Dostoevsky’s "Crime and Punishment" and Eugene Vodolazkin’s "The Aviator"

Class Description

Dostoevsky’s greatest St. Petersburg work, Crime and Punishment, will be read in Oliver Ready’s outstanding translation, known for retaining the intensity and vitality of the original, against Vodolazkin’s The Aviator, a contemporary St. Petersburg novel, which combines elements of love story, murder mystery, history, and science fiction. Both Crime and Punishment and The Aviator show what happens when good intentions to change the world go terribly wrong. Both novels dive into personal trauma, raising thought-provoking questions about recurrent nightmares, guilt, punishment, retribution, the aftereffects of incarceration, and whether redemption is really possible.

Readings will be supplemented by biographical, historical, and critical information, and episodes from several film adaptations provided by the instructor. Class participants will have the opportunity to explore each novel through the textual scavenger-hunt exercise, identifying and linking images, themes, events, and literary devices, searching for possible patterns, principal themes, and the overarching design.

Julia Kriventsova Denne studied literature at St. Petersburg University, Russia, and teaches Russian literature in the Chicago area.

All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.

What to Expect

Format: Virtual

Class Capacity: 30

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged

Materials List

Required

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment. Penguin Classics, 2015. ISBN: 9780143107637
• Eugene Vodolazkin, The Aviator. Oneworld Publications, 2019. ISBN: 9781786074843

Recommended

• Other Instructor-Distributed Materials available on her Canvas page (she will send instructions for access)

First Reading

• Please read Crime and Punishment, Part One for the first meeting.

A Brief Syllabus

1. Crime and Punishment, Part One. Introduction to the novel and the inner conflict of Raskolnikov.
2. Crime and Punishment, Part Two. Dostoevsky’s experiences in prison and exile and the sudden emergence of crime as a central theme in his work.
3. Crime and Punishment, Part Three. A virtual tour of Raskolnikov’s wanderings in Petersburg.
4. Crime and Punishment, Part Four. The origin and ideas of Raskolnikov’s “Satanic pride.”
5. Crime and Punishment, Part Five. A turn toward the future and two opposing paths.
6. Crime and Punishment, Part Six and Epilogue. The elusive and much-disputed ending of the novel.
7. The Aviator, Part One. Introduction to Vodolazkin’s literary universe and juxtaposition of Raskolnikov with Innokenty.
8. The Aviator, Part Two. Novels of discovery and literary reflection of historical moments.

Cost and Registration

8 Sessions, $300 ($270 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($300), Community Supported ($280), and Sponsor ($320). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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