Spring 2023

SLAVIC R5B 003 - LEC 003

Reading and Composition

Dystopian Dream Girl: Zamyatin and the Revolution

Djordje Popovic, Alexandra Michaud

Jan 17, 2023 - May 05, 2023

Tu, Th

09:30 am - 10:59 am

Dwinelle 79

Class #:24722

Units: 4

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through Slavic Languages and Literatures

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 4

Enrolled: 13

Waitlisted: 0

Capacity: 17

Waitlist Max: 3

No Reserved Seats

Hours & Workload

3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 9 hours of outside work hours per week.

Other classes by Djordje Popovic

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

“The Revolution had not yet become a lawful wife, jealously guarding its lawful monopoly on love. The Revolution was a youthful, fiery-eyed mistress, — and I was in love with the Revolution,” wrote Yevgeny Zamyatin of the years leading up to the October Revolution. By 1918, however, this radical writer and thinker had begun to question his commitment to Utopia, and to compose his famous science-fiction novel We, a bizarre and ambiguous vision of the future. Zamyatin’s We is often called the first “dystopian” novel, though we will consider it as one of many apparitions of the revolutionary moment and its aftermath in Russian culture. We will approach the text in its historical, philosophical, and artistic contexts by reading works that influenced Zamyatin, from the Bible and Marx to literary experiments by Alexander Blok and Vladimir Mayakovsky. We will then turn to Zamyatin’s global influence on artistic responses to upheaval in the twentieth century, including the fiction of George Orwell. We will also examine Zamyatin’s philosophical writings, as well as contemporary and later critical evaluations of our primary sources. Our main goal is to develop and strengthen academic writing skills through critical reading. To this end, we will sharpen our analytical and argumentative methods throughout the semester with mechanics and style exercises, directed research assignments, and short compositions based on close reading and evaluation of primary and secondary sources.

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 completing this prerequisite.

Due to the high demand for R&C courses we monitor attendance very carefully. Attendance is mandatory the first two weeks of classes, this includes all enrolled and wait listed students. If you do not attend all classes the first two weeks you may be dropped. If you are attempting to add into this class during weeks 1 and 2 and did not attend the first day, you will be expected to attend all class meetings thereafter and, if space permits, you may be enrolled from the wait list. 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.