| Contents of lectures |
1. Late 19th-century Russia: historical and cultural context, Crimean War, 1861 reform, literary movements, journals Sovremennik, Russkoye Slovo and Kolokol; democratic writers and populist prose.
2. N. Leskov: The Left-Handed Craftsman, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
3. L. Tolstoy: Childhood, Boyhood, Youth; Caucasian and Sevastopol stories; Lucerne, Albert, Three Deaths, The Cossacks, Kholstomer. War, personality, nature and civilization.
4. War and Peace: the epic novel, philosophy of history, individual and history.
5. Anna Karenina: genre, composition and themes.
6. Late Tolstoy: spiritual crisis, religious thought and essays (A Confession, What I Believe, I Cannot Be Silent, Thou Shalt Not Kill); folk tales, The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
7. Resurrection. 8. Tolstoy's evolving realism and drama.
9. A. Chekhov: early comic fiction and parody (Fat and Thin, The Death of a Government Clerk, The Malefactor); Tales of Melpomene, Motley Stories. Sakhalin Island and journalism. Mature prose: A Dreary Story, Rothschild's Fiddle, Ward No. 6, The Black Monk, My Life, The House with the Mezzanine, Ionych, The Man in a Case, Gooseberries. Ethics and literary tradition. Drama: The Seagull, Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard; film adaptations. |
| Contents of exercises |
L. N. Tolstoy: Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Resurrection, The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
A. P. Chekhov: The Death of a Government Clerk, The Black Monk, Ward No. 6.
Chekhov’s Plays: The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya. |
