RUSS 013. The Meaning of Life and the Russian Novel

(Cross-listed as LITR 013R)
This course surveys nineteenth-century Russian-language literature, with a particular focus on the novel, and considers its major themes: nationalism, colonialism, and the ideology of Empire; the meaning of life in the face of death; women’s fate in a patriarchal society; the individual, the collective, and the experience of modernity; reason and irrationality; and the danger and promise of utopian thought. Our approach will be 1) to read and closely analyze a series of texts that became the foundation for the novelistic tradition in Russian within their own contexts and 2) to explore how these texts speak to contemporary issues, our lives, and eternal questions that all of humanity faces. We will read major novels by Fedor Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy, as well as novels, poems, and stories by numerous other authors, including Mikhail Lermontov, Sophia Khvoshchinskaya, and Nikolai Gogol.

Taught in translation. No knowledge of Russian language or culture required.
Humanities.
Writing course.
1 credit.
Fall 2025. Staff.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Russian
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/russian

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