Russian Literature 2
A.Y. 2025/2026
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: Second 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
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course is devoted to the Russian novel of the second half of the nineteenth century. The analysis will primarily concentrate on the works of Lev Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, two central figures in Russian and world literature, seen as emblematic of two profoundly different yet complementary worldviews. Through close reading of selected texts and investigation of the historical and ideological context in which these authors operated, the course aims to shed light on how they address not only the social and political issues of late-imperial Russia, but also the fundamental moral and religious questions of modern humanity. Special attention will be given to the comparison between their narrative styles and to the way they expressed their own conceptions of good and evil, free will, and individual responsibility. The course seeks to provide students with critical tools for analyzing the complexity of the Russian novel and the broader Russian cultural landscape, highlighting its contradictions as well as its luminous insights and highest ethical aspirations.
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 (selection of pages specified on Ariel)
Jean Bonamour, Turgenev, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa [History of Russian Literary Civilization], 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 654-665
Jacques Catteau, Dostoevskij, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 666-689
Marija Pljuchanova, Tolstoj, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 690-721
Michele Colucci, Čechov, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 763-788
2) Mandatory literary works:
F. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (any edition)
F. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (any edition)
L. Tolstoy, War and Peace, or alternatively Anna Karenina
3) Optional literary works (choose one author and the related text[s]):
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
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin: The Golovlyov Family
4) A handout of poetic texts made available on Ariel
5) Mandatory critical essays:
M. Bachtin, Dostoevskij. Poetica e stilistica, Torino, Einaudi, 1968 (Details will be provided on Ariel before the start of the course)
I. Berlin, "Il riccio e la volpe", in Id. "Il riccio e la volpe e altri saggi", Milano, Adelphi, 1986, pp. 69-157
W.M. Todd, Il contrappunto russo, in Il romanzo, a cura di F. Moretti, Torino, Einaudi, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 399-418.
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 (selection of pages specified on Ariel)
Jean Bonamour, Turgenev, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa [History of Russian Literary Civilization], 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 654-665
Jacques Catteau, Dostoevskij, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 666-689
Marija Pljuchanova, Tolstoj, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 690-721
Michele Colucci, Čechov, in Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, 3 vols., edited by Michele Colucci and Riccardo Picchio, UTET, Turin, 1997, vol. I, pp. 763-788
2) Mandatory literary works:
F. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (any edition)
F. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (any edition)
L. Tolstoy, War and Peace, or alternatively Anna Karenina
3) Optional literary works (choose one author and the related text[s]):
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
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin: The Golovlyov Family
4) A handout of poetic texts made available on Ariel
5) Mandatory critical essays:
M. Bachtin, Dostoevskij. Poetica e stilistica, Torino, Einaudi, 1968 (Details will be provided on Ariel before the start of the course)
I. Berlin, "Il riccio e la volpe", in Id. "Il riccio e la volpe e altri saggi", Milano, Adelphi, 1986, pp. 69-157
W.M. Todd, Il contrappunto russo, in Il romanzo, a cura di F. Moretti, Torino, Einaudi, 2002, vol. 3, pp. 399-418.
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.
Professor(s)