2021 Summer Session D
6 weeks, July 6 - August 13
SLAVIC R5B 003 - LEC 003
Reading and Composition
Russian Roulette: Gambling and Death in Literature and Film
Lyubov Golburt, Dominick Robert Lawton
Jul 06, 2021 - Aug 13, 2021
Tu, We, Th
10:00 am - 12:29 pm
Internet/Online
Class #:14060
Units: 4
Instruction Mode:
Pending Review
Offered through
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Current Enrollment
Total Open Seats:
1
Enrolled: 16
Waitlisted: 0
Capacity: 17
Waitlist Max: 3
No Reserved Seats
Hours & Workload
7.5 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 23 hours of outside work hours per week.
Other classes by Lyubov Golburt
Course Catalog Description
Reading and composition course based on works of Russian and other Slavic writers, either written in English or translated into English. As students develop strategies of writing and interpretation, they will become acquainted with a particular theme in Russian and/or Slavic literatures and their major voices. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R5B satisfies the second half.
Class Description
What makes people challenge fate and risk their money--or their lives? 19th century Russian culture was fixated on gambling, not only at the card table, but on the dueling field, where a coin toss could determine who shot first. Among aristocrats, parties could end in financial ruin once a card game began, and a petty social slight could easily escalate into a fatal duel. This course will explore the relationship between social life, gambling, and death in famous works of Russian literature by Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Anton Chekhov. We will also examine the surprising reverberations of these themes in modern American film, from Martin Scorsese's Casino to Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems. Does risking one's life follow the same logic as conventional gambling? Though gambling seems like an individualistic, pleasure-seeking pursuit, can depictions of gambling double as social critique? What does gambling reveal about sex, gender, class, socioeconomic systems? Gambling and dueling are paradoxically defined by a combination of pure luck and absolute, binding necessity (you have to play by the rules); what can they show us about how stories are constructed, since narratives are also governed by a mix of contingency and fate? What is it that makes activities as deadly as gambling and dueling so captivating, for both participants and spectators (like us)? We will attempt to answer these questions through the practice of college-level research and writing, skills which will be comprehensively workshopped and honed throughout the course.
Students should purchase the following texts, in these specific editions and translations:
*Mikhail Lermontov, A Hero of Our Time, trans. Paul Foote (Penguin Classics, 2001). ISBN-10: 0140447954
*Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler and other stories, trans. Ronald Meyer (Penguin Classics, 2010). ISBN-10: 0140455094
*Anton Chekhov, The Duel, trans. Constance Garnett (Modern Library Classics, 2003). ISBN-10: 081297008X
Other readings, and films, will be provided electronically.
Class Notes
This course satisfies the second half or the “B” portion of the Reading and Composition requirement.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading & Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll in nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completin.. show more
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading & Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll in nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completin.. show more
This course satisfies the second half or the “B” portion of the Reading and Composition requirement.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading & Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll in nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completing this prerequisite. show less
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading & Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll in nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completing this prerequisite. show less
Rules & Requirements
Requisites
- Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.
Repeat Rules
Course is not repeatable for credit.
Requirements class fulfills
Second half of the Reading and Composition Requirement
Reserved Seats
Current Enrollment
No Reserved Seats
Textbooks & Materials
Associated Sections
None