Robin Feuer Miller

Robin Feuer MillerShiffman 215

781-736-3192

Spring 2017

Office hours: Monday, 3:30-4:30, Wednesday 3:30-4:30 and by appointment.

RECS135a: Russian Short Fictions: The Art of Narrative

Reading an array of the short stories written in Russia during the nineteenth and twentieth century offers us a way to enter the creative worlds of a host of original writers and to confront such difficult themes as the emergence of the modern city, the prevalence of profound anti-Semitism, the complex lives lived in obscurity and solitude amidst the lonely reaches of the Russian countryside and steppe, the tragic sense of women and men that their lives are superfluous, as well as a stunning range of comedic themes that extend from the hilarious to the absurd. All of these writers were also innovators in narrative form. This broadly conceived course allows students to encounter a diverse group of writerswhose voices are all in a kind ofchronological dialogue with each other: Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Babel,and Nabokov. (Readings are in English translation, but students may also read the selections in Russian if they prefer.)

It would be possible to organize the readings in this course according to certain broad themes—stories of childhood, first encounters with the experience of love, of war, of prison and exile, of marriage and adultery, philosophical questioning, the torments of old age, the experience of death. Likewise one could read this body of works according to experimentation with different narrative modes and genres, such as confession, philosophic discourse, satire, and short story cycles. I have chosen a loosely chronological approach that focuses on one author at a time so that students can develop their own sense of the range of a particular writer’s work as well as a sense of his or her engagement with the others.

Beginning with Pushkin and concluding with Nabokov, our course will focus on those writers who created the extraordinary body of works we think of as the short story in Russia.

The short story as a genre has always invited extreme stylistic and narrative experimentation, as well as being a vehicle for the striking, if brief expression of complex societal, social, religious, and philosophical themes. We shall read the works of an extraordinary group of prose innovators.

Course responsibilities:

Oral report (make a brief presentation and lead discussion on a story or group of stories)15%

These presentations can begin as early as the second week of class, if any student wishes to present on Pushkin or Gogol

Participation in class discussions 10%

First Paper due at beginning of class Wednesday, March 1, at beginning of class in hard copy (5 pages)20%

Midterm ExaminationWednesday, March 22, 25%

In Class Formal Discussion with questions prepared by students, 5%, Wednesday, May 3

Final Paper (7 pages), due by noon on Friday, May 5, inhard copy in my office. Plan ahead. 25%

Learning goals and outcomes:

The goals of this course, as with each of the courses I offer, are both tangible and intangible. I emphasize the acquisition of the skills for close reading and analysis of literary texts. Close reading, clarity of speaking, the willingness and the ability to enter into searching conversation and dialogue, and finally, the ongoing work of writing compellingly and clearly are the most practical and portable goals of my courses. The achievement of these goals—their outcome—is, of course, up to you.

Students will also acquire a sense of the development of the short story in Russia. We will engage with various aesthetic questions. What are the characteristics of a short story? What is the difference between a novel and a short story cycle? Are there any particular themes that seem to be particularly prevalent in the Russian short story? Are these important? Why?

The intangible goals of the course are the most valuable. Often the surrender of oneself to a work of art—whether it be drama, painting, sculpture, dance, music, poetry or fiction—can profoundly and indelibly alter one’s sense of the world and of oneself. Moreover, one returns to particular favorite works of art throughout one’s life. Having an arsenal of treasured works of art prepares one for life as surely and firmly as does a grounding in math, science, or the social sciences.

Reading literature is, emphatically, an art, not a science, and in successful close reading, one gives oneself over to the exploration of the workings of another’s mind in the act of creation. The meanings one derives from close reading are replete with ambiguities and uncertainties, but that does not equate to imprecision or sloppiness. The kind of knowledge one acquires through reading literature is both lasting and ever-changing, for it evolves along with one’s own developing aesthetic sensibility and one’s own ever-deepening experience of being alive.

Success in this four credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of nine hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion, preparation for exams, etc.).

If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in class, please see me immediately.