Selected Topics in Russian Literature and Culture: Survey of Russian Poetry (19th and 20th centuries)

This course will serve as an introduction to major Russian poets from Pushkin to the present. No prior knowledge of Russian literature is assumed. The focus of the course will be on close readings of individual poems, but the intention is, by generalization, to reach an understanding of the development of Russian literature as a whole. All readings will be in Russian, but discussion will be in English. There will be an additional (optional) hour for those wishing to discuss the poems in Russian.