Russian Literature 2
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
This course is the second stage of a three-year program which introduces students to the historical evolution and the main phenomena and authors of Russian literature from the 18th to the 20th century. It deals with Russian literature of the second half of the nineteenth century and includes world-renowned novel authors such as Ivan Turgenev, Fedor Dostoevskij, Lev Tolstoj and others, to one or more of whom each year a part of the course is dedicated. Addressing students who are also in the middle of the learning path of the Russian language, it presents in the original language significant excerpts in verse and prose and introduces the students to the analysis of the artistic text.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: outlines of the history of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century and interpretation of the relationship between social and literary dynamics in the light of the country's situation. Main authors and literary movements; evolution or the novel; basic elements of Russian metrics, with reference to the authors of the first and second half of the nineteenth century. Applying knowledge and understanding: the ability to read and contextualize fundamental works of Nineteenth-century Russian literature in Italian. Reading passages of texts examined during the course in Russian. Understanding of historical, cultural, and social implications of literary texts; placing authors, movements and works in their context; recognizing and explaining each author's literary themes and strategies; recognising the most elementary forms of versification and rhetorical figures and explaining the effects on the meaning of a poetic text.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
"In the Fullness of Realism, Finding the Man Within Man": The Construction of Character in the Novels of F. M. Dostoevsky" is a course designed for second-year undergraduate students in Foreign Languages and Literatures who are studying Russian.
The course is primarily devoted to the study of the life and works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Through close reading and analysis of selected texts, as well as an examination of the historical, cultural, and ideological context in which the writer worked, the course aims to highlight the enduring relevance of his thought. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which Dostoevsky addresses not only the social and political issues of late Imperial Russia, but also the major moral, philosophical, and religious questions that continue to shape modern human experience.
Special emphasis will be placed on the analysis of character construction and the distinctive features of Dostoevsky's narrative style, with particular regard to the artistic techniques through which his reflections on good and evil, free will, individual responsibility, and the meaning of human existence are expressed.
The course seeks to provide students with appropriate critical and methodological tools for engaging with the complexity of the Russian novel and the historical and cultural realities of Russia, highlighting both their tensions and contradictions and their most illuminating aspects and highest expressions of ethical and moral thought.
This syllabus is valid until September 2027.
The course is primarily devoted to the study of the life and works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Through close reading and analysis of selected texts, as well as an examination of the historical, cultural, and ideological context in which the writer worked, the course aims to highlight the enduring relevance of his thought. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which Dostoevsky addresses not only the social and political issues of late Imperial Russia, but also the major moral, philosophical, and religious questions that continue to shape modern human experience.
Special emphasis will be placed on the analysis of character construction and the distinctive features of Dostoevsky's narrative style, with particular regard to the artistic techniques through which his reflections on good and evil, free will, individual responsibility, and the meaning of human existence are expressed.
The course seeks to provide students with appropriate critical and methodological tools for engaging with the complexity of the Russian novel and the historical and cultural realities of Russia, highlighting both their tensions and contradictions and their most illuminating aspects and highest expressions of ethical and moral thought.
This syllabus is valid until September 2027.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is in Italian, with reading and commentary of literary texts (poetry and prose) in Russian. The syllabus is intended for students with skills in the Russian Language and history of Russian literature gained during the previous year's courses in Russian language and literature.
Teaching methods
The course follows these teaching methods: class lectures, reading and explaining passages from the works in the syllabus, and possible presentations of individual readings made by students.
Teaching Resources
The course has a dedicated page on the MyAriel online teaching platform, to which students are referred for more detailed information and the instructor-provided materials.
Students are required to prepare the following five groups of readings:
1) Mandatory readings from Russian literary history textbooks:
Guido Carpi, Storia della letteratura russa. Da Pietro il Grande alla Rivoluzione d'Ottobre [A History of Russian Literature: From Peter the Great to the October Revolution], Rome, Carocci, 2020, 437-575
2) Mandatory literary works:
F. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (mandatory). Moreover, F. Dostoevsky, The Idiot or alternatively The Brothers Karamazov (any edition)
3) Optional literary works:
Students must also choose ONE author from the list below, along with the corresponding work(s) (please follow the specific instructions):
Ivan Turgenev: Fathers and Sons
Ivan Goncharov: Oblomov
Anton Chekhov: Ward No. 6; The Black Monk; The Lady with the Dog (all short stories must be read)
Nikolai Leskov: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District or The Sealed Angel
L. Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
4) A handout of poetic texts made available on Ariel
5) Mandatory critical essays:
M. Bakhtin, Dostoevskij. Poetica e stilistica, Torino, Einaudi, 1968 (Details will be provided on Ariel before the start of the course)
L. Ginzburg, On psychological prose, Princeton University Press 1991: p. 242-304 + 339 ("The historical conditions...")-366.
V. Šklovskij, "Art as Technique"
Students are required to prepare the following five groups of readings:
1) Mandatory readings from Russian literary history textbooks:
Guido Carpi, Storia della letteratura russa. Da Pietro il Grande alla Rivoluzione d'Ottobre [A History of Russian Literature: From Peter the Great to the October Revolution], Rome, Carocci, 2020, 437-575
2) Mandatory literary works:
F. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (mandatory). Moreover, F. Dostoevsky, The Idiot or alternatively The Brothers Karamazov (any edition)
3) Optional literary works:
Students must also choose ONE author from the list below, along with the corresponding work(s) (please follow the specific instructions):
Ivan Turgenev: Fathers and Sons
Ivan Goncharov: Oblomov
Anton Chekhov: Ward No. 6; The Black Monk; The Lady with the Dog (all short stories must be read)
Nikolai Leskov: Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District or The Sealed Angel
L. Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
4) A handout of poetic texts made available on Ariel
5) Mandatory critical essays:
M. Bakhtin, Dostoevskij. Poetica e stilistica, Torino, Einaudi, 1968 (Details will be provided on Ariel before the start of the course)
L. Ginzburg, On psychological prose, Princeton University Press 1991: p. 242-304 + 339 ("The historical conditions...")-366.
V. Šklovskij, "Art as Technique"
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an individual oral interview, which includes questions from the instructor, interactions between the instructor and the student, and the analysis and commentary of one or more excerpts from the works included in the syllabus. The exam is conducted in Italian, but students must demonstrate the ability to read and accurately analyze literary texts in the original language. The interview is intended to assess the student's knowledge of the texts studied, their ability to contextualize authors and works, their clarity of expression, accuracy in the use of specific terminology, and their capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed topics. The final grade is expressed on a scale of thirty, and students may choose to decline the grade (in which case the result will be recorded as "withdrawn"). International or Erasmus incoming students are encouraged to contact the instructor as soon as possible. Exam arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLD) must be agreed upon with the instructor, in coordination with the appropriate university office.
Modules or teaching units
Part A and B
L-LIN/21 - SLAVIC STUDIES - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Vassena Raffaella
Part C
L-LIN/21 - SLAVIC STUDIES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Vassena Raffaella
Professor(s)