Through the Twisted Mirror: Gogol and Nabokov, and Other Eccentrics

Through the Twisted Mirror: Gogol and Nabokov, and Other Eccentrics is a Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies class taught by Polina Barskova.

Course Description
While Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in the 19th century and Socialist Realists in the 20th century defined form and content of the Russian and Soviet literatures, two writers whom we will read closely for this course observed, commented on and derided construction of the canon while sitting--as Cheshire cat once did--on the imaginary clouds of the self-imposed marginality. Both created their most famous works in the exile, both played with limits of language, traditional morale and gender, both were eccentric, provocative, unique and highly influential. In our readings we will move between the celebrated texts, such as Gogol's "Overcoat" and Nabokov's "Lolita" to the lesser known works of various genres: short stories, essays, letters and interviews. We will also watch several film adaptations of Gogol's and Nabokov's texts attempting to answer the question: how --if at all--notoriously playful stylistic literary choices can be "translated" for the screen? Our protagonists--who saw themselves as eccentrics and were seen in equal measures of awe and animosity by others--should help us define what it means to be different within a discourse and a culture. We will also examine the larger context for the problem of Eastern European marginality in the 20th century through the works of Viteslav Nezval, Bruno Schultz, and Ian Shvankmaer.

Learning Goals

 * Multi-Cultural
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing