Russian 0850: Early Russian Culture Fall 2011 (2121)

Transcription

1 University of Pittsburgh Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures Russian 0850: Early Russian Culture Fall 2011 (2121) Instructor: Kathleen Manukyan Course Number: Meeting Times: TTh 1:00pm-2:15pm Location: Eberly Hall 209 Office Hours: M 4:30-6, Th 2:30-3:30 or by appointment! Office: CL 1417 (Slavic dept.) kam262@pitt.edu Welcome to Russian 850: Early Russian Culture! This course covers the period from the advent of Christianity at the end of the tenth century to the emancipation of the serfs in It examines artifacts of literature, architecture, and painting, placing them against their historical background and drawing upon them for understanding of Russian culture and its development throughout the periods examined. Class work encompasses three main tasks: historical understanding, analysis of artistic texts, and general cultural interpretation. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: Identify the most important dates, events, figures, and developments in early Russian history and assess their significance; Discuss the character and general cultural profile of principal historical periods; Associate significant artifacts (texts, paintings, architectural structures, etc.) with principal cultural centers, periods, schools; Identify and characterize styles, trends, and features in literature, painting, and architecture. Required Texts (Textbooks available at the Book Center) Riasanovsky, Nicholas and Mark Steinberg. A History of Russia. Oxford, Billington, James. The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History of Russian Culture. Vintage, Hamilton, George Heard. The Art and Architecture of Russia. Yale, Zenkovsky, Serge A. Medieval Russia s Epics, Chronicles, and Tales. Meridian, 1974.

2 Selected passages from the following works and a few additional handouts used during the last third of our course will be made available electronically on Blackboard or PITTCat and/or on reserve at the library: Massie, Suzanne. Land of the Firebird. New York: Simon and Schuster, Riha, Thomas, ed. Readings in Russian Civilization. Vol. 2. Chicago: U of Chicago P, Segel, Harold B., ed. The Literature of Eighteenth Century Russia. Vols NY: E. P. Dutton and Co, Inc., Course Requirements and Grading 3 in-class exams (20% 3 = 60%) The three section exams (no final will be given) will feature a combination of multiple choice, short-answer, and analytical short-answer questions. The exams are non-cumulative. Because the exams require special equipment for the visual components, their administration at another time and place is extremely problematic. Requests for make-up exams will be accommodated only in extreme, documentable circumstances. Presentation of independent research (20%) Each student will prepare and present to the class a mini-lecture of about 15 minutes (plus 5 minutes for questions/discussion) on a topic of his/her choosing. We will start the process of assigning days at the second class meeting. Students should immediately begin thinking about historical periods and topics they would be interested in selecting. Topics must be approved by the instructor. Presentations will begin during the fourth week of the semester. Attendance and class participation (15%) Students are expected to actively participate in the classroom discussion by sharing thought and opinions in order to receive credit for participation. An absence with a valid excuse (illness, etc.) may be made up (in a timely fashion, no more than two weeks after the day of absence) by writing a reaction paper of 3-5 pages about the material covered on the day missed. In this case, contact the instructor for a topic to write on. Pop quizzes (5%) Pop reading quizzes will be occasionally administered as extra motivation to not fall behind in the reading.

3 Calendar of Assignments ***The calendar below lists the readings we will be discussing during each day s class period. Look ahead a day to learn your assignment. Calendar is subject to change per announcement in class. *** Aug 30 Sept 1 Sept 6 Sept 8 Sept 13 Sept 15 Sept 20 Sept 22 INTRODUCTION(S), SYLLABUS, FORMALITIES ANCIENT RUS. PAGAN BELIEF. TRADITIONAL CULTURE. Riasanovsky: 3-17 Billington: KIEVAN RUS: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Riasanovsky: Zenkovsky: Items 1-7, 11, 12 (43-58, 65-73) Prolegomenon The Apostle Andrew Comes to Russia The Founding of the City of Kiev The Beginning of the Russian State and the Arrival of Rurik Prince Oleg s Campaign Against Constantinople The Death of Oleg Igor s Death and Olga s Revenge Vladimir Christianized Russia Yaroslav the Wise Billington: 2-15 KIEVAN LITERATURE Riasanovsky: Zenkovsky: Items 18, 20-22, 25 (85-90, , ) Metropolitan Hilarion. Sermon on Law and Grace Vladimir Monomakh. Instruction to His Children The Martyrdom of Boris and Gleb The Beginning of the Kievan Crypt Monastery Life of Our Blessed Father Theodosius ICON PAINTING: INTRODUCTION GUEST LECTURE: How to Read an Icon by Prof. David Birnbaum Hamilton: Chapters 8-9 (97-118) KIEVAN ICONOGRAPHY. ARCHITECTURE OF KIEV, NOVGOROD, PSKOV, AND VLADIMIR-SUZDAL Hamilton: Chapters 2-5 (21-73) MONGOL INVASION, MEDIEVAL EPICS AND MILITARY TALES Riasanovsky: Zenkovsky: Items (167-97) The Lay of Igor s Campaign The Battle on the River Kalka Orison on the Downfall of Russia NOVGOROD CULTURE: cc. PROVINCIAL SCHOOLS OF PAINTING

4 Sept 27 Sept 29 Oct 4 Oct 6 Oct 11 Oct 13 Oct 18 Oct 20 Oct 25 Oct 27 Nov 1 Riasanovsky: Hamilton: Chapters 10, 12 (119-29, ) ALEXANDER NEVSKY Zenkovsky: Item 39 (224-36) EXAM 1 THE RISE OF MOSCOW AND MUSCOVITE IDEOLOGY Riasanovsky: Billington: Zenkovsky: Item 50 (323-32) The Tale of the White Cowl EARLY MUSCOVITE LITERATURE Zenkovsky: Items 38, 46, 51 (211-23, , ) Sofony of Riazan. Zadonshchina Peter and Fevronia of Murom Afanasy Nikitin. Journey Across Three Seas NO CLASS! Monday classes meet. MUSCOVITE HAGIOGRAPHY. MOSCOW ICON PAINTING: 15 c. Hamilton: Chapters 11, 13 (130-40, ) Zenkovsky: Item 45 (262-90) Epiphanius the Wise. The Life, Acts, and Miracles of Our Blessed and Holy Father Sergius of Radonezh THE REIGN OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE Riasanovsky: Zenkovsky: Items 53, 54 (366-76) Prince Andrei Kurbsky. First Epistle to Tsar Ivan IV Ivan IV. Epistle of the Tsar Against Prince Kurbsky THE TIME OF TROUBLES. WOODEN CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. MOSCOW ARCHITECTURE: cc. Riasanovsky: Hamilton: Chapters ( ) EARLY ROMANOV DYNASTY. THE SCHISM. Riasanovsky: Billington: EARLY BIOGRAPHY Billington: Zenkovsky: Items ( ) Kallistrat Druzhina-Osoryin. Life of Iuliana Lazarevsky Avvakum. The Life of Archipriest Avvakum by Himself THE MOSCOW BAROQUE. SECULAR LITERATURE. Hamilton: Chapter 16 (209-25) Zenkovsky: Items (449-86) Shemiaka s Judgment The Tale of Savva Grudtsyn Frol Skobeev, the Rogue

5 Nov 3 Nov 8 Nov 10 Nov 15 Nov 17 Nov 22 Nov 24 Nov 29 Dec 1 EXAM 2 THE REIGN OF PETER THE GREAT Riasanovsky: Zenkovsky: Items (517-19) Simeon Polotsky. Excerpt from Ode on the Birth of Peter I ---. The Law ---. The Merchant Class Massie: Chapter 8 (89-107) PETER S BAROQUE. ST. PETERSBURG Hamilton: Chapter 19 (258-75) Billington: ELIZABETH S ROCOCO Riasanovsky: Hamilton: Chapter 20 (276-88) Massie: Chapter 9 ( ) Segel (Vol. 1): Items 6, 9 ( , ) Mikhail Lomonosov. Ode on the Day of Ascension ---. Letter on the Use of Glass THE REIGN OF CATHERINE THE GREAT Riasanovsky Riha: Items (257-79) Catherine the Great s Instructions (excerpts) Aleksandr Radishchev. A Journal from St. Petersburg to Moscow (excerpts) CATHERINE S CLASSICISM Hamilton: Chapter 21 ( ) Billington: Massie: Chapter 10 ( ) Segel (Vol. 2): Items 10, Introduction to 14 (254-59, ) Gavrila Derzhavin. :On the Death of Prince Meshcherskii ---. Introduction to The Waterfall THANKSGIVING DAY! ALEXANDER Riasanovsky: , Billington: Segel (Vol. 2): Item 4 (76-93) Nikolai Karamzin. Poor Liza DECEMBRIST REVOLT. ROMANTICISM. Riasanovsky: , Handout: Poetry of Pushkin, Lermontov, Tiutchev Pushkin. The Queen of Spades Riha: Item 22 ( ) The Decembrists (extracts from documents) REFORMS. THE TURN TO REALISM.

6 Dec 6 Riasanovsky: Handout: Except from Ivan Goncharov, Oblomov Turgenev. Khor and Kalinych Riha: Items 26, 28 Vissarion Belinsky. Letter to Gogol Nikolai Dobroliubov. What is Oblomovism EXAM 3 Dec 8 Disability Statement If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and the Office of Disability Resources and Services, 216 William Pitt Union, / (TTY), as early as possible in the term. Disability Resources and Services will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. Academic Integrity Cheating/Plagiarism is not tolerated by University of Pittsburgh. Occurrences warrant a minimum sanction of a mark of zero for the given assignment. More details about university policies and procedures may be found at: Sometimes plagiarism is committed unknowingly. Ignorance is not an excuse for plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, contact your instructor or see the following site: