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.

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.

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