Prerequisites: A B2 level of English or higher is recommended for successful completion of the course.

Autofiction is one of the most widespread—and at the same time most contested—literary phenomena of our time. Often defined as a hybrid genre that blends autobiographical fact with fictional invention, autofiction resists fixed definitions, constantly breaking literary conventions, experimenting with narrative strategies, and pushing the boundaries not only of genre, but of the verbal medium. Despite numerous attempts by theorists to establish clear genre criteria, autofiction remains an experimental space that resists categorization. One fruitful way to conceptualize this movement is to approach autofiction as a narrative practice concerned with representing sensitive, often vulnerable experience. In this course, we will examine autofictional works from the 1970s to the 2020s, including texts by Serge Doubrovsky, Hervé Guibert, Annie Ernaux, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Olivia Laing, Neige Sinno, Vanessa Springora, Édouard Louis, and others. Autofiction will be studied both historically and theoretically, with particular attention to its connection to trauma, the ethics of representing lived experience, and the dynamics of empathy in reading and critical reception. Special focus will be given to contemporary Russian-language autofiction—a genre that has gained prominence relatively recently. We will explore its development and reception. The course will also include a series of guest sessions with contemporary writers.