Module RUSS2231: READING RUSSIAN LITERATURE

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Russian)

RUSS2231: READING RUSSIAN LITERATURE

Prerequisites

• Russian Language 1A (RUSS1161) OR Russian Language 1B (RUSS1042).

Corequisites

• Either Russian Language 2A (RUSS2191) Or Russian Language 2B (RUSS2012).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To impart an understanding of the main lines of development in Russian literature since Pushkin, with a particular, though not exclusive, emphasis on prose fiction.
• To examine the careers of a selection of the most significant writers in the context of Russia's social, political and cultural history.
• To examine a representative text by each writer studied and to introduce basic techniques of literary analysis.

Content

• The module introduces students to a selection of major authors and key texts in the Russian literary canon of the 19th and 20th centuries.
• The texts are read and analysed in the original Russian.
• For each work studied the course provides background to the author and the wider literary context.
• Seminars are devoted to the analysis of the works’ narrative structure, the discussion of wider themes, and close reading commentary.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will acquire a basic knowledge of the development of various genres in the Russian literary tradition, a knowledge of certain works of the most significant writers in the original Russian, and an understanding of the changing relationship between literature and Russian society.

• Students will acquire the ability to evaluate literary works in the original Russian, and to utilise critical sources in both Russian and English.

• Students will begin to develop the ability to work independently within a prescribed framework, and to respond critically to a range of primary and secondary sources. On completion of the course, students will be able to present a cogent and structured argument in both oral and written form.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are designed to introduce each particular writer in his or her artistic and historical context and to explain and exemplify the use of various techniques of literary analysis. In week 5 of term 1 and term 2, students are encouraged to focus on reading the set texts: in these weeks the Lecture slot will be used to provide support for the reading process.
• Seminars provide a forum for presentation of the results of independent study, in which students are able to apply critical techniques in a more practical manner.
• The summative assessment consists of two essays, intended to encourage independent study and research-led learning.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University