RUSSIAN LITERATURE 2

Course title: “From Pushkin to Tolstoy: an itinerary in 19th-century Russian society through its novels”.
The course will provide students with the basic tools for reading the texts of Russian realism as a reflection of the intellectual debate that went on in mid-19th century Russia, from the Decembrist uprising to the end of Alexander II’s reign. The aim is to introduce students to the fundamental categories of thought and the most important literary phenomena that characterized 19th-century Russia, stressing their connection to the main historical and social factors of the time.
Against an overview of Russian narrative fiction between 1825 and 1880, some of the major works of 19th century literary prose will be examined, above all the topics dealt with, in order to understand the role of literature and writers in Russian intellectual history and society at the time of the so-called “great realism.”
The educational objectives of the course, which takes its place among the basic courses of the degree program in Languages, Civilizations and Language Sciences (cultural curriculum), are therefore in line with the general degree course: developing an ability to reflect on the historical-cultural processes of 19th-century Russia and providing the basic methodological tools for analyzing literary prose texts. Special attention is given to the historical background in which the phenomena of literary culture took place in the period being studied. Achieving these objectives will allow students to acquire a basis for studying other eras of Russian culture and for making subsequent analyses of individual aspects and protagonists.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
- knowledge of the basic critical literary terminology and understanding of the texts that use it;
- knowledge of the main literary, artistic and cultural phenomena in Russia in 19th-century Russia;
- knowledge and understanding of the historical-cultural evolution of 19th-century Russia;
- knowledge of the main methods of analysis of the literary works in question;
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- an ability to use critical-literary terminology correctly in all the applications and communications of the acquired knowledge;
- an ability to frame a literary object related to the period studied in its historical-cultural context;
- an ability to apply the analytical methodologies for understanding the society and culture that produced the works being studied;
- an ability to carry out independent investigations on specific instances by means of an analytical method on the literary work being studied.
3. Ability to judge:
knowing how to formulate and argue simple interpretive hypotheses of literary texts, and to develop a critical approach to evaluating alternative hypotheses.
4. Communication skills:
- knowing how to communicate the specificities of critical-literary reflection, using appropriate terminology;
- knowing how to interact with the instructor in a critical and respectful manner, orally in the classroom and in written communications.
5. Learning skills:
- knowing how to use bibliographic tools and to access them in their places of conservation (libraries and databases);
- knowing how to critically consult reference texts and the bibliographies contained in them.

A basic understanding of the development of Russian history and culture up to Catherine the Great, as discussed in the foundation course Russian Literature 1, is necessary. Knowledge of Russian language is not a prerequisite.

Lessons will focus principally on an analysis and close reading of the set texts (in italian). The course will examine the contribution these works made to the ongoing ideological debates in Russia during the time of Alexander I, Nicholas I and Alexander II, the social and cultural issues at the core of these works, and the place of these works in the literary evolution of the time.
Non-attenders: please refer to the following section.

PRIMARY LITERATURE:
1. A.S. Puškin, Evgenij Onegin (chapters I, III, VI); The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin
2. N. Gogol', Mirgorod
3. F. Dostoevskij, Crime and Punishment
4. L. Tolstoi, Anna Karenina
For an overview of the 19th Century historical and literary period, please refer to: M. Slonim, Breve storia della letteratura russa, Mondadori: Milano 1960, pp. 30-157.
For a more thorough understanding, students are asked to also read:
- Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, a cura di R. Picchio e M. Colucci, vol. I, UTET: Torino 1997 (only pp. 341-346, 367-369, 389-395, 550-556);
- Ju. Lotman, Puškin. Vita di Aleksandr Sergeevic Puškin, a cura di Francesca Fici Giusti, presentazione di Vittorio Strada, Padova: Liviana, 1990;
- A. d'Amelia, Introduzione a Gogol', Bari: Laterza 1995
- L. Pareyson, Dostoevskij. Filosofia, romanzo ed esperienza religiosa, Einaudi: Torino 1993, cap. 2, pp. 26-70.
- M. Zalambani, “L'istituzione del matrimonio in Anna Karenina”, in: Europa Orientalis XXIX (2010), http://www.europaorientalis.it/uploads/files/2010/1._zalambani_(7-44).pdf ;

Non-attenders are required to read the above material as well as the following:
- D. Tschižewskij, Storia dello spirito russo Sansoni: Firenze 1965, pp. 245-302;
- one of the following texts: I. Goncharov, Oblomov, or M. Lermontov, A Hero of our Time + I. Turgenev, Fathers and Sons;
- one of the following critical essays: J. Bonamour, Il romanzo russo, Sansoni: Firenze 1983, pp. 5-119 or The Cambridge Companion to the Classic Russian Novel, Cambridge University Press 1998, pp. 1-16, 150-167, 190-209.
Non-attenders may negotiate an alternative programme with the Professor for motivated reasons sufficiently in advance of the exam session (at least three months before).

Students will sit for an oral exam testing the following: the historical and literary evolution in the period from the French Invasion of Russia (1812) to the beginning of the 1880s (worth 25%); the main events in the biography and literary journey of the set authors (25%); and, an in-depth knowledge of the set novels (50%).

Traditional classroom lessons held by the instructor, during which the student is free to participate with questions and observations. In-depth materials or suggestions for further reading may be communicated through the Moodle Platform.

Italian

Students are invited to do some pre-reading before the start of the course to familiarize themselves with the set texts. This is to make better use of and actively participate in lessons.
Students are warmly invited to read the more recent versions of the novels published by Garzanti, Mondadori or Einaudi; any notes, introductory articles, prefaces or afterword are an integral part of the exam programme and must be read alongside the novels.

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