Holy Trinity (1411) by Andrei Rublev

Language Courses  
RU 10101 - RU 10102 Beginning Russian I and II
Gillespie, Marullo, Peeney. This introduction to the Russian language will develop students' skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing while also fostering an appreciation for Russian culture. Emphasis is placed on the acquisition of basic structures, vocabulary, and sound systems. Students will be encouraged to use their language skills to communicate and interact in a variety of situations and contexts. No prerequisite.
 
RU 20101 - RU 20102 Intermediate Russian I and II
Gasperetti. This two-semester review of Russian grammar is designed to facilitate a near-native proficiency with the form and function of Russian nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Exceptional forms are stressed, and reading selections on contemporary Russian life and excerpts from literature are employed to improve comprehension and build conversational and writing skills. Prerequisite: RU 10102 or equivalent.
 
RU 40101 - RU 40102 Advanced Russian I and II
Peeney. This year-long course is designed to significantly improve students' comprehension and self-expression skills in Russian, serving as a preparation for Russian literature courses in the original. The course will include an intensive review of Russian grammar; Russian stylistics, syntax, and grammar at the advanced level; reading and analysis of a wide range of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literary texts; writing essays in Russian; and extensive work on vocabulary building and advanced conversation skills. The course will be conducted in Russian. Prerequisite RU 20102 or equivalent.

Literature University Seminars
RU 13186 Dostoevsky 
Marullo. This course is an intensive, in-depth survey of the major long and short fiction of one of the world's greatest and most provocative writers. Readings include: The House of the Dead (1862); The Notes from the Underground (1864); Crime and Punishment (1866); and, The Karamazov Brothers (1879-1880). Topics to be discussed: the evolution of the Dostoevskian hero and heroine within the context of the writer's fiction, as well as within the social and literary polemics of the age; the content and method of both "urban" and "psychological" realism; the interplay of "patriarchal," "matriarchal," and "messianic" voices; the dynamics of Russian soul and soil; the conflict between city and country, "old" and "new," Russia and the West; the influence of the "saint's tale," the "family chronicle," the "detective story," and the genres of journalism and drama on Dostoevsky's writing; and, the writer's political, theological, and epistemological visions, in particular, his distrust of cults, social utopias, and man-gods; his insights into abnormal and irrational human behavior (i.e., co-dependency, sadomasichism, sexual perversion, and the like); and his endorsement of so-called "Pauline mysticism." The seminar is designed to sharpen students' aesthetic and analytical capabilities, improve their reading comprehension, and strengthen their written and oral skills. The only prerequisite is a willingness to work, grow, and learn. First-Year Students only.

Novodevichy Monastery, Moscow

30000-Level Literature and Culture Courses (in English)  
RU 30101 Literature of Imperial Russia I (1800-1860)
Marullo. Literature of Imperial Russia I is the first part of a two-semester survey of long and short fiction, and focuses on the rise of Realism in Russia, in particular the early fiction of Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. Readings include: Alexander Pushkin's The Tales of Belkin (1830), "The Queen of Spades" (1830), "The Bronze Horseman" (1833), and Eugene Onegin (1833); Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time (1840); Nikolai Gogol's "Nevsky Prospekt" (1835), "The Portrait" (1835), "The Overcoat" (1842), and Dead Souls (1842); Ivan Turgenev's Notes of a Huntsman (1852), and Rudin (1856); Fyodor Dostoevsky's Poor Folk (1845), The Double (1846), and Netochka Nezvanova (1849); and Leo Tolstoy's Childhood (1852) and The Sevastopol Sketches (1855-1856). Topics to be included are the content and method Realism ("gentry," "urban," "classical," "romantic," and "psychological"); the evolution of the "family" chronicle; the nature and development of the Russian hero and heroine, particularly, the so-called "superfluous" and "little" man; the interplay of "patriarchal," "matriarchal," and "messianic" voices; the dynamics of Russian soul and soil; the interaction of lord and peasant; and finally, the conflict betwen city and country, "old" and "new," Russia and the West. Daily readings and discussions. Several small papers, projects and exams. No prerequisite.
 

Russian folktale illustration

 
RU 30102 Literature of Imperial Russia II (1860-1899)
Marullo. Literature of Imperial Russia II is the second part of a two-semester survey of long and short fiction, and focuses on Realism in Russia. Topics to be considered are the content and method of Russian Realism ("gentry," "urban," "naturalistic," "psychological," and "pre-modern"); the evolution of the "family" chronicle; the nature and development of the Russian hero and heroine, particularly the "superfluous man," the "philosophical rebel," and the "moral monster"; the interplay of "patriarchal," "maternal," and "messianic" voices; the dynamics of Russian soul and soil; the interaction of lord and peasant; the premonition of catastrophe and Apocalypse; and finally, the conflict between city and country, "old" and "new," Russia and the West. Readings include: Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons (1862); Fyodor Dostoevsky's The House of the Dead (1860-1862), Notes from the Underground (1864), and Crime and Punishment (1866); Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (1875-1877), Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin's The Golovlyov Family (1875-1880), as well as selections from Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Vsevelod Garshin, Nikolai Leskov, and Alexander Kuprin.The course is designed to sharpen students' aesthetic and analytical capabilities, improve their reading comprehension, and strengthen their oral and written skills. No prerequisite.
 
RU 30103 Literature of the Russian Revolution (1900-1927)
Marullo. This course focuses on the national written expression that attended the explosion in the arts in Russia in the first thirty years of the century, e.g., Stravinsky in music, Diaghilev in ballet, and Benois, Goncharova, Chagall, and Larionov in art. Readings include the "decadence" of Ivan Bunin, Leonid Andreev, and Feodor Sologub; the "proletarian" writings of Vladimir Mayakovsky; the "symbolism" of Andrei Bely and Alexander Blok; and the "modernism" and the early dissident rumblings of Evgeny Zamiatin, Isaac Babel, and Boris Pilnyak. (Bunin was the first Russian writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature; Zamiatin's novel, We, was the model for the anti-utopian fiction of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley; Bely is the Russian James Joyce). Topics to be considered are the content and method of Russian "decadence," "proletarianism," "symbolism," "modernism," and early "dissidence"; the "lost" man and woman in the twentieth century; the conflict between city and country; the nature of "revolution," "imprisonment," "liberation," and "exile" (physical, social, spiritual, and aesthetic); the form and function of anti-utopian themes, psychological investigation, and the grotesque; the yearning for "old" Russia and the dismay at the new Soviet state; links to "modern" Russian painting, music, and ballet; and the critique of modernity and its implications for humankind. No prerequisite.
 
RU 30104 Literature of the Russian Dissidence (1925-1990)
Marullo. This course is an intensive survey of long and short fiction, focusing on the attempts of Russian writers to protest almost seventy-five years of Soviet totalitarianism, and to assert the freedom and dignity of the individual both in their country and in modern life. Readings include: Yury Olesha's Envy (1927), Fyodor Gladkov's Cement (1927), Vladimir Mayakovsky's The Bedbug (1928-1929) and The Bathhouse (1930), Mikhail Bulgakov's The Heart of a Dog (1925) and The Master and Margarita (1928-1940), Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago (1957), Abram Sinyavsky-Tertz's The Trial Begins (1960), Valery Tarsis's Ward 7 (1965), Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1956) and Cancer Ward (1968), and Vladimir Voinovich's Moscow 2042 (1987). Topics to be considered are the content and method of "dissidence"; the struggle between artists and politicians over the role of art in life; the "new" Soviet hero and heroine; the "lost" man and woman of the twentieth century; the conflict between city and country; the nature of "imprisonment," "liberation," and "exile" (physical, social, and spiritual); the form and function of socialist realism, anti-utopian themes, psychological investigation, and the grotesque; the yearning for "old" Russia; and the critique of modernity and post-modernity and its implications for humankind. No prerequisite.

Panoramic view of St. Petersburg

 
RU 30201 Dostoevsky
Marullo. This course is an intensive, in-depth survey of the major long and short fiction of one of the world's greatest and most provocative writers. Readings include: The House of the Dead (1862); The Notes From the Underground (1864); Crime and Punishment (1866); and The Brothers Karamazov (1879-80). Topics to be discussed: the evolution of the Dostoevskian hero and heroine within the context of the writer's fiction, as well as within the social and literary polemics of the age; the content and method of both "urban" and "psychological" realism; the interplay of "patriarchal," "matriarchal," and "messianic" voices; the dynamics of Russian soul and soil; the conflict between city and country, "old" and "new," Russia and the West; the influence of the "saint's tale," the "family chronicle," the "detective story," and the genres of journalism and drama on Dostoevsky's writing; and the writer's political, theological, and epistemological visions, in particular, his distrust of behavior (i.e., co-dependency, sadomasochism, sexual perversion, and the like); and his endorsement of so-called "Pauline mysticism." The first three weeks of the course will focus on Dostoevsky's early fiction, the thesis being that many of the ideas, images, and themes of the writer's major novels were rooted in the early experiments of both his "Petersburg" and "Siberian" periods. Daily readings and discussions. Several small papers, projects, and exams. No prerequisite.
 
RU 30202 Tolstoy
Marullo.This course is an intensive, in-depth survey of the major long and short fiction of one of the world's greatest and most provocative writers. Readings include Childhood, Boyhood, Youth (1852-1857), The Sevastopol Tales (1855-1856), The Cossacks (1863), War and Peace (1865-1869), Anna Karenina (1875-1877), The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), "The Kreutzer Sonata" (1889), "Master and Man" (1895), "Father Sergius" (1898), and Hadji Murad (1904). Topics to be discussed: the evolution of the Tolstoyan hero and heroine within the context of the writer's fiction and the social and literary polemics of the age; the interplay of "patriarchal," "matriarchal," and "messianic" voices; the dynamics of Russian soul and soil; the conflict between city and country, "old" and "new," Russia and the West; and the writer's political, theological, and epistemological visions: in particular, his theory of history, his defense of the family, his endorsement of "rational egoism," and his distrust of socially-inspired "great men." No prerequisite.
 
RU 30501 Holy Fools in Christian Traditions
Staff. Through the analysis of a variety of texts ranging from the New Testament books to hagiographies and philosophical treatises we will examine different forms of holy foolishness in spiritual and cultural traditions of eastern and western Christianity and establish their cultural bearings. Concepts under discussion will include asceticism; sanctity; heresy; canonization; hagiography. Among the course readings will be the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians; Early Christian Paterika; individual Vitae of Byzantine holy fools (St. Simeon of Emessa, St. Andrew of Constantinople); controversial Lives of Christian saints (Life of Alexis the Man of God); Lives of Eastern Orthodox Saints (Kiev Cave Monks; St. Basil the Fool of Moscow); Lives of Western Christian Saints (St. Francis of Assisi, Margery Kempe); and later elaborations on the subject of folly found in such works as "In Praise of Folly" by Erasmus of Rotterdam and "Madness and Civilization"by Michael Foucault. No prerequisite.
 
RU 30515 Russian Realms: Societies/Cultures of Eastern Europe and Beyond
Gaffney.This course explores the social structures, the historical contexts, and the symbolic universes of the peoples who either identify themselves as Russian or whose way of life has come to be deeply affected by the Russian tradition. It concentrates on those territories that were formerly incorporated into the Tsarist empire and subsequently formed parts the Soviet Union. It will include an examination of the extensive efforts by Russian thinkers to characterize their own national spirit, reflecting, for example, on classic and contemporary attempts to define dusha or a distinctively Russian "soul," as well as some of the consequences of these formulations, looking at this famous "civilization" question through art, literature, and film as well as social science works. However, the chief approach of the course will be through reading of anthropological studies that have addressed the larger questions from numerous specific local venues. A strong emphasis will also be placed on the so-called current "transition period," as a new Russia in the neighborhood of the "Commonwealth of Independent States" seeks to reshape it heritage amid complex problems arising from social, economic, political, and cultural tensions, not to mention old ghosts of global rivalry, terrorism, and on many levels, disputed legitimacy. No prerequisite.

Peterhof Fountains

 
RU 30550 Russia Confronts the East
Staff. This course will explore the prominent place the Caucasus and the Islamic East hold in the Russian literary imagination. We will take a broad view of the topic, ranging from medieval epic to modern film, from prose to poetry, and from literature's "greatest hits" to the justly and unjustly forgotten. Throughout, we will seek to understand the uses of the East in Russian culture as a whole and in individual literary works in particular, the role it plays in the formation of a Russian national identity, and the literary resources the East provides to Russian authors. Readings will include works by Pushkin, Lermontov, and Tolstoy, among others, as well as contemporary journalism on the war in Chechnya. Class format will be lecture/discussion, and grades will be based on class participation and regular writing assignments. No prerequisite.
 
RU 30555 The City in Literature and Cinema: New York, St. Petersburg, Moscow
Staff. This course will examine the cultural history of three Russian and American metropolises: New York, St. Petersburg and Moscow. Using a wide variety of sources including literature, film and graphic art, we will consider these urban centers not as geographical entities, but as continually evolving symbolic systems that generate meaning about and insight into Russian and American culture. By comparing and contrasting these three cities and their cultural heritage, we will also learn much about where American and Russian cultures diverge and come together. Works to be examined include two recognized literary masterpieces, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, and films by Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen and the award-winning Russian director Aleksei Balabanov. No prerequisite.
 
RU 33301 The Brothers Karamazov
Gasperetti. A multifaceted investigation into the philosophical, psychological, theological, and political determinants of Dostoevsky's most complex novel. Discussions highlight a variety of themes, from the author's visionary political predictions and rejection of materialism to his critique of rationalism and mockery of literary convention. No prerequisite.
 
RU 33401 A Space for Speech: Russian Women Memoirists
Gillespie. Throughout the history of Russian literature, the genres of autobiographies, memoirs, and diaries have provided a venue for women writers to find their voices in a private arena safely distanced from the dominant genres of novels and lyric poetry. This course examines the history and development of the female memoir in Russian literature from the 18th-century political memoirs of Catherine the Great to documents of the Stalinist terror and prison camp life of the 20th century. No prerequisite.
 
RU 33520 Post-Soviet Russian Cinema
Gillespie. Freed from the constraints of Soviet-era censorship, since 1990 Russian filmmakers have exploited the unique qualities of the film medium in order to create compelling portraits of a society in transition. The films we will watch cover a broad spectrum: reassessing Russia's rich pre-Revolutionary cultural heritage as well as traumatic periods in Soviet history (World War II, the Stalinist era); grappling with formerly taboo social issues (gender roles, anti-Semitism, alcoholism); taking an unflinching look at new social problems resulting from the breakdown of the Soviet system (the rise of neo-fascism, the war in Chechnya, organized crime); and meditating on Russia's current political and cultural dilemmas (the place of non-Russian ethnicities within Russia, Russians' love-hate relationship with the West). From this complex cinematic patchwork emerges a picture of a new, raw Russia, as yet confused and turbulent, but full of vitality and promise for the future. Short readings will supplement the film component of the course. No prerequisite.

Cathedral of the Intercession Izmailovo (Moscow)

40000-Level Literature Courses (in Russian)  
RU 43101 19th-Century Russian Literature
Gasperetti. Introduces the major movements (Sentimentalism, Romanticism, Realism) and authors (Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov) of the 19th century. Special attention is given to the genesis of the modern tradition of Russian literature in the first half of the century and to the role literary culture played in the political and social ferment of the period. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43102 20th-Century Russian Literature
Gasperetti. Surveys the literary innovation and political suppression of literature that define Russia in the 20th century. Introduces such movements/periods as Symbolism, Acmeism, Futurism, the "Fellow Travelers," Socialist Realism, and the "Thaw." Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43110 Introduction to Russian Poetry
Gillespie. Surveys the evolution of verse forms and poetics in the major periods and styles of Russian poetry, including Classicism and the Baroque (18th century), Romanticism and the post-Romantics (19th century), and the early Modernist poetry of the pre-Revolutionary period (Symbolism, Acmeism, and Futurism) as well as later 20th-century poetry. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.

Portrait of Alexander Pushkin (1827) by Vasily Tropinin

 
RU 43204 Pushkin and His Time
Gillespie, Gasperetti. An analysis of the lyric and narrative poetry, drama, and prose fiction of Russia's national literary treasure. Discussions focus on Pushkin's contributions to the creation of a literary language, his transition from Romanticism to Realism, his innovative treatment of genres, and his role in the development of the Russian tradition of prose fiction. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43206 Tolstoy
Gasperetti. This course samples Tolstoy's novellas, short stories, and folktales with excerpts from the major novels. Themes include Tolstoy's Realism, his critique of the institutions of church and state, his philosophy of nonviolence, and the impact of his religious "crisis" on the latter half of his literary career. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43208 Chekhov
Gillespie. This course is an introduction to the short stories and plays of Anton Chekhov, with attention to the development of his art of characterization, dialogue, plot construction, and innovative dramatic technique. Central themes of the course will be alienation and banality in Chekhov's works, Chekhov's attitude to science and progress, and his views on the future of Russia. A portion of the semester will be largely devoted to the reading and performance (in Russian) of one of Chekhov's plays. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43405 Russian Romanticism
Gillespie.This course will introduce students to the literature of Russian Romanticism, which came into being at the turn of the nineteenth century, dominated Russian literature in the 1820's and was still influential well into the latter part of the century. Inspired by Russian writers' encounters with English, German, and French Romantic literature, Russian Romanticism was, paradoxically, the first literary movement in Russia that sought to develop a definitively national, uniquely Russian literature and literary language. We will explore this quest for a national literature in light of Russian Romanticism's Western influences. In so doing, we will study works of poetry, fiction, drama, and literary criticism by a diverse group of Romantic writers including Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov, Karolina Pavlova, Fedor Tiutchev, Afanasy Fet, and others. Themes of the course will include the national and the exotic, the natural and the supernatural, rebellion and social alienation, violence and passion. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43415 Sages and Swindlers: The Poetics of Reading and Writing in Russian Literature
Staff. This course will examine the virtues and vices of reading and writing as they are explored in Russian letters. Is the author prophet or charlatan? Teacher or harlot? How do we construct our own personality based on our reading, and what are the dangers of confusing life and fiction? Is writing an essentially immoral act? Readings may include works by Karamzin, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Tolstoy, Bulgakov, Olesha, and Babel. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.

Cathedral of the Dormition (Moscow Kremlin)

 
RU 43420 Post-Soviet Literature and Culture
Staff. In the last two decades Russia has undergone dramatic changes ranging from the crisis of the totalitarian system and disintegration of the Soviet Empire to the rapid development of new trends in literature and culture. We will survey these new trends, with a focus on defining the nature and multiplicity of "Post-Soviet" cultural sensibilities in recent Russian short fiction, essays, poetry, lyrics, and interviews, as well as in pop-culture and film. Topics under consideration will include traditional and new, Post-Soviet and Postmodern, as well as feminist, emigre, and post-colonial discourses. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43470 Fantasy and Realism
Staff. Russian literature has produced a rich array of works in the fantastic mode, from the stories of Pushkin and Gogol to longer masterpieces by Dostoevsky and Bulgakov. This course will explore the complex interrelation between the fantastic and Russian/Soviet reality. In our examination of short stories, poems, film and cartoons we will focus in particular on how the fantastic is often used as a vehicle for grappling with issues related to personal and national identity. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43501 St. Petersburg as Russian Cultural Icon
Gasperetti. From its inception in 1703 on the banks of the Neva River, St. Petersburg has embodied Russia's search for a national identity. Founded by Peter the Great as Russia's "Window on the West," it has been championed by those who wished to ally Russia more closely with Western Europe and vilified by those who viewed such a connection as the undoing of native Russian culture. Starting in the early 19th century, St. Petersburg developed a rich tradition of writers, artists, composers, dancers, and filmmakers who focused on the question of the city's dual nature within Russian society. Over the course of this semester we will use this rich artistic heritage to investigate Russia's uneasy relationship with the West. Which political, social, and cultural values did the Russians appropriate from the West? What is the legacy of Westernization for Russian culture? Is there such a thing as the "Russian soul"? How did the revolutions of 1917 and the blockade of 1941-43 affect the city and, more generally, the Russians' national consciousness? In seeking answers to these questions we will read, listen to, and view some of the greatest works of art produced in the 19th and 20th centuries. Areas to be covered include literature (Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Blok, Akhmatova, Zamiatin), painting (Repin, Surikov, Malevich), music (Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich), dance (Diaghilev, Balanchine, Fokine), and film (Eisenstein, Kozintsev and Trauberg). Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.
 
RU 43518 Utopian Thought in Russian Literature and Culture
Staff. In this course we will explore Russia's creative pursuit of utopia reflected in masterpieces of her belle letters, social and political journalism and film. Our readings will include a variety of texts, ranging from folklore to works by modern and post-modern authors. Topics of discussion will include utopia and dystopia, socialism, communism, revolution and totalitarianism. Among our authors will be film directors Iakov Protazanov and Andrei Tarkovskii and writers Fedor Dostoevsky, Aleksei Tolstoi, Valerii Briusov, Evgenii Zamiatin, Mikhail Bulgakov, Arkadii and Boris Strugatskii and Victor Pelevin. Prerequisite: RU 40102 or permission of the instructor.

Russian and East European Area Studies Courses  
RU 47100 Area Studies Cultural Enrichment
Gillespie, Lyandres. Students enrolled in this course will be required to attend at least five (5) lectures and/or cultural enrichment events (films, concerts, art exhibits, etc.) relevant to Russian and East European Studies during the course of the semester, and to write a one page report summarizing each event and what they learned from it. No prerequisite. May be retaken for credit.
 
RU 47101 Area Studies Thesis Research and Writing I
Staff. Fall semester research in Russian and East European area studies. By the end of the semester, the student will be expected to produce an annotated bibliography of sources, a thesis statement, and an outline/proposal for the research project as a whole.
 
RU 47102 Area Studies Thesis Research and Writing II
Staff. Spring semester research in Russian and East European Area Studies. Working closely with the faculty advisor, the student will produce a polished final draft of the area studies thesis.