RUSS 326: 19th-Century Literature in Translation

RUSS 326-001: Crime and Psychology in 19th Century Russian Literature
(Fall 2021)

01:30 PM to 04:10 PM T

Buchanan Hall D001

Section Information for Fall 2021

RUSS 326 - 001: Crime and Psychology in 19th Century Russian Literature

This course investigates the themes of crime and psychology in nineteenth-century Russian literature. Serfdom’s abuses led every major Russian writers to address the implications of violence and crime in the rapidly reforming 19th century Russian Empire. At the same time, urbanization that resulted from peasant migration meant higher rates of crime and mental illness, driving institutions to develop psychology into a fully-fledged scientific discipline. In this course we will examine the relationship between crime, psychology, and literature by reading masterpieces of fiction including Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades,” Gogol’s “Vii,” Vovchok’s, The Way Things Were, Turgenev’s A Huntsman’s Sketches, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata, and Chekhov’s “The Man in a Case” and "Gooseberries," among others. We will consider how crime is negotiated and represented in literature and psychology in efforts to transform social life in the Russian Empire. The course will be taught as a discussion-based seminar in English and appeal particularly to students studying criminology, psychology, neurology, literature, and sociology. The course fulfills the Mason Core Literature requirement. Email Dr. Mangold (mmangol@gmu.edu) with any questions.

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Surveys Russian literature from its beginning to 1880. Limited to three attempts.
Mason Core: Literature
Recommended Prerequisite: Completion of 60 hours or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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