Literature in Translation Courses Fall 2020

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 9:55-10:45 am)          Instructor: Irina Shevelenko

Course Description: Pushkin to Tolstoy; reading and lecture in English.

Prerequisites: None.

(4 credits)

• Online (MWF 9:55-10:45 am)          Instructor: Irina Shevelenko
  • DIS 301: T 9:55-10:45 am
  • DIS 302: R 9:55-10:45 am
  • DIS 303: T 12:05-12:55 pm
  • DIS 304: R 12:05-12:55 pm

Course Description: Pushkin to Tolstoy; reading and lecture in English; 4th hour discussion section for Communication-B credit.

Prerequisites: None.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 9:55-10:45 am)          Instructor: Andrew Reynolds

Prerequisites: Sophomore status or higher.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 12:05-12:55 pm)          Instructor: Andrew Reynolds

Prerequisites: Sophomore status or higher or consent of instructor.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (MWF 11:00-11:50 am)          Instructor: Sergey Karpukhin

Course Description: The major novels of Vladimir Nabokov studied in the context of Russian and American literatures. Nabokov as a quintessential artist in exile, whose work explores loss of language, country and home.

Prerequisites: Sophomore status or higher.

(3-4 credits)

• Section 001: ONLINE (MWF 2:25-3:15 pm)          Instructor: Jennifer Tishler          (4 credits w/discussion)
  • DIS 301: T 2:25-3:15 pm ONLINE
• Section 002: ONLINE (MWF 2:25-3:15 pm)          Instructor: Jennifer Tishler          (3 credits)

Course Description: Prerevolutionary Russian visual arts, architecture, music and cinema; provides an inside view of life in prerevolutionary Russia with the help of selected readings in Russian literature.

Prerequisites: None.

(3 credits)

• TR 2:30-3:45 pm          Instructor: Scott Mellor

Course Description: The Icelandic sagas viewed in their social, cultural, and literary contexts. An introduction to one of the greatest bodies of vernacular literature of the early Middle Ages.

Prerequisites: None.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm)          Instructor: B Venkat Mani

Course Description: A low-enrollment course developing skills in critical reading, logical thinking, use of evidence, and use of library resources. Emphasis on writing in the conventions of specific fields.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of or exemption from Comm A requirement.

(3 credits)

• Section 001: ONLINE (TR 11:00 am-12:15 pm)          Instructor: Kirill Ospovat

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 002: ONLINE (MWF 1:20-2:10 pm)          Instructor: Kirill Ospovat

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 003: MWF 2:25-3:15 pm         Instructor: Krzysztof Borowski

Course Description: What is it like to be a migrant? Does your identity change as you move from one country to another? Can a nation exist (and even survive) outside of its borders We will explore these and similar questions by taking the rich Polish-American experience as our case study, examining diverse examples from Polish migrant and diaspora culture (film and literature) from the 19th century to the present. This course combines open discussions, digital and written storytelling, and critical analysis of cultural texts to foster a deeper understanding of the issues of migration, identity, and nation in culture and the world around us. No prerequisites; all readings and screenings in English.

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 004: ONLINE (TR 2:30-3:45 pm)          Instructor: Marina Zilbergerts

Prerequisites: None

(3 credits)

• Section 005: ONLINE (TR 1:00 am-2:15 pm)          Instructor: Łukasz Wodzyński

Course Description: What constitutes heroism in the absence of universally shared moral frameworks? Who are we as individuals? What responsibility do we have for the way we represent reality to ourselves and to others? What constitutes “good life”? Engage with these questions and examine Polish cinematic tradition from the Polish Film School to the present. Explore key works, themes, and creators of Polish cinema, and probe the ethical and existential dimensions these films open up.

Prerequisites: None

(3-4 credits)

• Section 001: ONLINE (MWF 12:05-12:55 pm)           Instructor: Nete Schmidt          (3 credits)
• Section 002: ONLINE (MWF 12:05-12:55 pm)          Instructor: Nete Schmidt          (4 credits w/discussion)
  • DIS 301: F 1:20-2:10 pm ONLINE
  • DIS 302: T 12:05-12:55 pm ONLINE
  • DIS 303: T 1:20-2:10 pm
  • DIS 304: M 3:30-4:20 pm

Prerequisites: Section 001 – none. Section 002 – for Comm B students only.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (TR 2:30-3:45 pm)          Instructor: Jolanda Vanderwal Taylor

Course Description: Anne Frank is one of the most widely read writers in recent world literature, and yet some wonder whether she should be called a writer, or a diarist. Her work is widely loved. It has been the inspiration for many other cultural expressions and institutions: films, plays, works of fiction and non-fiction, and (auto-)biographies, and different editions of her Diaries. Her book has also launched scholarly research in literary -, cultural -, historical fields, and in the various sciences of manuscript authentication; exhibitions, museums, and foundations. In this course, we will study the context in which the Diaries were written, and consider the various ways in which they were received. We will consider how people have responded to the Diaries and toAnne Frank: how her work has been read, interpreted, used, and argued about. We will engage in critical thinking, asking not just: what? but also: why? Most importantly of all, we will take Anne seriously as a writer by reading her works attentively. And then we will also think about the nature of literature: is what Ms. Frank wrote literature? Why, or why not?We will also consider films based on the Diaries.

Learning outcomes: In this course, you will be invited to read, think, and discuss. You will learn about the history of Jewish communities in the Netherlands, and about the Frank family in particular; you will become familiar with Anne Frank’s writings and different ways that people have read and received her work, and you will reflect on the features that distinguish “literature” from non-literary texts. You will also learn about the Holocaust, WWII, the Nazi occupation, and Netherlands, especially in the 1930s and 1940. In the process, you will have an opportunity to work on further acquiring intellectual skills that prepare you for twenty-first century challenges including: skills of inquiry and analysis, critical and creative thinking, written and oral communication, cross-cultural and intercultural knowledge and ethical reasoning (and action), and knowledge of human cultures.

Prerequisites: One intermediate level course in literature.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE

Course Description: Explores the image of the vampire in literature and visual arts as a metaphor for Eastern Europe and the Slavic world. Begins with folklore and moves through literary texts to film and television.

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or higher or special student classification.

(3-4 credits)

• ONLINE          Instructor: Susan Brantly

Prerequisites: Junior status or higher or consent of instructor.

(3 credits)

• ONLINE (TR 1:00-2:15 pm)          Instructor: Scott Mellor

Prerequisites: Junior status or higher or consent of instructor.

(3 credits)

• TR 6:00-8:00 pm          Instructor: Manon van de Water

Course Description: This fall’s Slavic Drama in Context will focus on translation of a seminal Russian Play, Nikolai Gogol’s Revizor commonly translated as The Inspector General.  We will work on a cultural and  contextual translation of the play, translocating (Michael Walton, 2006) it in time and place from 19^th century Russia to 21^st century USA in a process more akin to “transcreation” (Haroldo de Campos, 1981). Gogol’s play is a satire of corruption, and an icon in Russian culture. His staccato and wandering style has rendered many translations, the majority of translations in English are British. The gaps in Gogol’s staccato style, including the speech patterns of his characters, are often interpreted as, and translated in, full, grammatically correct sentences. This translation attempts to stay close to the original, while contemporizing the time and place.

The in-class translation will be augmented by readings in translate studies, a relatively new field of study, and discussions, with a focus on the distinction between literal translation and a cultural and contextual translation; and on the interdependence of meaning and material conditions.

The translation will start where it was left off in an experimental version of this class in fall 2019. The results will be read by the translators in an open meeting at the end of the semester.

Prerequisites: Junior status or higher or consent of instructor.