The course aims to:

familiarise students with the culture and literature of Russian dissent

familiarise students with the philological characteristics of the texts produced by dissidents

Literature, Philology and Culture of Russian Dissent (1953-1980)

The Context of Dissent Literature
From "Thaw" to Dissent
Doctor Zhivago by B. Pasternak and the beginning of the other literature
The Birth of the Samizdat
Galanskov and his Human Manifesto
Solženicyn
Brodsky
Bulgakov, Achmatova and the Rebirth of Russian Literature
The Russian Bardies
The Literature Trials
The Sakharov Committee
Literary Memoirs
The Western Reception
V. Erofeev
The Abuse of Psychiatry
Šalamov
Grossman

Knowledge and understanding

- knowledge of the fundamentals of the culture of Russian dissent

- knowledge of the fundamentals of philology to be applied to the texts of Russian dissent

Applying knowledge and understanding

- ability to interpret a literary hypertext 

Making judgements

- ability to interpret the relationship between intelligencija and dictatorial power  

Learning skills

- ability to grasp the nuances of a culture of resistance

Communication skills

- ability to communicate course content clearly and coherently to specialist and non-specialist audiences

- ability to communicate the course content correctly and therefore effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lectures with the aid of ppts

Course books

One among: 

a. M. Clementi,  Storia del dissenso sovietico (1953-1991), Roma, Odradek, 2007.

or

b. Ju. Mal’cev, L’altra letteratura. Il samizdat da Pasternak a Solženicyn (1957-1976), Milano, La casa di Matriona, 1976.

Obligatory:

c. All texts on Blended learning

d. A. Solženicyn, Una giornata di Ivan Denisovič, qualunque traduzione (meglio NON quella di R. Uboldi)

e. V. Šalamov, I racconti della Kolyma, Milano, edizione Adelphi.

f. V. Grossman, Vita e destino, Milano, Adelphi, 2008.

One among:

g. V. Erofeev, Mosca sulla Vodka, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1990.

or

h. A. Sinjavskij, Che cos'e il realismo socialista?, Roma, UIPC, 1966.

One among:

i. N. Mandel’štam, L’epoca e i lupi, Roma, Fondazione Liberal, 2006.

or

j. A. Solženicyn, La quercia e il vitello, Milano, Mondadori, 1975.

Reference text::

k. Storia della letteratura russa. Il Novecento. III. Dal realismo socialista ai nostri giorni, Torino, Einaudi, 1991.

Study texts not available on the market will be distributed in class and deposited on the Moodle platform blended.uniurb.it

Assessment

The exam consists of 3 open-ended questions and it lasts 90 minutes.

Attending students will have the opportunity to present in class (20-25 minutes) an author/topic/text agreed with the lecturer. In this case the written test will be reduced to 2 questions.

Presentation and test will verify the knowledge fo the course texts (10/30), the ability to critically analyse them (10/30), the ability to argue one's own theses (10/30).  

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Independent study

Course books

In order to give non-attending students the opportunity to compensate with self-study what the attending students have done during the lectures, the following materials are indicated, which refer to the same programme content. The texts indicated must be read critically:

One of: 

a. M. Clementi, Storia del dissenso sovietico (1953-1991), Rome, Odradek, 2007.

or

b. Ju. Mal'cev, The Other Literature. Il samizdat da Pasternak a Solženicyn (1957-1976), Milan, La casa di Matriona, 1976.

Obligatory:

c. All texts on blended learning

d. A. Solženicyn, A Day of Ivan Denisovič, any translation (best NOT that of R. Uboldi)

e. V. Šalamov, The Tales of Kolyma, Milan, Adelphi edition.

f. V. Grossman, Life and Fate, Milan, Adelphi, 2008.

g. V. Erofeev, Moscow on Vodka, Milan, Feltrinelli, 1990.

h. A. Sinjavskij, What is Socialist Realism?, Rome, UIPC, 1966.

i. N. Mandel'štam, The Age and the Wolves, Rome, Liberal Foundation, 2006.

j. A. Solženicyn, The Oak and the Calf, Milan, Mondadori, 1975.

Reference text to be studied compulsorily:

k. From the History of Russian Literature. The 20th Century. III. Dal realismo socialista ai nostri giorni, Turin, Einaudi, 1991, the following chapters:

Study texts not available on the market will be distributed in class and deposited on the Moodle platform ' blended.uniurb.it

Assessment

The exam consists of 3 open-ended questions and it lasts 90 minutes.

In addition to the content, the evaluation will also specifically consider the students' ability of clearly, coherently, and effectively communicating and arguing for his own views.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Beginning from academic year 2014-15 the course lasts one academic year.

It is not true, as it is written above, that this is a 'Course with optional materials in a foreign language': the materials in foreign language will be compulsory for both attending and non-attending students. Unfortunately, the system does not allow for any other choice of materials (sic!).