Russian Language & Literature 240 - RUSSIAN CULTURE, LIT & ART

This integrating course is an introduction to Russian culture from medieval times to the Russian Revolution. Russian religious culture, painting, music, architecture, the folk tradition, and socio-political movements will be studied in conjunction with historical and literary texts. Readings will include the ancient historical chronicles, the lives of early Russian saints, and medieval tales, along with the poems and short prose works of such classic Russian authors as Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Blok. For those students planning to study in Russia, the course offers many valuable insights into the life and attitudes of Russian citizens today. Class discussions will be supplemented by frequent video, internet, and musical presentations, as well as other computer-based activities.