Undergraduate Course: The Golden and Silver Ages of Russian Literature (1820-1920s) (VS) (ELCR08007)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Part-year visiting students only |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The Russian literature course introduces students to a range of literary texts by the recognised literary "greats" from the nineteenth and twentieth century, such Chekhov, Bunin, Zamiatin, Bely and others. One aim of the course is to give students an opportunity to appreciate the aesthetic and humanist qualities that have traditionally been valued in Russian literature. The social and historical context of these works will also be considered. Lectures will aim to give overviews of literary movements such as Romanticism, Realism, Modernism and provide close readings of texts on the syllabus.
Course aims:
To provide an introduction to the advanced study of Russian literature of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century;
To develop understanding of the key historical events and developments of the period, of the various literary genres studied;
To enable students to develop certain transferable skills:
in study and research;
in analysis, in criticism and evaluation;
in oral and written communication;
in presentation.
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| Course description |
Syllabus:
Semester 2
Week 1: A. P. Chekhov Ward No.6 (story).
Weeks 2-3: Chekhov The Cherry Orchard (play)
Week 4: Bunin. The Gentleman from San Francisco (story).
Week 5: Russian Symbolism and Alexander Blok's poems (including The Twelve and a few love poems).
INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK
Week 6: Andrey Bely Petersburg (1916) (novel; some chapters)
Week 7: The representation of WW1 and the 1917 October revolution in the poetry of Mayakovsky and Akhmatova (some poems including Akhmatova's long poem Requiem).
Week 8: Marina Tsvetaeva's poetic responses to modernity in Russia and in Europe.
Week 9: Zamiatin We (novel).
Week 10: V. Nabokov The Return of Chorb (story)
Week 11: preparation for essay writing/consultations.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | The course is open to visiting students only. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- to demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the literary, historical and cultural developments in Russian literature of the late nineteenth - beginning of the twentieth century and of the formal and thematic issues raised by the set texts
- to demonstrate familiarity with the recommended secondary material relevant to the periods and to the authors studied
- to identify the literary and rhetorical techniques used in the texts studied in lectures and tutorials
- to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the texts and their socio-political context, to gather, select and apply information and concepts from a variety of primary and secondary sources
- to demonstrate the acquisition of certain transferable skills, including ability to criticise, evaluate and interpret evidence, ability to consider a problem from a number of different perspectives, ability to accommodate ambiguity and advance reasonable conjectures, ability to argue cogently and persuade effectively - in oral and written form.
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Reading List
Compulsory: A. P. Chekhov Ward No.6 (story); Chekhov The Cherry Orchard (play); Bunin. The Gentleman from San Francisco (story); Alexander Blok's poems (including The Twelve and a few love poems); Andrey Bely Petersburg (1916) (novel; some chapters); a few poems by Mayakovsky and Akhmatova (including Akhmatova's long poem Requiem); a few poems by Marina Tsvetaeva (including her poems about Moscow and her long poem Poem of the End); Zamiatin We (novel); V. Nabokov The Return of Chorb (story).
Recommended: Andrey Bely Petersburg (the whole novel); Mayakovsky's long poem A Cloud in Trousers.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course will enable students to improve their skills in essay writing; will develop further their analytical and research skills, as well as close reading skills. These skills are useful for careers in journalism; law; comparative literature; historical research; politics; archival research; language studies; museum curatorship; library studies. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alexandra Smith
Tel: (0131 6)51 1381
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Julie Gifford
Tel: (0131 6)50 4026
Email: |
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