3204001 Slavic Languages and Literatures
| Numbering Code | U-LET16 13204 LJ36 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ Second semester | |
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| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | Lecture | |
| Target Year | Target Student | |||
| Language | Japanese | Day/Period | Wed.5 | |
| Instructor name | Nkamura Tadashi (Graduate School of Letters Professor) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
Russian literature and thought have greatly influenced modern Japanese literature and thought. The number of times Chekhov’s play was performed in Japan is second in the world after Russian, and Tolstoy and Dostoevsky were among the most read writers between the Taisho period and the Showa period. Their popularity continues to this day. However, Japan’s interest in Russian literature lasted mainly until the end of the 19th century, and little is known in Japan about how Russian literature and culture developed in the 20th century. This course provides an overview of Russian culture from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21th century, through the Soviet era and the period after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. |
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| Course Goals |
* Deepen knowledge and understanding of Russian (Soviet Union) literature, ideology, films, and paintings from the end of the 19th century to the 21th century * Acquire frameworks and methods for analyzing and considering artistic works and cultural phenomena |
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| Schedule and Contents |
The lesson plan is as follows, although there might be slight changes in the schedule. I will instruct the students on how to give feedback in the class. Week 1: Introduction Weeks 2-5: Literature, paintings and thought from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century Symbolism (Fat, Ivanov, Sologub, etc.), realistic literature (Gorky, Chekhov, etc.), development of modern Russian paintings (Kuindzhi, Levitan, Vrubel, Chagall, etc.) Weeks 6-8: The “Russian avant-garde” period Russian formalism (“defamiliarization” and its diachronic development), literature and paintings of Russian Futurists (Zaum poetry, nonobjective paintings by Malevich), and development of films (Eisenstein, Vertov, montage, etc.) Weeks 9-13 : Literature, thought and culture in the Soviet era Literature: Zamyatin, Babel, Bulgakov, Bergholz, Grossman, etc. Thought: poetry of wholeness, socialist realism as a norm and its dissolution Film: Tarkovsky, Shengelaia, etc. Week 14: Cultural situation after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Pelevin, Sorokin, Ulitskaya, etc.) Week 15: Summary |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy | Completion of questionnaires distributed in each class 30%; semester-end paper 70% | |||
| Course Requirements | Nothing in particular | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | Please try to read the books and essays that will be introduced during class by yourself. | |||
| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | Handouts will be distributed as needed. | ||
| References, etc. | Instructions will be given in the first class and throughout the course as needed. | |||
