This seminar will examine one of the leading authors of 19th Century Russian and world literature -- Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. We will place Dostoevsky within the social and historical context of 19th century Russia. We will begin with an overview of the literary milieu leading up to Dostoevsky - primarily Pushkin and Gogol. From there we will discuss the three primary periods of Dostoevsky's writing. This course is designed to be the an in depth analysis of F. M. Dostoevsky's writing. As such we will begin with his early works and progress up to his great murder novels. This course goes up to 1881 - the date of the death of Dostoevsky. We will begin looking at Dostoevsky's early work, we will look at the events in Dostoevsky's life, such as his interment in a labor camp and a death sentence, that had a profound effect on Dostoevsky. This course is a seminar and students are expected to participate in the course in a commensurate manner. Dostoevsky is one of the most profound thinkers of belles lettres and we will be analyzing and discussing many of the ideas presented in his works. Students receive writing credit for this course and so the journals, first paper, and the final paper, with its annotated bibliography and draft and final forms will be evaluated for style, structure, word choice, etc. Journals will be much more informal, but the original short paper and the final paper are expected to be in formal academic style and will be graded as such.Works will be analyzed in detail and we will pay particular attention to Dostoevsky as a philosophical and religious thinker. In addition, the politics of the day will be discussed as they directly influenced Dostoevsky's writing. In addition to the major works which we will read, we will also watch two or three films which demonstrate the lasting influence of Dostoevsky in contemporary Russian and American society.

Your grade in this course will be based on:

• Two major exams - a midterm and a final. - 20% each (40% total)
• One 2-4 page paper - 10%
• An annotated bibliography for the final paper - 5%
• One 13-page (minimum) paper - Possible paper topics - 25%
• Classroom participation and discussion - This is a significant portion of this course. I expect all persons in this class to participate daily in the discussion of the literary works. Even if you don't think you have anything brilliant to add to the day's discussion, your observations may inspire brilliance in another. 20%

Please note that a significant percentage of your grade will be based on the journals and the classroom participation. This is indeed meant to be a threat to encourage you to discuss in class and take the journals seriously.

Office Hours, Semester 2: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 1-2