| Unit name | Tolstoy's Major Fiction |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM2049 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Coates |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Tolstoy is one of the foremost European novelists of the nineteenth century, and one of the greatest Russian novelists of all time. This unit examines War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and a selection of short works. Works are examined both intrinsically in relation to theme and form, and more broadly in relation to the great ideological debates of 19th-century Russia and Europe in which Tolstoy's work intensely participates. Works will be studied in translation. Seminars will be run in parallel to the existing undergraduate unit on Tolstoy (RUSS20036); there will be supplementary tutorials on the novels not covered on the undergraduate unit.
Aims:
To develop students understanding of the major novels of Tolstoy and the historical, social, and intellectual context in which he was writing, and thus of Tolstoys place in Russian literary and intellectual history. To equip students to analyse Tolstoys poetics and make connections between the formal and thematic aspects of his work.
Students will gain a detailed knowledge of Tolstoys major novels and an appreciation of the psychological, social, and historical issues that they explore. They will be able to identify and discuss the salient thematic concerns of Tolstoys work. They will be aware of the outstanding formal features of his prose and be able to discuss how changes in narrative technique complement the choice of material and evolving attitudes to it.
The unit will also serve as a possible preparation for further postgraduate study, leading to a research degree.
Topics are by agreement with the unit director.
