2024 Fall
SLAVIC R5B 001 - LEC 001
Reading and Composition
Family Ties: Socialism, Sex, and the Modern State
Wendi Ardath Bootes
Class #:22712
Units: 4
Instruction Mode:
In-Person Instruction
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
3 hours of lecture per week, and 9 hours of outside work hours per week.
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
“All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
These lines open Lev Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, a modern epic of family life. While we will not be reading Tolstoy’s monumental novel, this course will be premised upon the idea that families have taken different forms throughout history, and that literature can tell us something about our closest relations. Focusing primarily on Russia and the former Soviet Union, we will examine love, sex, gender, and the family as malleable categories that have both shaped and been shaped by external political and economic forces.
Our discussions will be guided by the provocative claim of Russian revolutionary Aleksandra Kollontai: that different systems like feudalism, capitalism, and socialism produce different kinds of families. In that spirit, over the course of the semester, we will consider how kinship bonds form, whether by birth, marriage, adoption, or other means, and we will ponder both the narrowing and expansion of family structures. Through thoughtful engagement with art, literature, and cinema, we will explore evolving representations, structures, and norms of family relations over time.
This course fulfills the second half of the UC Berkeley Reading & Composition requirement. The primary goal of this class is to develop college-level writing and research skills. In addition to learning how to make clear, persuasive arguments, we will learn to work with secondary sources, evaluate outside scholarship, contextualize research amongst other scholarly perspectives, develop academic arguments, and author quality research. No prior knowledge of East European, Russian or Eurasian languages, literatures, or cultures is required.
These lines open Lev Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, a modern epic of family life. While we will not be reading Tolstoy’s monumental novel, this course will be premised upon the idea that families have taken different forms throughout history, and that literature can tell us something about our closest relations. Focusing primarily on Russia and the former Soviet Union, we will examine love, sex, gender, and the family as malleable categories that have both shaped and been shaped by external political and economic forces.
Our discussions will be guided by the provocative claim of Russian revolutionary Aleksandra Kollontai: that different systems like feudalism, capitalism, and socialism produce different kinds of families. In that spirit, over the course of the semester, we will consider how kinship bonds form, whether by birth, marriage, adoption, or other means, and we will ponder both the narrowing and expansion of family structures. Through thoughtful engagement with art, literature, and cinema, we will explore evolving representations, structures, and norms of family relations over time.
This course fulfills the second half of the UC Berkeley Reading & Composition requirement. The primary goal of this class is to develop college-level writing and research skills. In addition to learning how to make clear, persuasive arguments, we will learn to work with secondary sources, evaluate outside scholarship, contextualize research amongst other scholarly perspectives, develop academic arguments, and author quality research. No prior knowledge of East European, Russian or Eurasian languages, literatures, or cultures is required.
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 th... 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 completing th... 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.
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
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.
Repeat Rules
Course is not repeatable for credit.
Reserved Seats
Current Enrollment
No Reserved Seats
Textbooks & Materials
See class syllabus or https://calstudentstore.berkeley.edu/textbooks for the most current information.
Guide to Open, Free, & Affordable Course Materials
Associated Sections
None