CLAS1705 · Complex Problems and Enduring Questions

Death in Russian Literature: Heroes, Cowards, Humans

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Core Renewal Course: Enduring Questions Russian literature has always had an affinity for narratives depicting the meaning(s) of death. Reading from its first great modern writer (Pushkin) to its latest Nobel Prize winner (Svetlana Alexeivitch), our course will investigate three primary representations of death in Russian literature: heroization of death (sacrifice and death as the condition of a good life); banalization of death (death as meaninglessness); demonization of death (death as sin; death that must be overcome). Throughout we will attempt to understand how the ways in which we conceive of death inform the ways we choose to live.