Fall 2010

5 Fridays 1-3 pm, October 8-November 5

MASTERPIECES OF RUSSIAN SHORT FICTION

In this course, as we read and discuss the world-famous works of Russian short fiction, we will examine the core issues they address: love, death, aspirations, the understanding of self, faith, and the quest for the meaning of life. Concurrently, in order to give context and additional meaning, we will set these texts in their historical and cultural context by discussing the history of the period in which they were written. Proposed authors are: Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Chekhov. Please refer to the website www.slavdom.com for updates on the course material.

Course readings:


Pushkin, “The Queen of Spades” and Lermontov, “Bela”


Gogol, “The Nose” and “The Overcoat”

Tolstoy, “The Death of Ivan Ilych”

Turgenev, “The Strange Story,” Dostoevsky, “A Gentle Creature”

Chekhov, “The Man in a Case,” “Gooseberries,” “About Love” and "The Lady with the Dog"

Discussion questions:

e-Resources:

Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades http://home.freeuk.net/russica2/books/pushk/spads/spads.html

Lermontov’s Bela http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/myl/hero.htm

Gogol’s The Overcoat/The Cloak http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/g/gogol/nikolai/g61cl/

Gogol’s The Nose http://42opus.com/v4n3/thenose

Turgenev’s A Strange Story http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/21241/

Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilych http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/death-of-ivan-ilych/

Dostoevsky's A Gentle Spirit http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/gentle-spirit/

Chekhov’s Trilogy: Gooseberries http://chekhov2.tripod.com/190.htm, About Love http://chekhov2.tripod.com/191.htm, The Man in a Case http://chekhov2.tripod.com/189.htm and The Lady with the Dog http://chekhov2.tripod.com/197.htm