Fall 2024: September 9 – December 27
Subject: LIT (Literature)
Course Level: 300
Number of Credits: 4 U.S. / 8 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Thursday 16:10 – 19:10 CET (Berlin) | 10:10 – 13:10 EDT (New York)
Distributional Area: Literary Analysis
Language of Instruction: Russian
Course Prerequisites: Russian B2 / Equivalent or higher

Russian-language literature of the early twenty-first century pays increasing attention to the representation of traumatic experiences—both personal and collective. The fascination with the «trauma culture” (Hal Foster), characteristic of artistic practices at the end of the last century, acquires a special dimension in contemporary Russian prose, which actualizes discussions about the traumas of the Soviet past and the experience of current catastrophe. Whereas, according to Foster, postmodernism’s interest in the traumatic was explained by a reality repressed by language games, post-Soviet literature reflects on repressed memory and the unprocessed past.The search for a “language of trauma” becomes diverse and ubiquitous, adapting to different genres, discursive strategies, and intermedial experiments. A close examination of literary representations of trauma through the lens of narratology is one of the main objectives of this course. Can traumatic experiences be narrated? Is trauma writing therapeutic? How does collective trauma manifest itself through the representation of individual traumatic experiences? What receptive mechanisms are involved in the process of reading trauma narratives? Does writing about trauma re-traumatize the reader? How do other media—particularly photography—participate in the creation of trauma narratives? How does working with archives establish a boundary between one’s own and others’ experiences, and what constitutes narrative ethics? In search of answers to these questions, we will read and interpret Russian-language prose from 1991-2024, focusing on individual or collective trauma. By examining texts by V. Sharov, M. Shishkin, P. Barskova, M. Stepanova, O. Vasyakina, L. Goralik, E. Bol, and others, we will frame the conversation about trauma through the prisms of narratology, literary trauma studies, and reception theory. The problem of representing traumatic experiences will be closely examined in relation to concepts of memory, empathy, and narrative ethics. Additionally, our conceptualization of trauma will be informed by the theoretical works of Freud, Caruth, Alexander, Ankersmit, W h i t e h e a d, and others. Special attention will be paid to contemporary Russian autofiction, focusing on autobiographical traumatic experiences and the search for ways to narrate them.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.