How was some of the most devastating prose about the early Soviet Union produced by one of its most ardently, if idiosyncratically, Communist writers? Andrei Platonov's extraordinary writing has been heralded both as visionary modernism for its uniquely strange language and as exemplary realism for its unflinching look at contemporary Soviet reality. In this course, we will carefully read Platonov's work, focusing on the 1920s, from his early texts through his long novel Chevengur and novella Kotlovan (The Foundation Pit). We will pay close attention to the style and verbal texture of Platonov's writing, so the ability to read in Russian, however slowly, is required. Our Platonov readings will be supplemented by selections from other authors who influenced him, with whom he polemicized, or both, including Nikolai Fyodorov, Aleksandr Bogdanov, Boris Pil'niak, and Fyodor Gladkov. For graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
3-5 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
How was some of the most devastating prose about the early Soviet Union produced by one of its most ardently, if idiosyncratically, Communist writers? Andrei Platonov's extraordinary writing has been heralded both as visionary modernism for its uniquely strange language and as exemplary realism for its unflinching look at contemporary Soviet reality. In this course, we will carefully read Platonov's work, focusing on the 1920s, from his early texts through his long novel Chevengur and novella Kotlovan (The Foundation Pit). We will pay close attention to the style and verbal texture of Platonov's writing, so the ability to read in Russian, however slowly, is required. Our Platonov readings will be supplemented by selections from other authors who influenced him, with whom he polemicized, or both, including Nikolai Fyodorov, Aleksandr Bogdanov, Boris Pil'niak, and Fyodor Gladkov. For graduate students and advanced undergraduates.