Unit RUSSIAN LITERATURE I

Course

Lingue e culture straniere

Study-unit Code

GP004918

Curriculum

In all curricula

Teacher

Andrea Lena Corritore

Teachers

Andrea Lena Corritore

Hours

54 ore - Andrea Lena Corritore

CFU

Course Regulation

Coorte 2025

Offered

2025/26

Learning activities

Caratterizzante

Area

Letterature straniere

Academic discipline

L-LIN/21

Type of study-unit

Opzionale (Optional)

Type of learning activities

Attività formativa monodisciplinare

Language of instruction

Italian, Russian

Contents

Russian Literature between the 19th and 20th Centuries: Transitions, Ruptures, Experiments. This course offers an introduction to the study of Russian literature during the transitional period from the late 19th century to the early decades of the 20th century, one of the most intense and innovative moments in Russian cultural history. Through the analysis of representative literary texts and their relationship to the historical and cultural context of the time, the course aims to provide a critical overview of the main movements, poetics, and figures that shaped literary production from Symbolism and the avant-garde to the establishment of Socialist Realism.

Reference texts

Reference monographs: N. Riasanovsky, Storia della Russia. Dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Milano, Bompiani, 1997 (or other edition; some chapters) Storia della civiltà letteraria russa, diretta da M. Colucci e R. Picchio, II: Il Novecento, Torino, Utet, 1997 (some chapters. Text not available for purchase, can be found in the University library) Critical essays on individual authors. Reading Texts: A. Chekhov: The Seagull; Uncle Vanya; Three Sisters; The Cherry Orchard. F. Sologub: The Petty Demon. A. Blok: a selection of poems; The Twelve. V. Khlebnikov: Poems. I. Babel: Red Cavalry. B. Pilnyak: The Naked Year. M. Bulgakov: Heart of a Dog; The Master and Margarita. Additional texts and photocopies will be provided by the Professor during the course. Specific information about the course and teaching materials will be available on the Unistudium platform: https://www.unistudium.unipg.it/unistudium/login/index.php on the page dedicated to the course Russian Literature I. Working Students and Non-Attending Students: Working and non-attending students must agree in advance with the instructor on the syllabus and any additional materials required for exam preparation. Students with Disabilities and/or Learning Disorders (DSA): Students with disabilities and/or DSA who, after regular accreditation via SOL, have been granted access to University services, may request the compensatory tools provided by current regulations (e.g., textbooks in digital format; accessible teaching materials such as presentations, handouts, workbooks, provided in advance if necessary). See https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa for more information. To request such tools, students are invited to contact the teacher, who will put them in touch with the Department’s Disability and/or DSA Representative (Prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).

Educational objectives

This course marks the beginning of the three-year curriculum dedicated to the study of Russian literature and serves, for many students, as one of their first encounters with the academic study of literature. Offered in the first year of the degree program, the course introduces students to the complexity of literary analysis by examining texts in relation to the historical, cultural, political, and artistic contexts from which they emerge. Particular focus is placed on the crucial transition between the late 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century - a period of extraordinary vitality and profound transformation in Russian culture. Students will be guided to understand literary and cultural phenomena both in their specificity and in their mutual interactions, learning to identify the dynamics that link texts to the historical and ideological contexts in which they were produced. Knowledge outcomes: - General knowledge of the main developments in Russian literature from the final decade of the 19th century to the early decades of the 20th century. - Familiarity with the historical events, cultural movements, literary schools, and key authors that shaped early 20th-century Russian and Soviet culture. - In-depth study of some of the most representative voices of the period: • The turn of the century: Chekhov as a transitional figure between 19th-century realism and 20th-century literary aesthetics; • Russian Decadence: the decadent poets (Balmont, Sologub, Gippius), interpreters of the twilight sensibilities and spiritual anxieties of early Symbolism; • Russian Symbolism: Blok and the tension between metaphysical vision and historical reality; • Russian Futurism: Khlebnikov, a visionary figure of the Futurist avant-garde; • Writings of disorder: Pilnyak and narrative experimentation in the early Soviet decade; • Revolutionary prose: Isaak Babel and the poetics of violence; • Internal dissent: Bulgakov, chronicler of power and alienation in the Stalinist era. - Understanding of the historical, cultural, artistic, and political processes that shaped Russia during this period. - Ability to analyze and interpret major literary and poetic texts, contextualizing them within broader cultural and ideological frameworks. - Acquisition of critical tools for reading literary texts from a historical and comparative perspective. Skills outcomes: The course supports the development of communication skills, the practical application of acquired knowledge, and the refinement of learning strategies: - Use of appropriate terminology and key concepts to describe literary, historical, and artistic phenomena, with specific reference to the Russian and Soviet context at the turn of the century. - Ability to understand and reflect on the complexity of the literary and artistic phenomena under study, with the depth appropriate to a university-level student, while working within the limits of general knowledge. - Ability to engage with the reading and analysis of complex literary and poetic texts using the tools of literary criticism. - Development of a critical sensibility toward Russian-Soviet poetic and literary texts, informed by the major scholarly interpretations of those works.

Prerequisites

At the beginning of the course, students are expected to have a basic knowledge of twentieth-century European and non-European history, with particular attention to the major political, cultural, and social events that shaped the century.

Teaching methods

The course is organised as follows: lectures in the classroom; reading with commentary and analysis of excerpts from works, in Italian translation and original language (also in seminar form with the active collaboration of the students). Students with disabilities and/or SLDs may request, in consultation with the lecturer, any teaching materials in accessible formats (presentations, handouts, workbooks), provided if necessary in advance of the lectures, as well as the use of other technological tools to facilitate study. For general information, please consult the University Services at https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Departmental Contact Person (Prof. A. Di Pilla). The University of Perugia has admitted 11 categories of students to distance learning. Students who may be interested are invited to check the possibility of attending lectures in DL (distance learning) on the website Procedura DAD - Università degli Studi di Perugia (unipg.it)

Other information

Attendance: at least 60% of lessons. To be admitted to the examination, students who do not attend classes must arrange in advance an alternative program with the course professor. Consulting hours will be communicated on the teacher's personal page. Students with disabilities and/or SLDs: for any information on the University's services, please visit https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Departmental Contact Person (Prof.ssa Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).

Learning verification modality

Final Examination The final examination consists of an oral interview to be taken at the end of the course. Assessment of knowledge: Questions will focus on general historical and literary topics; on the texts analyzed during the course, with particular attention to their contextualization within the relevant historical and literary period; on the life and works of the authors studied; on the analysis and interpretation of their writings; and on major critical approaches to the texts examined. Assessment of skills: Evaluation will consider the clarity and precision of oral expression, especially the correct use of concepts needed to describe the literary, artistic, cultural, and political phenomena of the period. Students will also be assessed on their ability to articulate and express complex ideas and hypotheses, to organize and structure information logically, and to synthesize it effectively. Evaluation criteria: The final grade will be based equally on: – the breadth and depth of the student’s knowledge, familiarity with the authors and texts studied, and the ability to contextualize and critically comment on them; – the quality of oral expression, including conceptual clarity, argumentative coherence, and originality of personal interpretation. The oral examination usually lasts between 30 and 40 minutes. Students with disabilities and/or SLDs: for the way the tests are conducted, students can make use of the inclusive technologies, compensatory tools and dispensatory measures provided for by the regulations. Technologies, tools and measures must be requested and agreed with the teacher well in advance of the tests. For general information, consult the University Services at https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and get in touch with the Departmental Contact Person (Prof.ssa Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).

Extended program

Russian Literature between the 19th and 20th Centuries: Transitions, Ruptures, Experiments. The course offers an introductory orientation to the study of Russian literature during the crucial transitional period spanning from the final decades of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. Particular focus will be placed on the shift from literary avant-gardes to the establishment of Socialist Realism. Through the analysis of works by some of the most representative figures of the period – Cechov, the Decadent poets, Blok, Chlebnikov, Pil’njak, Babel’, and Bulgakov – the course will explore the creative and ideological tensions that animated Russian culture during a time of profound upheaval. Special attention will be given to the major historical and cultural events that accompanied the rise of literary and artistic avant-gardes, with a focus on the October Revolution as a pivotal turning point in Russian cultural history. The course will provide an overview of the main trends, movements, and schools associated with avant-garde poetics, delving into their most significant artistic and intellectual expressions. At the same time, it will reflect on the contributions of authors and groups who, while active in the same period, remained closely connected to the literary traditions of the 19th century. Finally, the course will examine the historical, political, and cultural processes that, through a progressive ideological hardening, led to the institutionalization of Socialist Realism as the sole officially sanctioned artistic method in the Soviet Union.

Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile

4, 5, 16