Russian290

Prof. Tatiana Osipovich: tatiana@lclark.edu; tel. (503)768-7442. Office: Miller 325; Office hours: Mon/Wed: 11:30-12:30; Tue/Thu: 12:30-1:30 & by appointment

1) Students are expected to complete all reading, viewing and/or writing assignments prior to class meetings, attend class regularly, and participate actively in class discussions. Films will be shown the night before the discussion (in Bodine 110 at 7pm). Most films will be also available on reserve for individual viewing.

2) Students will write a six-page essay and a ten-page term paper on topics related to this course. Students unfamiliar with the MLA Handbook are advised to acquaint themselves with it, for it clearly sets out the acceptable format for paper writing and defines appropriate means of documenting the use of other people's ideas and materials. It is students' responsibility to familiarize themselves with Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures at Lewis and Clark and strictly observe them. Any infractions will be penalized according to these rules (http://www.lclark.edu/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?policproc.dat)

3) Students will write a journal entry for each class meeting (it must be typed, dated, and turned in at the end of each class). These entries will help students to formulate critical responses and practice analysis, and they will be used to start our class discussions. Students will not be graded on the content of the journal as they are with their term paper. They will be graded on whether or not they do the journal, and whether they follow the instructions outlined below:

a) This journal is a personal record of student educational experience in this class. Use this journal to record your reactions to readings and class discussions, to argue with your teacher or peers, to pose questions or to express confusion. (Don’t retell the text you read or the film you saw).

b) Vary the focus and mode of your writing. You can write about a humorous passage, a comic character, a major idea of the text or the film, or any other aspect of your assignment. Remember that journal writing should not look like a “paper.” In structure, journal entries are informal: they don’t need traditional introductions with thesis statements, supporting paragraphs or standard summary conclusions. They should sound like you, talking about something you found interesting or/and important in your reading or viewing assignment. But there are some “musts:” your journal entries should be developed with some specifics, not generalizations or summaries, and they should demonstrate reflection and/or your attempt to analyze the text (see some samples here).

Date	Class topic and your reading/viewing assignment	Questions and topics to consider. Additional sources and information
January 22 (T)	Introduction to the course. Explanation of the syllabus. Background Information.
January 24 (TH)	Major Theories of Laughter. Read first chapter from Arthur Berger's book Blind Men and Elephants: Perspectives on Humor (pp. 3-19) & Russian jokes "anekdoty" (handout, Internet, etc.)	Read about different approaches to humor & laughter (Berger). Apply some elements of these approaches to your interpretation of Russian jokes of your choice. You can find Russian jokes ("anekdoty") on the Internet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_joke or in the books listed in "selected bibliography" (at the end of this syllabus). Some of these books are available on LC reserve.
January 29 (T)	M. Bakhtin and the Carnivalesque. Read chapter #6 in Berger's book (pp. 79-88) & Averintsev "Bakhtin and the Russian Attitude toward Laughter." Read Russian folk satire & fairy tales	What is Bakhtin's major contribution to the theory of laughter? How has his theory been used by scholars of literature and folklore? What are particuliarities of Russian laughter, according to Averintsev? Be ready to discuss Russian folk texts and their satirical and comic elements (reserve). Read also about skomorokhi at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skomorokh and http://russia-ic.com/culture_art/traditions/625/
January 30 (Wed)	Russian Classical Comedy. Social Satire. Nikolai Gogol's "The Government Inspector" (1836) (Acts 1 & 2). A small reading quiz (a couple of questions about the plot of the text) can be expected at the beginning of each class.	Read about Gogol at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol Prepare to discuss first half of his play (acts 1 & 2): "The Government Inspector" (major satirical themes, character types, structure and other comic devices). Read in the Dictionary of Literary Terms about comedy, satire and absurd. Try to find some specific comic, satirical and absurd elements in the play.
February 5 (T)	Read acts 3, 4 & 5 of Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector"	Prepare to discuss the play "The Government Inspector" (major satirical themes, character types, structure and other comic devices). What is the meaning of the play's epigraph and how is it connected to the dumb scene at the end of the play? How would you interpret the Town Prefect's words: "What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourselves!"
February 7(TH)	Absurd and Grotesque. Nikolai Gogol's satirical & comic fantasy: "The Nose" (1836)	We continue to discuss satire, absurdity and grotesque in Gogol's writing (try to find good examples of these devices in the story). "The Nose," however, can also be approached from a psychological point of view. After all, the very title "Нос" (nose) is merely the Russian word for 'dream' (сон) written backwards. Also, think about sexuality and madness as some possible clues for understanding this story.
February 12 (T)	19th Century Russian Feuilletons & Humorous Short Stories: Saltykov-Shchedrin & Chekhov	What are a feuilleton & a column/feuilleton? What are their major characteristics? (SearchWikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page). Read Saltykov-Shchedrin & Chekhov's comic short stories and prepare to discuss them in the light of the feuilletons' themes and aesthetics.
February 14 (TH)	Russian Farce: Anton Chekhov's short plays: "The Bear" (1888) & "The Wedding" (1900)	What is a farce and what are its major characteristics? What comic elements does Anton Chekhov use in his short plays "The Bear" and "The Wedding."
February 19 (T)	Satirical weekly " Satirikon" (1908-1914) and its major contributors: Averchenko, Cherny, Teffi	While you need to read all the assigned short stories & poems (and be able to discuss them in class), try to devote your journal writing to a single text of your choice. In your analysis of this text you might want to apply one of the approaches Berger discussed in his book on laughter (similar to our work last Thursday).
February 21 (TH)	Absurdities of Soviet life: Mikhail Zoshchenko's short stories	What are major themes of Zoshchenko's short stories? What kind of person the narrator of these stories is and how does his way of telling the story influence the story's narration & meaning? What kind of comic devices does Zoshchenko use in his writing (vocabulary, sent. structure, etc.)? Look at the definition of "skaz" in the online literary encyclopedia: http://www.litencyc.com/
February 26 (T)	Vaudeville: "The Power of Love" by Ilya Ilf & Evgeny Petrov and a story "Ellochka the Cannibal"	What is a vaudeville and what are its major characteristics? In what sense "The Power of Love" is a classic vaudeville and in what sense it is not? In your journal writing you might want to comment on the title of the play or on any comic, satirical or absurd aspect/s of the play (or the story). Try to prove your point (statement) by giving several good examples from the text/s and/or presenting your argument in a convincing way.
February 28 (TH)	Analyzing humor and satire (read excerpts from criticism & in-class viewing "Chess Fever" (Pudovkin, 1925, silent, 28 min)	You will receive a handout with specific questions regarding your reading via e-mail. Also, you have to begin your work on your first essay. Be ready to briefly present your essay idea to the class.
March 4 (T) Your first paper is due!	Early Soviet Comedies on the Screen. In-class film viewing: "The Girl with the Hat Box " (1927, silent, 67 min)	Your first paper is due! Read more about this paper here. Writing Center web site: http://www.lclark.edu/~writing
March 6 (TH)	Early Soviet Comedies on the Screen: "Chess Fever" (Pudovkin, 1925, silent, 28 min); "The Girl with the Hatbox" (Barnet, 1927). Read about some definitions at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_film	Barnet's comedy is both romantic comedy and social satire (you might check the definitions of these two types of comedy and see how the film fits the requirements of these two comedic types). Also, look at the ways Barnet & Pudovkin generate humor in their films (you might want to use some approaches Burger offered in his book). Pay attention to relationships of many oppositional aspects of Bartnet's film -- city/village; male/female; working class/bourgeois; private/communal, etc.) What kind of specifically cinematic techniques do these films use to generate humor?
March 11 (T)	OBEREU: Russian's Literature of the Absurd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberiu Writings by Daniil Kharms (e-reserve & texts/material available on wikipedia, at the end of Kharm's entry)	Some questions to consider: Who are OBEREU members and what kind of literature did they create? What kind of narrative Kharms use in his writing? Pay attention to his semantic incoherence (alogism), linguistic experimentation, unexpected metaphors, etc. What effect such writing might have on the reader? Is there any sense in writing nonsense?
March 13 (TH)	"Dangerous" Comedies: Nikolai Erdman, "The Suicide" (1929) Act 1-2 (pp. 89-124)	Erdman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Erdman What are major political and social themes of this comedy? How does Erdman develop his characters and build up humor?
March 18 (T)	"Dangerous" Comedies: Nikolai Erdman, "The Suicide" (1929) Act 3-5 (pp. 125-161)	Prepare for a brief reading quiz and come up with your own questions about the play.
March 20 (TH)	Socialist Realist Musical Comedy: "Jolly Fellows" (Aleksandrov, 1934, 89 min) (all films will be shown the night before the discussion (in Bodine 110 at 7pm)	Read about the film and its creators at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_Fellows One of the issues we need to discuss in class tomorrow is Socialist Realism which became the only aesthetic method in the Soviet Union. Read about Socialist Realism at: http://www.answers.com/topic/socialist-realism?cat=entertainment How does music contribute to comedic nature of the film? What other comic devices are effectively used in "Jolly Fellows?"
March 22-30	SPRING BREAK
April 1 (T)	Your research paper proposal is due! Political Jokes (read: here & here):	Your research paper proposal is due! Read here! You will be asked to report about your research paper plans to class (2-3 min - each student). The rest of time will be spent on discussion of political jokes in the Soviet Union and Russia (you don't need to write a journal for this class).
April 3 (TH)	Vladimir Voinovich "A Circle of Friends"(1967)	We will discuss political satire and grotesque (as well as other techniques) in Voinovich's story "A Circle of Friends," and we'll try to establish the story's thematic and aesthetic connections with Russian tradition of "laughing through tears."
April 8 (T)	Comedy Drama (Urban Comedy?): "Autumn Marathon, " (Daneliia, 1979, 95 min.) Films are shown a night before the discussion (April 7, Monday, 7pm) in Bodin 110.	Prepare for class discussion by using study questions provided to you on the handout. Read about the director of this film here:
April 10 (TH)	Perestroika's Comedy: "Window to Paris" (Yury Mamin, 1994, 100 min). Film viewing is in Bodin 110, Wed., April 9 at 7pm.	Prepare for class discussion by using study questions provided to you on the handout.
April 15 (T)	Laughing at traditional mythology of romantic love. Irony, parody and humor in Tatiana Tolstaia's story: "The Poet and the Muse."	You might want to comment on the gendered title of the story "The Poet and the Muse" or/and discuss Tolstaia's use of irony and humor. Do you think the story has a feminist or antifeminist tone/message?
April 17 (TH)	Peculiarities of Russian National Comedy. Film "The Peculiarities of the National Hunt" (Rogozhkin, 1995)	What genre does this comedy belong to? Grotesque realism? Carnivalistic drama? How does this film make fun at the metaphysics of “the mysterious Russian soul”or the national identity in general? Why the outsider (a Finnish young researcher) was needed in this film? What was his role? How did animals and people interact in this film? What social, ecological, symbolic, etc. meaning does this interaction produce?
April 22 (T)	Laughing in post-Soviet, post-modernist poetry: Dmitrii Prigov, Nina Iskrenko, Tatiana Shchedrina	You might want to search the Internet for such post-modernist artistic movements as Conceptualism (Prigov) or Sots Art. Try to compare Prigov's poetry with Kharms' writing. Look for irony, satire and philosophical meaning in poems that are assigned for your class.
April 24 (TH)	Students' presentations
April 29 (T)	Students' presentations
May 1 (T)	Students' presentations

May 6 (Tuesday)

No final exam!!! Your research paper is due in my office no later than 11:30am!

Gillespie, David, "The Russian Film Comedy" (pp. 34-58), Russian Cinema, Pearson Education Limited, UK, 2003 (reserve)

Haynes, John, "Urban myths: the musical comedies of Grigorii Alexandrov" & "Countryphile: men in labor in the collective farm comedies of Ivan Pyrev" in New Soviet Man. Gender and Masculinity in Stalinist Soviet Cinema, Manchester University Press, 2003 (reserve)

Horton Andrew and Brashinsky Mikhael, "From Accusatory to Joyful Laughter: Restructuring the Soviet Comic-Satiric Muse," The Zero Hour: Glasnost and Soviet Cinema in Transition, Princeton University Press, 1992 (reserve)

Horton, Andrew, ed. Inside Soviet Film Satire. Laughter with a Lash, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993

Lawton, Anna, "Laughter through Tears" (pp. 241-292), Imaging Russia 2000. Film and Facts, New Academic Publishing, 2004 (reserve)

MacFadyen, David, The Sad Comedy of El'dar Riazanov. An Introduction to Russia's Most Popular Filmmaker, McGill-Queen University Press, 2003 (reserve)

Brandist, Graig, Carnival Culture and the Soviet Modernist Novel, St. Martin's Press, 1996

Chapple, Richard, Soviet Satire of the Twenties, University Press of Florida, 1980 (reserve)

Cornwell, Neil, ed. and trans. Daniil Kharms and the Poetics of Absurd: Essay and Materials. London: Macmillan, 1991.

Gibian, George, ed. and trans. The Man in The Black Coat. Russia's literature of the Absurd, Northwestern University Press, 1987

Ginsburg, Mirra, ed. The Fatal Eggs and Other Soviet Satire (1918-1963), Grove Press, 1964

Listengarten Julia, Russian Tragifarce. Its Cultural and Political Roots, Susquehanna Univ. Press, 2000 (reserve)

Milne, Lesley, ed. Reflective Laughter: Aspects of Humor in Russian Culture, ed., Anthem Press, 2004

Roberts, Graham, The Last Soviet Avant-Garde. Obereu - fact, fiction, metafiction. Cambridge University Press, 1997

Ryan-Hayes, Karen, Contemporary Russian Satire: a genre study, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1995 (reserve)

Segal, Harold, "The 1920s and Early 1930s: Social Comedy, Absurd and Grotesque NEP Satire, Melodrama," Twentieth-Century Drama: From Gorky to Present, Columbia Univ. Press, 1979

Dolgopolova, Zhanna, ed. Russia Dies Laughing: Jokes from Soviet Russia, London: Andre Deutsch, 1982

Draitser, Emil, A. Taking Penguins to the Movies. Ethnic Humor in Russia, Wayne State University Press, 1998 (reserve)

Draitser, Emil, A. Making War Not, Love Gender and Sexuality in Russian Humor, St. Martin Press Press, 1999 (reserve)

Harris, David, and Israil Rabinovich, eds. The Jokes of Oppression: Humor of Soviet Jews. Northvale: Jason Aronson, 1988