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Russian 206 Schedule Priscilla Meyer
Spring 2010 X3127,
Office hours TuTh 2:40-4:00
Jan 21 Introduction to the course
A short history of Russian literature and "The Bronze Horseman"
Read: Pushkin, "The Bronze Horseman"
Bely, Petersburg, Prologue, Chapters 1, 2
26 Russian Cultural Myths, "The Bronze Horseman," Petersburg
Symbolism and Bely
Read: Petersburg, Chapters 3, 4
Prepare: pick a passage to explicate, preferably one related to classical themes
28 Apollo/Dionysus; Motifs and mythological doubles in Petersburg
Read: Petersburg, Chapters 5, 6, 7
Write: a chart of as many character doublings as you can find and what words/images establish them
Feb 2 Circles, spirals, mirrors
Read: Petersburg, Chapter 8, Epilogue; Bible: Revelation
Write: a chart of parallels between Revelation and Petersburg
4 Time, history, explosions and anthroposophy: Revelation and Petersburg
Read: "A Slap in the Face of Public Taste"
Blok, "The Twelve"
"On Party Policy"; "VAPP Platform"
9 Blok, Bely and the Russian Revolution
Read: Zoshchenko stories; Babel, Red Cavalry stories
11 Literary schools and politics of the 1920s; The Red Army, Cossaks, Jews, Intellectuals
Read: Zamyatin, We (1/2); start tracing one color motif
Poetry Reading: Elena Fanailova, 4:15 Downey House Lounge (in Russian with English translation)
16 The narrator of We; Motifs; the color system; the Crystal Palace
Presentation: Calculus in We
Read: We (finish); Bible: Genesis
Write: a chart of parallels between Genesis and We
18 Genesis and We; Utopias and anti-utopias
Presentation: Plato’s Republic and We
(Brave New World; 1984)
Read: Olesha, Envy, Part I
23 A close reading of Kavalerov's mind
Presentation: "Oedipus” and We
Read: Envy, Part II
25 Envy: Who wrote what letters? Why is Part II in the 3rd person?
Presentation: "Hamlet" and We
March2PAPER #1 DUE: Trace a motif from Petersburg (see guidelines for motif papers)
Read: Platonov, The Foundation Pit (1/2)
Pick a passage to explicate, focusing on Platonov’s language
4 Language: Soviet slogans vs. reality
Read: Platonov, The Foundation Pit (1/2)
Write: a paragraph formulating Platonov’s vision, using any of his images
VACATION
23 Platonov’s interpretation of the new Soviet state
Read: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
The Master and Margarita, Chapters 1-13
Write: Compare the Moscow and the Jerusalem of Chapters 1 and 2:
Make a chart of points in common between Moscow and Jerusalem
25 STALIN/Moscow and Jerusalem
Read: The Master and Margarita, chapters 13-21
30 Compare "the Affair at Griboedov's" and the scene in the Variety Theater
Read: The Master and Margarita, chapters 22-end
April 1 The Gospel According to Saint Matthew:
Compare it to Bulgakov's treatment of the passion story
Presentation: Is there a new evangelist?
Presentation: Who wrote which manuscript?
Read: Nabokov, “The Return of Chorb,” “A Visit to the Museum”**
The Orpheus Myth
6 The Pain of Emigration
Read: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; "Matryona's Home"; Shalamov, three stories
8 Brick-laying, the camp artists, hierarchies; the mice behind the wallpaper; Raw materials
Read: Ginsburg, Into the Whirlwind (1/2)
13 The GuLag
Read: Ginsburg, Into the Whirlwind (1/2)
15Survival
Read: Aksenov, "The Victory"
Write one sentence to hand in: who won what game?
Read: Bitov, "Life in Windy Weather"
Write: a brief outline of the wind motif, numbering each major instance: with what is it associated?
20 The 1960s: Young Prose
PAPER #2 DUE : do a subtext study (see guidelines)
Read: Fazil Iskander, “Belshazzar’s Feasts”
Bible: the Book of Daniel
Write: outline points of contact between the two texts
22 Stalin and Sandro: Who plays the role of Daniel?
Read: Aleshkovsky, “The Song of Stalin,” “Nikolai Nikolaevich,” "From the Book of Final Statements,"
Meyer, “Skaz in the Work of Yuz Aleshkovsky”
Write: two questions for Aleshkovsky, about the tales, Aleshkovsky's career, Soviet
life/literature/politics, the effect of emigration on a Russian (or any) writer, Putin
27 YUZThe author will answer your questions
Read: Tolstaya, "Date With a Bird," "Sonya"
Zinovy Zinik, “A Chance Encounter”**
29 DUE BY E-MAIL: proposal for term paper
Emigration seen from both sides
Read: Petrushevskaya, The Time: Night
May 4 Petrushevskaya’s “Blackening”
Finale: the theme of writing in the semester's readings:
the distorting effect of enforced dialogue
Term papers due in the Russian department mailbox (212 Fisk Hall) on the second day of exam period