Russian/Literature 372 Spring 2008

Rene Wellek’s Core of Convictions:

that the aesthetic experience differs from other experiences and sets off the realm of art, of fictionality, from life;
that the literary work of art, while a linguistic construct, at the same time refers to the world outside;
that it cannot therefore be described only by linguistic means but has a meaning telling of man, society, and nature;
that all arguments for relativism meet a final barrier;
that we are confronted with an object, the work of art, out there which challenge us to understand and interpret it;
that there is thus no complete liberty of interpretation.

Analysis, interpretation, evaluation are interconnected stages of a single procedure.
Evaluation grows out of understanding. We as critics learn to distinguish between art and nonart and should have the courage of our convictions.

The lawyer knows or thinks he knows what is right and what is wrong; the scientist knows what is true and what is false; the physician knows what is health and what is illness; only the poor humanist is floundering, uncertain of himself and his calling instead of proudly asserting the life of the mind which is the life of reason.

Section 1: Tu Th 13:10 – 14:20 Vollum 126 (Lencek)
Section 2: Tu Th 13:10 – 14.20 Eliot 317 (Grinberg)
Russian Drill Section: TBA
Office hours: Lencek Tu Th 2:30 – 3:30 in Vollum 130 and by appointment

REQUIREMENTS

All readings are to be completed by the date on which they are listed. All required texts are available on reserve, as are the collateral readings. The latter may also be found in e-reserve form.
Collateral readings will not always be discussed in class, but should nonetheless be read. Students are invited to bring questions based on collateral readings to the discussion.

Students are responsible for informing themselves about the authors’ biographies and the historico-cultural context. These are available in the recommended texts listed below and on reserve: Ronald Hingley. Russia. A Concise History.; Figes, Natasha’s Dance. Berlin, Russian Thinkers. Carr, The Romantic Exiles.

Eleven weekly one-page position papers consisting of a thesis, brief argument with evidence, and conclusion, and furnished with footnote(s) and bibliography according to MLA format, are required. During the first quarter, the position papers will explicate a paragraph or section of text, relating its significance and relevance to the larger context. Thereafter, the position paper will engage a thematic complex, a structural/formal/rhetorical element, or an ideological proposition of the text in question.

Two term papers are required: a 12 page paper is due at mid-term, on Friday, March 14 at 6:00 pm; the final, fifteen page paper, is due at the end of the reading period, on Saturday, May 6 at 6:00 p.m.. MLA footnoting and bibliographic format is mandatory.

RUSSIAN SECTION

Students wishing to take the course for Russian credit (i.e. Russian 372 vs. Lit 372) should have completed at least two years of Russian language (or obtain the consent of the instructor) and must attend a weekly Russian discussion group to be scheduled to begin in week 2 of the term.

REQUIRED TEXTS

RECOMMENDED TEXTS

SYLLABUS

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Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Mon – Sun, May 5 – 11: Reading period. Final Date for final term paper and all semester work: May 12.

COLLATERAL READINGS (e-reserve)

POSITION PAPER LOG
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