19th Century Russian Literature (RU 151)

Prof. Thomas Beyer

Freeman T-3 T 12:15-1:15; F 11:00-12:00

 My goal in this course is for you to read several major works of Russian fiction of the 19th century. You should read actively and carefully, think about what you are reading, record your thoughts and be prepared to articulate those thoughts in class, both orally and in written form.

All reading must be completed before the beginning of each class. As you read you should keep your thoughts, observations, questions and comments on sheets of loose-leaf paper to be kept in a binder which you bring to class for every meeting. (While these thoughts are personal, they are not private!)

For each class you should prepare a one page single spaced journal entry. This one page entry should be printed in 12 point Times New Roman font (or its equivalent) on 8 1/2" by 11" paper with top and bottom, left and right margins of 1". The one sheet (and it must always be edited to one sheet) should contain a twenty-five word or less description of the "who, what, where, when and why" of the reading assignment. This should be followed by a single well-constructed paragraph analyzing some aspect of the work that appealed to you. Finally, write a single question at the end of each page to serve as a discussion question for the entire class.

If you read all the works on time (pop-quizzes should be expected), do all the journal entries on time, and participate actively in each class, you can expect a grade of B or better. The "better" depends upon clear demonstration of exceptional effort and care in your work. Each late or incomplete reading assignment is equal to 1/4 of a grade. For each unexcused missed class you will lose 1/2 a grade.

Books for course:

Masterpieces of Russian Literature (six volumes) (Dover)

M. Lermontov, Hero of Our Time (Ardis)

N.V. Gogol, Dead Souls (Vintage)

F. M. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (Vintage)

L. N. Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (Vintage)

Schedule of Readings

Sept. 13 Introduction

Sept. 15 Karamzin, “Poor Liza”

Sept. 20 Pushkin, “The Shot,” “The Snowstorm,”

Sept. 22 Pushkin, “Coffin Maker,” “Station Master,” “Amateur Peasant Girl”

Sept. 27 Pushkin, “Queen of Spades”

Sept. 29 Lermontov, Hero of Our Time, to "Princess Mary"

Oct. 4 Lermontov, Hero of Our Time, "Princess" to end 

Oct. 11 Gogol, “The Nose,” “The Overcoat”

Oct. 13 Gogol, Dead Souls, I, 1-6

Oct. 18 Gogol, Dead Souls, II, 7-11

Oct. 25 , Oct. 27 Web assignment

Nov. 1 Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, I-XIX

Nov. 3 Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, XX-end

Nov. 8 Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground, I

Nov. 10 Dostoevsky, Notes from the Underground, II

Nov. 15 Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, I, II

Nov. 17 Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, III, IV, V

Nov. 22 Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment, VI, Epilogue

Nov. 29 Tolstoi, Anna Karenina, I, II

Dec. 2 Tolstoi, Anna Karenina, III, IV

Dec. 6 Tolstoi, Anna Karenina, V, VI

Dec. 8 Tolstoi, Anna Karenina, VII, VII