RUSSIAN LITERATURE - MOD.1

The course falls within the "Literature and Cultures" learning area and has the title "Post-Stalin and Post-Soviet Russian Literature". We will focus on some key aspects of the Russian literary development of the twentieth and twenty first centuries, outlining the most important stages in its history, its movements and central figures, as well as proposing a discussion of the fundamental works.

1. Knowledge and understanding
● have knowledge of the history of Russian literature after 1953, key events and works, and major trends.
● To become familiar with the central figures of Russian literature between 1953 and 2021.
● to have knowledge of fundamental literary texts.
● Develop cultural awareness, critical analysis, creative thinking and intellectual independence.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
● Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the main characteristics of the historical-cultural analysis of literary texts.
● Master a specific basic vocabulary to discuss the development of the history of literature, build a structured and reasoned argument to support ideas about a literary text and make a judgment on the value of secondary sources.
● Interpret the literary texts of the period in their historical context.
● Discuss key historical and literary events of the post-Stalin era and contemporary literature and apply critical concepts in the context of various manifestations in the history of Russian literature.

3. Judgment skills
● Knowing how to collect, process and critically evaluate information from various paper and digital sources.
● Develop a conceptual approach to the materials the students will work with and learn to provide substantial evidence for the ideas they have developed.
● Develop the ability to carry out independent research and the ability to critically analyse texts.

4. Communication skills
● To develop oral communication skills in Russian.
● To develop good quality of expression of ideas (appropriate register / specialist terms) in Russian.
● Develop language proficiency in Russian.

5. Learning skills
● To develop awareness and involvement with a certain series of debates and critical works (secondary literature) in Russian.
● To develop independent analysis and interpretation of primary sources in Russian.

Knowledge of the historical, cultural and literary evolution of Russia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Knowledge of Russian at B1 / B2 level is required.

The lectures will cover the following topics: politics and literature in post-Stalin Russia, during the Chruščëvian Thaw; politics and literature during the Brežnevian Stagnation; politics and literature during the Gorbačëv era (Perestrojka and Glasnost '); lyrical prose; war prose; peasant prose; post-Stalin poetry and dramaturgy; non-conformist literature of 1970s and 1980s; close reading of works by Boris Pasternak, Jurij Trifonov, Valentin Rasputin, Vasilij Shukshin, Aleksandr Solženicyn, Ljudmila Petruševskaja, Tatiana Tolstaja, Venedikt Erofeev, Sergei Dovlatov and Andrei Bitov. Poetry of Joseph Brodsky. Post-Soviet Literature. Russian Postmodernism (Moscow Conceptualism). Sots-Art Poetry. Close reading of works by Dmitrii Prigov, Vladimir Sorokin, Vladimir Sharov, Victor Pelevin, Mikhail Shishkin. Women’s writing (Dina Rubina, Liudmila Ulitskaya).

A bibliography will be given on Moodle at the beginning of the course by the Lecturer.

The oral exam (in Russian) will be as follows: all students will receive a list of three questions that were discussed during the course in lectures and seminars. From this list, each student will choose one topic and prepare it for the exam. Each exam will last up to 30 minutes.

Lectures in Russian language.

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