Syllabus

This seminar investigates the work and life of Nikolai Gogol, the most eccentric of Russian authors, the founder of what was dubbed Fantastic (or Magic) Realism. Our investigation will be based on close reading of the works written in various genres and created in various stages of Gogol's literary career. This study provides a perspective on the relationship between Romanticism and Realism in Russian literature, and between the popular Ukrainian culture and "high" Russian and West European traditions in Gogol's oeuvre. The seminar traces Gogol's influences on subsequent Russian literature (Dostoevsky in particular) and investigates the impact of his work on 20th century modernist literature, painting, theatre, music, and art (Vladimir Nabokov, literature of the absurd, Dmitry Shostakovich, Marc Chagall). The seminar is intended for students interested in literature and literary studies.

Chagall's Illustrations of Dead Souls
Lazar Fleishman lazar@stanford.edu Tel.: (408)738-4739; 5-0005	Stanford Introductory Seminar slavgen77Q 3-4 units
Russia's Weird Classic: Nikolai Gogol Sophomore seminar Autumn 2006
This seminar investigates the work and life of Nikolai Gogol, the most eccentric of Russian authors, the founder of what was dubbed Fantastic (or Magic) Realism. Our investigation will be based on close reading of the works written in various genres and created in various stages of Gogol's literary career. This study provides a perspective on the relationship between Romanticism and Realism in Russian literature, and between the popular Ukrainian culture and "high" Russian and West European traditions in Gogol's oeuvre. The seminar traces Gogol's influences on subsequent Russian literature (Dostoevsky in particular) and investigates the impact of his work on 20th century modernist literature, painting, theatre, music, and art (Vladimir Nabokov, literature of the absurd, Dmitry Shostakovich, Marc Chagall). The seminar is intended for students interested in literature and literary studies.
No prerequisites. Open to freshmen. Assignment: Short essays every week.
Required reading: The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol. Translated and Annotated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (New York: Pantheon Books, 1998) Nikolai Gogol. Dead Souls. Recommended Reading: Vladimir Nabokov. Nikolai Gogol (New York: New Directions, 1961, 1944) (on reserve in Green Library)
Syllabus Week I -- Introduction. Petersburg Tales. "Diary of a Madman" Week II -- "The Nose" Week III -- "The Overcoat" Week IV -- "Nevsky Prospect" and "The Portrait" Week V – “Ukrainian Tales”: "The Terrible Vengeance" Week VI -- "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt" Week VII-IX -- "Dead Souls," part I.