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.

Games, competitions, and organized sports are as old as civilization itself and have been utilized by peoples for countless reasons including: pleasure-seeking, teaching, marking religious and ceremonial occasions, proposing legal and social codes, promoting health regimens, entertaining audiences, simulating conflict, and mediating geopolitical disputes. Dutch historian Johan Huizinga suggested that humans could be classified as Homo ludens, the “playing man,” to reflect the central role of play in culture. The 2024 Paris Olympics will mark 2,800 years since the first Olympic games were held in 776 BCE, offering us an opportunity to consider the cultural, social, and political implications of the Olympics, both past and present. In this course, we will engage with media depicting humans sporting or at play. We will consider certain phenomena mediated by sport, such as teamwork, coaching, and rule-following. We will examine the ideological implications of sports in various political systems as they concern nationalism, militarism, aesthetic performance, creativity, strategy, cooperation, individualism, entertainment, media and journalism, sports-washing, commodification, and religious practice. We will explore how race, gender, class, and social mobility are inflected through sport and competition. Over the course of this summer session, we will read works by authors such as Virgil, Rabelais, Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Thayer, Olesha, Nabokov, DeLillo, and D.F. Wallace, as well as the work of sports journalists, cultural critics, and social thinkers like Dave Zirin, Bill Simmons, and Mikhail Bakhtin. Furthermore, we will watch cinematic portrayals of sport across genres from Soviet, German, and American sports films by filmmakers, newscasters, and documentarians Pudovkin, Vertov, Chulyukin, Riefenstahl, Scorsese, James and others. Grounded in these works, we will attempt to better understand the playful side of human nature. This course fulfills the second half of the UC Berkeley Reading & Composition requirement. The primary goal of this class is to teach college-level writing and research skills. In addition to learning how to make clear, persuasive arguments, students will learn to work with secondary sources, evaluate outside scholarship, and compose research papers. No prior knowledge of East European, Russian or Eurasian languages, literatures or cultures is required.

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