Slavic 405; Lit Trans/Gen. WS 205 — Women in Russian Literature
Enrollment Details
…
Course Description
The focus of this course will be gender dynamics, family, women’s fates and roles in Russian history, and the portrayal of women, first in literature written by men in the nineteenth-century canon, and then primarily by women writers in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature. We will examine Russian prose and poetry spanning two centuries, from fiction to memoir to political tracts, from the point of view of gender roles and portrayals, sex, family, and career in a society that went through radical changes. In class discussions, we will explore issues such as the depiction of “ideal” Russian and Soviet women, how political and social turmoil have affected their roles and relationships, and female characters who are portrayed as transgressors of societal norms.
Students enrolled in Slavic 405 will have a discussion section each month on Tuesdays at 11:00 am
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of major works of Russian literature written by and about women.
- Students will demonstrate an awareness of the cultural/historical significance of these works given the contexts in which they were written.
- Students will develop critical-reading and writing skills related to the analysis of texts and particularly to issues of gender dynamics in Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Slavic / Geog / History / Poli Sci 253 – Russia: An Interdisciplinary Survey
Enrollment Details
…
Course Description
This course is designed as an interdisciplinary introduction to Russian civilization, drawing on contributions by over a dozen faculty members from ten departments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as visiting lecturers. The course aims to impart a basic knowledge of Russian history, literature, politics, religion, philosophy, art, geography, economy, cinema, theatre, and foreign affairs, to provide students with the tools to begin to grasp the complex issues that Russian culture and society present us. By the end of the semester, students will be familiar with the major issues, approaches, and topics of disagreement among Russian area specialists, and have a solid understanding of Russian culture, history, geography, and politics.
Lit Trans 207 – Slavic Science Fiction Through Literature and Film
Enrollment Details
…
Course Description
In the United States, Science Fiction (SF) is typically thought of as a quintessentially American (or American-British) genre. This course explores the rich tradition of Slavic contributions to SF. We will survey major writers and their works in the Czech, Polish, and Russian contexts, most of which are little known in the US but are nonetheless, as we will see, fundamental to the genre. We will read these works as both anchored in their particular cultural-historical circumstances and also for their contribution to the development of SF as a world genre. In this regard, SF is perhaps the dominant contemporary genre for sociocultural commentary and critique aimed at reimagining the world in which we live, and Slavic SF texts have played a defining role in establishing SF as such. Since the rise of film coincides with the rise of modern SF and since the intertextual dimension in SF literature is particularly strong, we will also compare and contrast the literary works with, where available, their film adaptations. (Note that films will be digitized for the course and assigned as homework while class-time will be devoted to discussion and analysis.)
Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of major works of science fiction in the Slavic context.
- Students will demonstrate an awareness of the cultural/historical significance of these works given the contexts in which they were written.
- Students will develop critical-reading skills related to the analysis of texts (literature and film) and particularly to the genre of science fiction.
Poli Sci 534 – Socialism and Transitions to the Market
Enrollment Details
…
Course Description
“Socialism and Transitions to the Market” provides an overview of state socialism, or “communism”—the political and economic system that governed much of the world’s population from 1945 to 1989—and the transition from that system to alternative modes of governance. The course emphasizes the experience of Eastern Europe and the (former) Soviet Union, where communism as a system has disappeared most completely, but many of the lessons of transition apply also to China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Cuba. A non-trivial portion of the course covers the nature of communism, as both the tasks and obstacles of transition are determined in part by the character of the previous system. However, the bulk of the material addresses postcommunist policies, institutions, and outcomes.