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Academic Year 2004/2005

Nihilism in the Russian Novel
RUSS 284 FA
Crosslistings:
REES 284

Around 1860 student radicals seized the attention of Russia's government and elite through their "nihilist" attacks on every existing authority, from the liberalism of their parents to the traditional values which supported the autocracy and the Orthodox church. Tolstoy wrote WAR AND PEACE as an indirect response to nihilism, and Turgenev and Dostoevsky responded by making student nihilists the heroes of FATHERS AND CHILDREN, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, and THE DEVILS. The Russian novel was elevated to new religious and philosophical heights by its absorption of the nihilists' sense of cultural crisis and thirst for new, absolute values. Readings in Dostoevsky, Turgenev, and Tolstoy will be supplemented by selected readings from letters, essays, and biographies, which reflect Russia in the 1860's.

MAJOR READINGS

Dostoevsky, NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, THE DEVILS
Turgenev, FATHERS AND CHILDREN
Tolstoy, WAR AND PEACE (selected books)
Chernyshevsky, WHAT'S TO BE DONE?
Venturi, ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
Frank, DOSTOEVSKY: THE STIR OF LIBERATION
Eikhenbaum, TOLSTOY IN THE SIXTIES
Pomper, THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONARY INTELLIGENTSIA

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly formulation of discussion questions, in-class mid-term, two short papers, and one final paper.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RUSS    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

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