge from stultifying official Socialist Realism for authors like Stanisław Lem and the Strugatsky brothers. This course will concentrate on 20th-century science fiction (translated from Czech, Polish, Russian and Serbian) with a glance at earlier influences and attention to more recent works, as well as to Western parallels and contrasts. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for CPLT, GLBL-Paired Fall 2027 Forrester.
RUSS 033Propagandize this: LGBTQ Russia, Past and Present1
(Cross-listed as LITR 033R ) In 2013, the Russian government passed a law forbidding the “promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors” - that is, restricting and potentially criminalizing any open discussion of LGBTQ identities or direct acknowledgment of the existence of queer people in Russia. Homophobic Russian rhetoric emphasizes the supposedly recent and foreign nature of LGBTQ identity and ideas - an idea at odds with the diverse sexuality and gender legacies of Russia and the USSR explored in this course. We will consider the authors represented in this course, which covers the 19 th century through the present, as participants in legacies, but also as individual creators, and sometimes theorists, of queer strategies of survival, as well as LGBTQ thought and art. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for GSST, GLBL-paired.
(Cross-listed as LITR 035R ) This course examines narratives of illness, healing, and recovery in Russian literature, from the mid-19 th century to present. We will read works by leading literary figures who were also physicians (Chekhov, Bulgakov), as well as semi-fictional and fictional case histories (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Palei, etc.), and analyze how these texts reveal and affect cultural assumptions about disease and medical authority. We will discuss how literary representation helps us make sense of our lives and our worlds in times of crisis as we trace how medical ideas and history find reflection in literature and, conversely, how literary concepts are marshaled by medicine. Humanities. 1 credit. Fall 2026. Svynarenko.
RUSS 037Crime or Punishment: Russian Narratives of Captivity and Incarceration1
(Cross-listed as LITR 037R ) “Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!” - Solzhenitsyn. While the Gulag remains the most infamous aspect of the Soviet justice system, Russia has a long history of inhumane punishment on a terrifying scale. This course explores narratives of incarceration, punishment, and captivity from the 17th century to the present day. In discussing (non-)fiction, history, and theory, we will consider such topics as justice, violence and its artistic representations, totalitarianism, witness-bearing, and the possibility of transcendence in suffering. Authors include Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Kropotkin, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Pussy Riot, Navalny, Michel Foucault, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis, among others. We’ll also have the opportunity to speak with two of our writers, Ali Feruz (jailed Uzbek journalist + LGBTQ+ rights activist) and Oleg Navalny (served 3.5 years on false charges + brother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny ). Taught in translation; no knowledge of Russian language or culture required. All are welcome. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for PEAC, INTP, GLBL-Paired, ESCH
RUSS 041Violence in Soviet Russophone Literature and Film1
(Cross-listed as LITR 041R ) What does it mean for a work of art to engage with violence? How does violence intersect with aesthetics? In this course, students will confront these intricate questions while developing their understanding of the nuanced interplay between violence and artistic representation within Soviet Russophone cultural expression. Through the exploration of various literary and cinematic genres, students will critically examine the portrayal, interpretation, and mediation of violence within the cultural context of the time. The course spans key historical periods, encompassing avant-garde experimentation, the profound impact of World War II, expressions of dissent and repression, the perestroika era leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and subsequent reflections on the post-Soviet period. Organized chronologically, the syllabus consists of four parts, each emphasizing distinct types of violence reflected in the selected works. Students will be encouraged to approach the differentiation between the four parts of the course critically, fostering their own complex understanding of the interrelation between violence and artistic expression. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 042R ) We start with Konstantin Stanislavsky’s founding of the Moscow Art Theatre, whose revolutionary approach to acting, directing and set design exerts a profound effect on Western theater to this day. Concurrently we will examine Anton Chekhov’s four major plays and their integral part in the success of the Moscow Art Theatre. We then examine the effect of the Soviet revolution on Russian theater from two viewpoints. On the one hand, we will follow the arc of directors and playwrights such as Vsevelod Meyerhold who embraced the Soviet revolution and reflected this embrace in their radically innovative and futuristic productions and set designs. On the other hand, we will follow the tragic arc of playwright Mikhail Bulgakov and his stormy relationship with the Moscow Art Theater and the Soviet regime by reading his plays and his bitingly funny satire Black Snow . Humanities. 1 credit.
RUSS 043Chernobyl: Nuclear Narratives and the Environment1
(Cross-listed as LITR 043R ) What really happened on April 26, 1986? This course will introduce students to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, its consequences, and its representations across a range of cultures. Texts will be drawn from (non-)fiction, poetry, film, TV, video games, VR, and other media, as we consider the labyrinth of Chernobyl’s mythology through a comparative lens and as a global phenomenon. Culture meets ecology, science, history, and politics. Fields trips and guest speakers. The final class project will involve an installation at McCabe Library. Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian required. Open to all. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for ENVS, INTP, GLBL - Paired
(Cross-listed as LITR 045R ) This course will study the history, practice, and politics of poetic translation from antiquity to the present, including works from a variety of languages. The course has a strong practical component: all students will work on translations of their own throughout the semester (from languages they know or by working with native speakers or literal versions), and the final project may include a portfolio of translations. Especially suitable for students interested in comparative literature or creative writing. Humanities. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 047R ) Folk beliefs are a colorful and enduring part of Russian culture. This course introduces a wide selection of Russian fairy tales in their aesthetic, historical, social, and psychological context. We will trace the continuing influence of fairy tales and folk beliefs in literature, music, visual arts, and film. The course also provides a general introduction to study and interpretation of folklore and fairy tales, approaching Russian tales against the background of the Western fairy-tale tradition (the Grimms, Perrault, Disney, etc.). No fluency in Russian is required, though students with adequate language preparation may do some reading, or a course attachment, in the original. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP, MDST Spring 2027. Forrester.
RUSS 053The End of History: Contemporary Russian Culture1
Hailed as the “end of history” and “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century,” the fall of the Soviet Union forced Russia to reconcile a past that had long been suppressed with a present reality full of possibility. We’ll discuss works that address contemporary issues (Putinism, protests, refugees, corruption) and resurrect historical traumas (the Civil War, the Stalin years, the Leningrad Siege, Chernobyl) to understand Russia today. This course features a wide range of texts: fiction, non-fiction, oral histories, poetry, art, performance, and film. We will also have the opportunity to speak with some of the figures whose work we’ll examine. No knowledge of Russian required. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 063R ) From the earliest engagements with socialism in the Russian Empire to Russian Jewish émigré anarchism in the United States, radical visions for the transformation of society in Russian intellectual history were intertwined with the question of the social position of women. In this writing intensive course we will trace interlocking questions of social transformation and gender equality through literary and philosophical works by authors including: Tolstoy, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexandra Kollontai, Emma Goldman, and many others. This course is writing intensive. Humanitiies Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for GSST.
RUSS 067Jews in Russia: Culture, Film, Literature1
(Cross-listed as LITR 067R ) As the Russian Expire expanded over time, it absorbed territory with large Jewish populations. Jews have played crucial roles in Russian and Soviet history and culture, be it as political radicals and revolutionaries, as moral tinker or philosophers, or as some of the world’s best poets, artists, and film directors. Humanities. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LING 070 , LITR 070R , ENGL 070T ) This workshop in literary translation will concentrate on both theory and practice, working in poetry, prose, and drama as well as editing. Students will participate in an associated series of bilingual readings and will produce a substantial portfolio of work. Students taking the course for linguistics credit will write a final paper supported by a smaller portfolio of translations. No prerequisites exist, but excellent knowledge of a language other than English (equivalent to a 004 course at Swarthmore or higher) is highly recommended or, failing that, access to at least one very patient speaker of a foreign language. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP Fall 2026. Forrester.
(Cross-listed as LITR 075R ) Laughter is one of the basic human experiences, but in different theories and manifestations it can mean aggression, festivity, freedom, a release of nervous tension or complicity. This course will concentrate on someof the funniest literature from the Russian tradition, be it lighthearted or scalding, fantastic or down-to-earth. Besides the pleasures of laughter, we wil explre what you need to know to get the joke and what this humor means. Humanities. 1 credit.
RUSS 086Nature and Industry in Russian Literature and Culture1
(Cross-listed as LITR 086R ) From pre-Christian religion and folklore based in forest, steppe and tundra and the enduring role of peasant culture to today’s Neo-Pagans, Russian culture has been closely bound to nature, developing sustainable agricultural practices, honoring “Moist Mother Earth” and (even sophisticated city dwellers) heading out to gather berries and mushrooms. But the Soviet era pursued science-fictional plans to redesign whole landscapes, make rivers flow backwards and even revolutionize plant genetics (Trofim Lysenko). In practice, such projects led to a shrinking Aral Sea, massive pollution of industrial and agricultural sites, and the worst nuclear disaster in human history (Chernobyl) - at great human cost. Writers have both supported industrial transformation and resisted industrialization. This course will trace the evolution of these elements of Russian culture, focusing on expressions of ideology in literature. No knowledge of Russian is necessary, but students with the language may do some reading in the original. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ENVS Spring 2028 Forrester.
Novelist, Christian philosopher, pacifist, and educator, the monumental Lev Tolstoy’s thought inspired communities of “Tolstoyans” and influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Tolstoy’s treatment of moral and historical issues in literature continues to move readers to our day. Students in this course will examine Tolstoy’s idea and art in the harmonious Russian style of the original. Humanities. 2 credits.
Counterpoint to the sprawling Russian novel, the short story in Russia possessed a long and distinguished pedigree. Russian writers have used the genre to create polished and brilliant gems demonstrating the possibilities of character development, voice, plot, and the right exposition of ideas in prose. This seminar will explore a selection of examples from the likes of Pushkin, Chekhov, Zoshchenko, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Tolstaya, and others. Humanities. 2 credits.
This course will acquaint students with two of the seminal figures of 19th-century Russian literature, Aleksandr Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, looking at their criticism, dramatic works, poetry and prose, as well as their cultural and literary context. Humanities. 2 credits.
Students will read the works of this compelling visionary in the original Russian. The course will survey key works from Dostoevsky’s oeuvre, examining Dostoevsky’s use of language and his literary style. Dostoevsky’s art and ideas will be discussed in the context of major critical works by Mikhail Bakhtin and others. Humanities. 2 credits.
This course treats the literature associated with one of the most remarkable social experiments in human history. Students will examine the relation of literature to ideology and social reality based on a selection of works reflecting the avant-garde experimentation of the 1920s, the official doctrine of Socialist Realism, underground and émigré literature, and/or literature addressing the historical situation and the legacy of Stalinism. Humanities. 2 credits.
This Russian-language seminar will explore artistic and non-fictional expressions of dissent throughout the last 100 years. Texts will be considered in their cultural and historical contexts as we examine dissent not only as a political act, but also as a highly personal and existential one. Readings will be selected partly in consultation with students before the semester begins. Humanities. 2 credits.
As multinational states, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union included populations of huge ethnic variety, as does Russia today. This class will survey a variety of non-Russian Russophone writers and ethnic Russians writing about the other populations of their state. As usual for Russian literature, this enterprise will reveal universal human truth as well as sharply depicted particulars. Humanities. 2 credits.
The period spanning roughly 1890-1925 is often referred to as the Silver Age of Russian literature. This course will survey the rich achievements of Russian culture in the fin-de-siècle, with opportunities to study particular topics in more depth according to students’ interests and preferences. Humanities. 2 credits.
Readings from Chekhov’s dramatic works and stories, with attention to the rich body of scholarship on the author in Russian and in English. Humanities. 2 credits.
Doctor, dramatist and dissident, Mikhail Bulgakov is one of the most significant prose authors of the Soviet period. His writings embody scrupulous honesty, recognition of moral complexity, deeply thoughtful awareness of political, religious and philosophical traditions, and the life affirming force of humor. We will read from his short stories, feuilletons and dramatic works, ending the semester with his masterpiece, Master i Margarita , arguably the most fun novel of the 20th century. Humanities. 2 credits.
Poetic, dramatic and prose works of the “hysterical poets,” Marina Tsvetaeva and Vladimir Mayakovsky-two of the greatest Russian writers of the 20th century. Focus on their volcanic poetic development, interactions, and creative responses to gender, decadence, revolution, civil war, emigration and Soviet repression, as well as the inspirations and tragedies of their personal lives. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for GSST
Several great Russian 20th-century poets belonged to a group called “Acmeists” for their emphasis on verbal clarity, specificity of imagery, and attitude of “nostalgia for world culture.” Osip Mandel’shtam spent years in “internal exile” for overly honest writing and died in a camp in 1938. Anna Akhmatova, the Russian poet perhaps most translated into English, witnessed all the horrors of Stalinism but survived to mentor a new generation of poets in the 1960s. The course will concentrate on these two poets, with attention to their literary and cultural context. Humanities. 2 credits.
Examples from Soviet avant-garde, High Stalinist, Thaw Era, Perestroika and Post-Soviet Cinema, considering the role of film as both ideology and entertainment. Humanities. 2 credits.
Folklore is both an enormous field of human culture, and a rich source of literary plots, genres, ideas and materials for writers, scholars, and theorists of all directions. In this course we will read works of Russian literature in which folklore plays a significant role, as well as exploring several of the areas of Russian folklore that have most influenced literature. Humanities. 2 credits.
This course will explore one of the most appealing components of Russian literature, reading controversial Russian literary and publicistic texts, written from the early 18th century through the beginning of the 21st century. The works carry hidden meanings that reward deep reading and multiple readings, and they convey a wealth of information and opinion about historical, moral, political, and existential questions. We will read the very best of these dissident writers, and each student will write a substantial research paper based on individual interests. The reading list will include Chaadaev, Bulgakov, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, Aksenov, Brodsky, Shenderovich, Bykov, and others. Humanities. 1 credit.
RUSS 116The Petersburg Myth in Russian Literature2
This course examines the importance of St. Petersburg in Russian history, society, and culture. These themes and developments have been crucial for understanding Russia as a whole over the course of the city’s vibrant, often turbulent, 300-plus-year existence. Themes include the discourse of East versus West in defining Russian national identity; reform and modernization in Russian history; death and suffering in Russian history; and the relationship between center and periphery in the Russian and Soviet context. Humanities. 2 credits.
This course explores the nature and evolution of the Russian anecdote that originated in ancient times. From Ivan the Terrible through Peter the Great, the anecdote, like other oral genres, persisted in spite of governmental censorship. The heyday of the Russian literary anecdote was the first half of the nineteenth century. We will read anecdotes and stories from chronicles and diaries of contemporaries of the Russian tsars, short stories of Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy that were based on real facts and transformed into anecdotes. We come full circle to the chronicles of Soviet and post-Soviet times by Dovlatov and Veller. Humanities. 2 credits.
As the Russian Empire expanded over time, it absorbed territories with large Jewish populations. Jews have played crucial roles in Russian and Soviet history and culture, be it as political radicals and revolutionaries, moral thinkers and philosophers, or some of Russia’s best poets, artists, and film directors. Depending on student interest for its emphases, this course will read the likes of Lev Shestov, Liubov Gurevich, S. Ansky, Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam, Isaac Babel, Evgeniia Ginzburg, Lev Grossman, Elena Shvarts, and perhaps translations of a few Russian-Jewish writers now working in American English. Humanities. 2 credits.
Why devote a seminar specifically to Russian women writers? Because they are brilliant and neglected-though we will also read some who have not been neglected. From empresses and princesses to trans cavalry officers, poets and novelists, literary critics, singer-songwriters and yet more poets, we will read a wide variety of Russian women in their cultural and literary context. Humanities. 2 credits.
Science fiction enjoyed surprisingly high status in Russia and the Soviet Union, attracting such prominent mainstream writers as Evgenii Zamiatin and Mikhail Bulgakov. In the post-Stalinist years of stagnation, science fiction was a refuge from stultifying official Socialist Realism for authors like Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Since the end of Soviet literary censorship, speculative fiction has continued its important role in public discourse, while fantasy (formerly banned from official publication) has emerged as an important genre in both young adult and mainstream literature. Humanities. 2 credits.
As any reader of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov knows, his Russian background is essential to understanding of his writing and career. This class will concentrate on his Russian novels, stories and a few examples of poetry, written before his second emigration from Europe to the US. That beautiful style, caressing the divine details, is just as beautiful in the original! Humanities. 2 credits.
The early 20th century in Russia witnessed amazing artistic, cultural and intellectual ferment as well as artistic crossover and interdisciplinary cross-fertilization. This course will consider topics drawn from the following areas: art, architecture, ballet, film, folklore, linguistics, literature, music, theater. All readings, discussion and writing will be in Russian. Humanities. 1 credit.
