RUSN 336 The Russian Novel: Idiots, Atheists, and Nihilists

Many of the world's greatest novels share one common feature—they were written in Russian. In this course we will discuss some of the key works of Russian literature, encountering revolutionaries and rebels, visionaries and superfluous human beings, holy fools and dandies. These characters will reveal a peculiar world, often remarkably different from that of 21st century Western culture, yet still strangely relevant to all of our most pressing concerns. In this five unit version of CSLC 136, we will be reading excerpts in the original language from Goncharov’s Oblomov, Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, Dostoevsky’s Idiot.  Students in this course will be asked to complete a 10-12 page interpretive paper, one that incorporates the students' own translations of original texts. A passing grade of C or higher on this paper will satisfy the Second-Stage Writing Requirement.