31041 - Russian Literature 1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will acquire basic knowledge of Russian history and Russian literature from the 10th century to mid 19th century. The course will introduce students to the main strategies of analysis of texts of different types and periods.

Course contents

The course consists of two parts.

The first part will give an outline of the history of Russia from the origins to the early nineteenth century, along with the basic notions of literary history of the entire period and the analysis of some of the most relevant texts.

The second part will deal with a selection from Dostoevskij's short novels and stories: Notes from Underground; The Landlady; The Meek one; White Nights; The Eternal Husband. Some films based on these works will also been dealt with.

 

 

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

The texts marked with an asterisk are highly recommended. Native speakers of Russian are required to read the literary works in Russian. In the list there are some textbooks in Russian. Native speakers of Russian can take their examination in Russian, if they wish. Erasmus students can study on English textbooks listed below and can read available English translations of the literary works. They can also ask the professor for further bibliography in English.

The list of the literary works translated into Italian is not complete. The professor will give more references during the course.

Each part of the course listed below MUST be prepared:

A) Social and Political History

*N.V. Riasanovsky, Storia della Russia, dalle origini ai nostri giorni, Milano, Bompiani, 1989 (other paperback editions available).

B) Literary History Coursebooks

*R. Picchio, La letteratura russa antica, Firenze, Sansoni-Accademia, 1968 (and other editions).

*R. Picchio, M. Colucci (eds), Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, Torino, Utet, 1997, 2 voll. (chapters related to the periods and works included in the course)

R. Picchio, Letteratura della Slavia Ortodossa, Bari, Dedalo, 1991.

V. Terras (ed.), Handbook to Russian Literature, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1985. (This is a very useful reference book for a quick revision of the contents studied)

V. Terras, A History of Russian Literature, New Haven, Yale, 1991.

Ch. A. Moser (ed.), The Cambridge History of Russian Literature, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1989-1992.

D.S. Lichačev (ed.), Istorija russkoj literatury X-XVII vekov, Moskva, Prosveščenie, 1980. [It. transl., Storia della letteratura russa dei secoli X-XVII, Genova, EDEST, 1989.]

Istorija russkoj literatury v četerech tomach, voll. 1-2, Leingrad, Nauka, 1981. (chapters related to the topics included in the program)

R. Jakobson, Premesse di Storia Letteraria Slava, Mi, Il Saggiatore, 1975 [in particular: “Il nucleo della letteratura slava comparata”; “Il prologo di San Costantino al Vangelo”; “La missione bizantina fra gli slavi”; “Glosse al Cantare di Igor'”; “Sulle fiabe russe”.]

A. Giambelluca Kossova, All'alba della cultura Russa. La Rus kieviana (862-1240), Roma, Edizioni Studium, 1996.(This book and the following one is a very agreeable reading on Old Russian literature)

A. Giambelluca Kossova, Da Mosca all'Impero degli zar, Roma, Edizioni Studium, 2001

Laura Satta Boschian, L'illuminismo e la steppa. Settecento russo, (second edition with poetic anthology), Roma, Studium, 1994. (This book is very agreeable and entertaining)

Satta Boschian, L'Ottocento russo, Roma, Studium, 1994.

C) Some Old Russian and eighteenth century works. This list is not complete and may be integrated during the course (roughly in cronological order). This is a list of ITALIAN translations of the works that will be dealt with during the course. Native Russian speakers can download many texsts fron the internet, e.g. from the site http://feb-web.ru/

R. Poggioli (ed.), Cantare delle gesta di Igor. Epopea russa del XII sec., Torino, Einaudi, 1954.

E.T. Saronne (ed.), Il canto della schiera di Igor', Parma, Pratiche, 1990. it can be downloaded at the adress: http://www.pecob.eu/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/2760

Bazzarelli (ed.), Canto dell'impresa di Igor', Mi, BUR 1991.

I.P. Sbriziolo (ed.), Racconto dei tempi passati. Cronaca russa del secolo XII, To, Einaudi, 1971.

Nestore l'Annalista, Cronaca degli anni passati (XI-XII secolo), introd., trasl.  Ada Giambelluca Kossova, Milano, Ed. San Paolo, 2005.

Daniil Zatočnik, Slovo i Molenie, (eds A. Danti e M. Colucci), Firenze, Licosa.

E.T. Saronne (Ed.), Pianto sulla distruzione di Rjazan', Parma, Pratiche, 1992

A. Kossova (ed.), Narrazione sula vita e sull'ardimento del grande e pio principe Alessandro, Palermo, Sellerio, 1991.

A. Kossova (ed.), La fiaba d'amore dei principi russi Pietro e Fevronija, Palermo, Sellerio, 1991.

Afanasij Nikitin, Viaggio al di là dei tre mari, Le Monnier.

Afanasij Nikitin, Viaggio in tre mari, (ed. E.T. Saronne), Roma, Carocci, 2002.

Lettere e testamento di Ivan il Terribile, (a cura di D.S.Lichacev e J.L. Lur'e), Milano, Longanesi, 1972.

Avvakum, Vita dell'arciprete Avvakum, scritta da lui stesso, (ed. Pia Pera), Milano, Adelphi, 1986. [o anche La Vita dell'arciprete Avvakum, scritta da lui stesso, (ed. L. Rodoyce), Torino, Boringhieri, 1962]

D. Fonvizin, Il Brigadiere. Il Minorenne, Venezia, Marsilio, 1991.

M.D. Čulkov, La cuoca avvenente, Palermo, Sellerio.

Caterina II, Nell'anticamera di un pezzo grosso, edited by G. Moracci, Lecce

A.N. Radiščev, Viaggio da Pietroburgo a Mosca, Bari, De Donato. [in particular the introduction by  F. Venturi] See also:

Russia bifronte : da Pietro 1. a Caterina 2. attraverso la Corruzione dei costumi in Russia di Ščerbátov e il Viaggio da Pietroburgo a Mosca di Radiščev, a cura di Giorgio Maria Nicolai. - Roma : Bulzoni, ©1990.

Aleksandr Radiščev, Viaggio da Pietroburgo a Mosca; transl. Bianca Sulpasso. - Roma : Voland, 2006.

N. Karamzin, La povera Liza, Natalia figlia di boiaro, Milano, Tranchida, 1988

N. Karamzin Il Settecento perduto. I racconti sentimentali, a cura di M.L. Dodero, Genova, Il melangolo, 2004 [contains La povera Lisa, ecc.]

 

D) second part:

1. texts

F.M. Dostoevskij (any edition) Notes from Underground; The Landlady; The Meek one; White Nights; The Eternal Husband.

2. critical essays [other references will be given during the course or made available in the professor's personal page or elsewhere]:

Basile, Bruno,“La finestra e l'icona: Patologia del monologo interiore ne La mite di F. M. Dostoevskij”, in  Raimondi, Ezio (ed.); Basile, Bruno (ed.), Dal Novellino a Moravia: Problemi della narrativa, Bologna, Mulino, Quaderni della Rivista Lingua e Stile3, 1979, (pp. 131-166).

Cardullo, Bert,“Bresson's Une Femme Douce: A New Reading”, In Cardullo 1987:161-178.

Christensen,  Jerome,Versions of Adolescence: Robert Bresson's Four Nights of a Dreamer and Dostoyevsky's “White Nights”, Literature/Film Quarterly; Summer 1976; 4, 3, pg. 222-229.

Garzonio, S. “Introduzione” a F. Dostoevskij, La padrona, a cura di S. Garzonio,  Venezia, Marsilio, 1999.

Grossmann Leonid, “Introduzione”, a F. Dostoevskij, La mite, Milano, Bompiani, 1980

*Imposti, G., La mite di Dostoevskij: un titolo inaffidabile?, in Così bella, così dolce. Dalle pagine di Dostoevskij al film di Bresson, a cura di F. Bono, L. Cimmino, G. Pangaro, Soveria Mannelli, Rubettino editore, 2012 [si consiglia l'acquisto del volume]

Lafleur, Guillaume, Contre le théâtre (tout contre): Le cadre et la scène dans Une Femme douce de Robert Bresson, “French Forum”, Winter 2010,Volume 35, Number 1, pp. 75-90.

Mizzau, Marina; A Double-Voiced Silence, In Kemp, Sandra (ed.); Bono, Paola (ed.), The Lonely Mirror: Italian Perspectives on Feminist Theory. London: Routledge, 1993, (pp. 64-82) (Wood, Sharon Eng. tr. of "Silenzio a due voci" in Inchiesta. 1987 July-Sept)

Mizzau, Marina; “Un conflitto di silenzi”, postfazione a F. Dostoevskij, La mite, introd. Leonid Grossmann, postfazione M. Mizzau, Milano, Bompiani, 1980, pp. 91-107.

Murav, Harriet, “Reading Women in Dostoevsky”, In Hoisington, Sona Stephan (ed.), A Plot of Her Own: The Female Protagonist in Russian Literature, Evanston, IL: Northwestern UP, 1995, (pp. 44-57)

Reader, Keith, “Bresson and Dostoevsky: Une femme doouce and Quatre nuits d'un rêveur” in Robert Bresson, Manchester, Manchester UP, 2000, pp. 1-11, 98-115.

Rhode, Eric, "A gentle creature”, Dostoevsky and Bresson, “Sight and Sound”, Spring(April May) 1970. pp.82-83.

 

Teaching methods

Lectures, showing audio-visual materials, surfing the internet for relevant sites, analysis of literary texts. Students will be encouraged to work together and report on topics suggested by the professor.

Assessment methods

During the course students will be encouraged to participate with brief reports on certain topics. Their active participation will be considered integral part of their final test if they take the exam within the two following terms.

The test consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the students' knowledge of the contents of the programme and their critical and methodological abilities in discussing the topics and texts presented during the course. The student must demonstrate appropriate knowledge of  the contents and the bibliography of the course programme.

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.
Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a ‘fair' mark.
A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.
Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

NB. Native speakers of Russian are required to read the literary works in Russian. In the list there are some textbooks in Russian, literary works and commentaries are also available on the site  http://feb-web.ru/ . Native speakers of Russian can take their examination in Russian, if they wish. Erasmus students can study on English textbooks listed below and can read available English translations of the literary works. Arrangements are to be made some time BEFORE the exam.

To sum up: Students should be able to answer questions about:

1. The general outline of Russian political and social history from the nineth century to the beginning of the nineteenth

2. The general outline of the literary history of the same period, with reference to the main literary works

3. at least 3 authors or works for the period up to the end of the seventeenth century and 3 for the 18th century, and 4 texts for the second part of the course. 

 It is also recommended that students read introductions and essays related to these works. All the handouts and materials left at students' disposal form part of the examination programme. A list of possible questions will be available on the personal site of the Professor. This list is to be considered as a help for the student in his/her preparation work and does not oblige the Professor to ask only the questions listed in it.

Teaching tools

Lectures, showing audio-visual materials, surfing the internet for relevant sites, analysis of literary texts. The handouts and other materials that students can download from "Materiali didattici" are integral part of the course programme.

Office hours

See the website of Gabriella Elina Imposti