The course leads the students to learn the basic features of the literary and cultural history of Russia.
At the end of the course, students are expected to:
1) know the most relevant events and the main peculiarities of the Russian history, as well as the essential elements of Modern Russian literature with particu-lar reference to the 19th century;
2) apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis of the literary works presen-ted during the classes, with the help of the provided critical references;
3) have the ability to formulate auto-nomous judgments about the main the-mes of the course, and to explain them correctly and coherently.
1) A walk through Russian History
2) 19th century Russian Literature. The main theme of the course will be the representation of the body in the selected texts.
Primary sources:
1) A.S. Puškin, Mednyj vsadnik (Il cavaliere di bronzo);
2) N.V. Gogol’, Мёrtvye duši (Anime morte);
3) F.M. Dostoevskij, Prestuplenie i nakazanie (Delitto e castigo); Bobok;
4) L.N. Tolstoj, Smert’ Ivana Il’iča (La morte di Ivan Il’ič); Tri smerti (Tre morti);
5) A.P. Čechov, Čelovek v futljare (L’uomo nell’astuccio); Gusev; Skučnaja istorija (Una storia noiosa).
Secondary sources:
1) E. Lo Gatto, Il mito di Pietroburgo. Storia, leggenda, poesia, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1960 (edizione più recente 2013) (selezione di pagine);
2) V. Šklovskij, L’arte come procedimento, in T. Todorov (a cura di), I formalisti russi, Torino, Einaudi 2000 (I ed. 1968), pp. 73-94;
3) Strada Vittorio, Idea di Čechov, in ID, Le veglie della ragione, Einaudi, Torino, 1986, pp. 91-131;
4) Ju. Mann, Anime morte. La situazione generale e l’intreccio miraggio sul terreno dell’epica, in ID, La poetica di Gogol’, a cura di Cinzia De Lotto, Roma, Lithos, 2014, pp. 275-373;
5) M. Bachtin, Dostoevskij. Poetica e stilistica, Torino, Einaudi, 2002 (una selezione di pagine);
General reference:
1) M. Colucci e R. Picchio (a cura di), Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, Torino, UTET 1997 (le parti relative agli autori e ai periodi trattati);
2) P. Buskovitch, Breve storia della Russia. Dalle origini a Putin, Torino, Einaudi, 2013 (le parti relative ai periodi trattati).
Teaching mode: frontal lessons, e-learning
Other materials will be provided on the course e-learning page.
| Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | Note |
| P. Buskovitch | Breve storia della Russia. Dalle origini a Putin | Einaudi | 2013 | ||
| E. Lo Gatto | Il mito di Pietroburgo. Storia, leggenda, poesia | Feltrinelli | 2013 | ||
| Ju. Mann | La poetica di Gogol' | Lithos | 2014 | ||
| M. Colucci e R. Picchio (a cura di) | Storia della civiltà letteraria russa | UTET | 1997 |
Intermediate evaluation: written exam on Russian History.
Final evaluation: oral exam.
The questions will cover any of the topics mentioned in the programme. During the interview, the student will be asked to analyse the literary texts proposed during the classes.
The assessment will consider the following criteria:
- Content accuracy and completeness
- Achievement of adequate analysis abilities
- Clarity in the exposition, arguing ability, and knowledge of the subject-specific lexicon.
Prerequisites for exam:
This exam cannot be taken before having passed Saperi Minimi.
