Freshman and Sophomore seminars offer lower-division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

This course offers an introduction to Russian prose, covering three centuries, from Gogol and Chekhov in the nineteenth to Brodsky and Goralik in the twenty-first. We will examine both the genre of the short story and the diversity and development within it. Reading carefully the highlights of this tradition will allow us to consider a broad range of topics, from the traumas of history, to the representation of nature and war, to complex social and psychological issues. We will also explore other genres of short fiction: notes, prose poetry, flash prose. Our discussions will focus on both the internal organization and meaning of individual stories and the historical evolution of Russian prose and its changing political and cultural contexts. This course should be of particular interest to prospective and current majors in Russian and other literatures as well as to students interested in creative writing. Class is conducted in English; no knowledge of Russian required.

Requisites

• Students with 1-4 Terms in Attendance

Repeat Rules