Spring 2025

SLAVIC R5B 001 - LEC 001

Reading and Composition

“Rejoicing in the Mysterious Curve of Lenin’s Straight Line”: Reading the Life and Works of Isaac Babel

Zachary Samuel Johnson, Michael Tobias Lerner

Jan 21, 2025 - May 09, 2025

Tu, Th

08:00 am - 09:29 am

Dwinelle 106

Class #:22714

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 Zachary Samuel Johnson

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 does it mean to write literature during a time of great social upheaval? What does it mean to be stuck between two cultures: one traditional, the other modern? What can art tell us about the ethics and motives behind our political visions and ideals? What does it mean to write literature at the edge of an empire? We will tackle these questions and more by investigating the life and works of Isaac Babel (1894-1940), one of the premier Russian-language writers of the 20th century. Born in Odessa to a Jewish family, Babel would go on to be most well-known after the 1917 Russian Revolution for his collection of short stories The Red Cavalry about the Russian Civil War. Lauded by some of his contemporaries for his artistic vision, and derided by others for his political ambiguity, Babel’s works serve as a test case for how literature negotiates a place for itself within a revolutionary regime. Babel’s fiction will take us from the bleak and dreary streets of war-time Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to the warm sun-bathed Black Sea coast, to the war-torn Polish countryside. In each of these locales and in each of our texts we will ask ourselves the question, how does art allow us to reapproach history? This course fulfills the second half of the UC Berkeley “Reading and Composition” requirement. The main objective of this course is to teach students the craft of academic writing and inquiry. Students will learn how to structure a research paper, how to conduct research, and how to incorporate theoretical and empirical sources into a well-rounded investigation of literary texts. All texts will be provided in English translation, no knowledge of Russian 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 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.