Through poetry, stories, plays, journalism, and film, the course will explore the subject of life for Russians in the West in the twentieth century.  After asking what sorts of problems and issues Russian emigres face when they leave their homeland, we will examine how these Russians abroad perceive both Russia (or the Soviet Union) and their new home.  Some of the numerous questions we will consider: Are Russians abroad nostalgic?  If so, do particular images occur?  What aspects of American life and mentality strike Russians most?

We will begin by discussing the "First Wave" emigration, which took place after the Russian revolution of 1917, and progress to the present.  Readings will include newspaper and magazine articles from the contemporary emigre press, interviews, and works by Nadezhda Teffi, Gaito Gazdanov, Nina Berberova, Arkadii Averchenko, Ilf and Petrov, Vladimir Nabokov, Vladimir Voinovich, and Joseph Brodsky.  Students will have the opportunity to ask questions of Russian immigrants living in the Detroit area as we visit a community and invite guest speakers to class.

Course requirements: 

active participation in class discussions; 
  three short papers;
  journal;
  final project;
  attendance at ‘Russki stol’ and Coffee Hour.

Reading List:

1.  I.A. Bunin "Kholodnaia osen'" ("A Cold Autumn") (short story)

2.  Mikhail Chuev "Do Svidanya, Mama" ("Good-bye, Mama") (newspaper article)

3.  S.Levchenko "Smozhem li my stat' xoroshimi amerikantstami?" ("Will We Be Able to Become Good Americans?") (magazine article)

3.  V.Nabokov "Chelovek iz SSSR" (The Man from the USSR) (play)

4.  N. A. Teffi "Toska" (Nostalgia) ( poem)

5.  N. A. Teffi "Ke fer?" (What to do?) (short story)

6.  A. Averchenko "Tragediia russkogo pisatelia" ("Tragedy of a Russian writer") (short story)

7.  G. Gazdanov "Intellektual'nyi trest" (The Intellectual trust) (short
story)

8.  Interview with writer Nina Berberova

9.  Interview with writer Vladimir Voinovich

10.  V. Voinovich "Kak ia ezdil v Soedinennye Shtati" (How I went to the United States) (chapter from book The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union)

11.  V. Voinovich "Nash chelovek v Stambule" (Our Man in Instanbul) (chapter from The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union)

12.  V. Zadornov "Liubliu otchiznu ia" (I love the homeland) (newspaper article)

13.  Gurevich "Vyezdnaia strana" (Exiting country) (article)

14.  "Gde komu prigodilsia" (Where suits whom) article

15.  "Organizovannaia prestupnost' v Rossii i mezhdunarodnaia bezopasnost'" (Organized crime in Russia and international security)  (article)

16.  A. Grant selections from "Krov' na Braitone" (Blood on Brighton (Beach)) (series on the Russian mafia)

17.  "Chto vy dumaete ob amerikanskoi meditsine?" (What do you think about American healthcare?) (article)

18.  Gurevich "Ostorozhno, zhenshchina!" (Be careful, woman!) (article)

19.  Ilf & Petrov "Appetit ukhodit vo vremia edy" (The appetite leaves during a meal) (chapter from book One-storey America)

20.  Ilf &Petrov "Dirborn" (Dearborn) (ibid.)

21.  Ilf &Petrov "Amerikanskii futbol" (Football) (ibid.)

22.  Z. Zinik "Izzhoga" (Heartburn) (chapter from novel  The Russophobe and the Fungophile)

23.  "Sergei Fedorov otkazyvaetsia byt' tret'im" (Sergei Fedorov refuses to be third) (article)
 
 
 
 

   If you have questions, write to Alina Makin, Program Head (resco@umich.edu)