Russian 131 - War and Peace in Russian Culture

Since 2022, the mass media of many countries around the world have been discussing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the aggressive rhetoric of the Russian authorities, and the war's support from the country's population. Many experts believe that the current "pro-war consensus" in Russian society is deeply rooted in Russian culture. It is true that one can easily find glorification of military expansion, territorial acquisitions, and opposition to Western countries and "outsiders" in general in both Russian literature and other forms of art from the Russian Empire. Yet Russian culture also has a well-known pacifist tradition, with many important works in Russian literature and visual art that criticize war and xenophobia and depict military service as a painful experience. It is just that today the voice of this tradition is not heard often enough, and the confrontation between these tendencies has once again taken on great political significance.  This course presents the most important works of literature, painting, music, and architecture from the twelfth through the early twentieth century that provide a glimpse into the development of and confrontation between these two tendencies in the culture of medieval Russia and the Russian Empire.   
 

 Fall 2024. Visiting Assistant Professor Mayofis.