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. 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

2/9 Monday
A Whirlwind Tour of Russian Literature up to Dostoevsky

For Wednesday - Begin reading "White Nights" -- the first two nights.

2/11 Wednesday
Watch a film on Dostoevsky

For Friday - Continue reading "White Nights" - the second two nights - to end.

2/13 Friday
Review the biography of Dostoevsky and begin the discussion on "White Nights".

For Monday - Read 1st half of "The Double", pp 3 - 76.

2/16 MONDAY
Discuss "White Nights" and begin the discussion of "The Double"

For Wednesday - Continue reading "The Double" to the end.

2/18 WEDNESDAY
Discuss "The Double"

For Friday - Begin reading Notes From Underground - the first half

Work on your first short paper - A review of either "The Double" or "White Nights" -- Due on MONDAY

2/20 FRIDAY
Discuss the role of St. Petersburg in Russian literature and begin the discussion of Notes from Underground

For Monday - Finish the last half of Notes From Underground: Apropos of Wet Snow

2/23 MONDAY
Discuss Notes From Underground
First paper due!

For Wednesday -- Begin Crime and Punishment: Part I

2/25 WEDNESDAY
Discuss Notes From Underground and begin the introduction to Crime and Punishment

For Friday -- Read Part II of Crime and Punishment

2/27 FRIDAY
TELL MARC YOUR FINAL PAPER TOPIC
Discuss Crime and Punishment

For Monday -- Read Part III of Crime and Punishment

3/1 MONDAY
Discuss Crime and Punishment

For Wednesday -- Read Part IV and V of Crime and Punishment

3/3 WEDNESDAY
Discuss Crime and Punishment

For Friday -- Finish Crime and Punishment

3/5 FRIDAY
Discuss Crime and Punishment

For Monday -- Mull over Crime and Punishment and begin The Idiot, Part I

3/8 MONDAY
Discuss Crimes and Misdemeanors and themes from Crime and Punishment

For Wednesday - Finish Part I of The Idiot

3/10 WEDNESDAY
Begin The Idiot

For Friday - Read Part II of The Idiot

Discuss The Idiot

For Friday -

3/12 FRIDAY
Discuss The Idiot

For Monday - Keep reading The Idiot

3/15 MONDAY
Discuss The Idiot

For Wednesday - Keep reading The Idiot Study for midterm - covering "White Nights", "The Double", Notes From Underground, and Crime and Punishment

3/17 WEDNESDAY
MIDTERM - on everything up to, but NOT including The Idiot

For Friday - Finish reading The Idiot and begin The Brothers Karamazov

3/19 FRIDAY
Discuss The Idiot

For a week from Monday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov

SPRING BREAK

3/29 MONDAY
Discuss The Idiot

For Wednesday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov

3/31 WEDNESDAY
Wrap up The Idiot

For Friday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov

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GO TO APRIL

4/2 FRIDAY
Begin discussion of The Brothers Karamazov

For Monday- Read The Brothers Karamazov

4/5 MONDAY
Discuss The Brothers Karamazov

For Wednesday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov - you should be past the section Pro and Contra.

4/7 WEDNESDAY
Discuss The Brothers Karamazov specifically, "The Grand Inquizitor"

For next Wednesday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov.
YOUR ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES ARE DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY

4/9 FRIDAY

EASTER BREAK

4/12 MONDAY

EASTER BREAK

4/14 WEDNESDAY
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES are DUE
Discuss The Brothers Karamazov specifically, "The Grand Inquizitor"

For Friday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov.

4/16 FRIDAY
Discuss The Brothers Karamazov

For Monday - continue reading The Brothers Karamazov

4/19 MONDAY
Discuss themes from The Rapture and The Brothers Karamazov

For Monday - continue reading The Brothers Karamazov

For Friday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov.

For Monday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov. Prepare to hand in draft of papers

For Wednesday - Keep reading The Brothers Karamazov.

Drafts of paper due WEDNESDAY

For Friday -Finish reading The Brothers Karamazov.

4/30 FRIDAY
Discuss The Brothers Karamazov

For Monday - Finish reading The Brothers Karamazov IF YOU DIDN'T GET IT DONE BEFORE!.

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5/3 MONDAY
Finish discussion on The Brothers Karamazov –

For Wednesday - either catch up or move ahead.

5/5 WEDNESDAY
Discuss Dostoevsky as a short story writer.

For Friday - read "A Gentle Creature”

Prepare to hand in FINAL PAPERS

5/7 FRIDAY
Begin discussion of “A Gentle Creature”

For Monday - Work on your paper and read "A Gentle Creature".

Prepare to hand in FINAL PAPERS

5/10 MONDAY
Hand in your FINAL PAPERS; Discuss "A Gentle Creature"

For Wednesday - Read "Bobok"

5/12 WEDNESDAY
Discuss "A Gentle Creature" and begin discussing "Bobok"

For Friday read "Dream of a Ridiculous Man"

5/14 FRIDAY
Discuss "Bobok" and "Dream of a Ridiculous Man"

5% of your grade.

The annotated bibliography should include no fewer than 10 references. The bibliography will begin with the title of your paper and then a paragraph explanation of your paper. Then, following this, your thesis statement should be included. After this comes your bibliography. Each bibliography must include a variety of at least three sources of references - such as books, articles, reviews, web sites, films, etc. Each source must be annotated with AT LEAST two sentences explaining the content of the work and, perhaps, it's significance as a source for the paper. All citations must be in MLA, APA or Chicago style. Make sure your references, especially web sites, are intellectually trustworthy. The choice is yours, but be consistent. Format will be:

Title

Paragraph of explanation

Thesis

Bibliography.

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10% of your grade.

This short paper is 2 to 3 pages long. You should take either "White Nights" or "The Double" and write a literary review of the work. This review can be from a literary analysis point of view, a popular culture point of view, a psychological point of view, or a sociological point of view. Within the work I want you to review the work for literary (cultural, social, psychological) merit, and discuss the work for a particular audience. I want you to evaluate the positive attributes of the work as well as possible short-comings of the work. The style of this paper is not going to be as academic as the final paper, but should still be for an educated, intellectual audience. Do not make your paper conversational in tone. Follow the guidelines in the Helpful Hints handout below.

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20% of your grade

This paper is a minimum of 13 pages long. Your first task is to choose a paper topic. Follow closely the suggestions in the Helpful Hints handout below. Pay especially close attention to finding and creating a productive thesis. I will be glad to help you with this. You will need to hand this thesis in with your annotated bibliography (see above) This paper should be about one work, a comparison of works, an exploration of Dostoevsky's influence on a later writer or filmmaker, or a particular theme as it is treated by Dostoevsky. These papers will be graded both on content and style. In other words, if you make a fine paper with a fine thesis and good citations and numbered pages, etc, but what you have to say about the works is not very sophisticated or innovative, you will not get a top grade. Likewise, if you come up with brilliant ideas, but have not numbered pages, or cited references, etc. you will also not receive a top grade. YOU MUST INCLUDE A BIBLIOGRAPHY. You will hand in a draft of this paper, and you will also hand in for grading your annotated bibliography. Receiving a draft back with few comments about your paper does not guarantee a top grade. The draft review is basically a review of writing style and mechanics.

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The midterm and final for this course will be essay based. There will be no real way to study for the exams other than to keep up with the readings and participate fully in the class. In other words, it won't be the sort of exam for which one needs to cram. Actually, you probably won't even need to study for the exams if you keep up with the class and the readings. I enjoy asking rather impossible questions to see how your mind works to answer them or parse them out. There will not be one right answer to any of the questions - rather I'm looking to see your reasoned response and the means by which you support your ideas.

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• SPELL CHECKER

ODE TO A SPELL CHECKER

I have a spelling checker
I disk covered four my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot see.

Eye ran this poem threw it.
Your sure real glad two no.
Its very polished in its weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a blessing.
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.

Each frays comes posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The checker pours o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.

Bee fore wee rote with checkers
Hour spelling was inn deck line,
Butt now when wee dew have a laps,
Wee are not maid too wine.

And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
There are know faults in awl this peace,
Of nun eye am a wear.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.

That's why eye brake in two averse
Caws Eye dew want too please.
Sow glad eye yam that aye did bye
This soft wear four pea seas.

Anonymous

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• HELPFUL
  HINTS

1. Pick a topic that interests you. For the most part, it will be better to offer an in-depth analysis of a small problem than a general discussion of large, over-arching issues. If you can’t think of a topic, go back to a text that interests you, and read it (or parts of it) over several times until you find some point, problem, or issue that is of particular interest to you. It might be helpful here to concentrate on those parts of the text that you find most difficult, those parts that you do not understand immediately. This might turn out to supply you with a very interesting paper topic. If all this doesn’t work, come speak to me and I’ll help you find a topic.

2. Avoid summary!!! Your paper should be structured like an argument, and your argument should be grounded in close reading and analysis of passages from the text you are discussing. Read the text several times very carefully before you begin writing. Pay careful attention to the actual language of the passages you are analyzing. What particular metaphors are being used, and what are their implications? What sort of narrative perspective(s) or narrative strategies do you see in the text, and how are they articulated? Do not shy away from contradictions. What contradictions do you see in the text, and in what ways might they be resolved – or in what ways not?

3. Remember, what you want to talk about is the text! You should neither speculate about the author’s intentions nor write about your own reactions to the text.

4. Give your paper a title. The title of your paper should, of course, be different from the text you are discussing.

5. Cite sources. If you use secondary literature, it should not constitute the vast majority of your argument. This paper is supposed to represent original work and thought. You must cite all primary and secondary literature and all reference works with foot or end notes naming the author, title, publisher, year and place of publication, and page numbers. In text citations may subsequently be short form). For proper reference format, consult the MLA Handbook or The Chicago Manual of Style.

6. Before you begin writing the paper, make sure you can answer the following three questions in writing:

• a) What is the thesis you wish to argue?
• b) What sections or passages of the text will you focus on in making your argument? Why are you picking these particular passages?
• c) What is the conclusion you ultimately wish to arrive at? (This may, of course, not be the actual conclusion that you come to, but it’s helpful to have some idea of where you are heading before you start to write.)

As your ideas often change during the writing process, you may find it helpful to try to answer these questions again once you are in the middle of writing.

7. ONCE YOU HAVE A THESIS– MAKE SURE THAT IT IS SUCCINCTLY STATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PAPER AND THEN KEEP THE BODY OF THE PAPER FOCUSED ON THAT THESIS. DO NOT WRITE A PAPER WITHOUT A CLEAR THESIS.

8. Number your pages after the first or title page.

9. Do not feel that you have to do all this completely on your own. Discuss your topic with me before beginning, and during the writing process, come speak to me or email me about your ideas and how you are developing them.

10. Finally, avoid lists! This is one of my pet peeves. I hate reading papers that degenerate into this happened, then this happened, and then this, and then this, and then this... It is not a productive way of presentation of material. I will be happy to work with you to find other means to convey and present your ideas.

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