Lecture (LEC)

• Above class open to graduates only
• Topic: "Gogol in Context"
• Above class meets with CMLT-C 603

Approaches to reading Nikolai Gogol (a.k.a. Mykola Hohol) have fluctuated with time. This course explores Gogol's published works with an emphasis on the cultural contexts in which those works have been read. There will be major stops in the 1830s-40s and the 1860-70s, when Gogol was a realist, before turning to the Modernist Gogol, the enlightener Soviet Gogol, and the multiple Gogols of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. We'll observe how Gogol made his artistic way from Ukrainian provincial life to the world stage, with the help of critics, fellow authors, translators, theater directors, composers, animators, and filmmakers. Discussions will be in English. Students with advanced reading skills in Russian are encouraged to read the source texts in Russian. We'll be looking at the translations as well, however. If you have questions, please send me an email (russellv@indiana.edu).