Class Description
We will read Gogol’s Ukrainian Tales, Babel’s Odessa Stories, Bulgakov’s White Guard and will examine them in the broad context of the history, culture, and the national identity of Ukraine from early times to the first quarter of the 20th century.
These writers were born in Ukraine but wrote in Russian. Gogol’s free verbal creation tales of rural Ukraine, Babel’s stories of Jewish childhood and enticing violent world of Odessa underworld, and Bulgakov’s family saga about the chaos of war and individual acts of humanity testify to the complexity and multi-faced nature of Ukraine.
Julia Kriventsova Denne studied literature at St. Petersburg University, Russia, and teaches Russian literature and culture in the Chicago area.
Materials List
Required:
- Gogol, The Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol Volume 1. The University of Chicago Press, 1985. ISBN 0-226-30068-4
- Gogol, The Complete Tales of Nikolai Gogol Volume 2. The University of Chicago Press, 1985. ISBN 0-226-30069-2
- Isaac Babel, Odessa Stories. Pushkin Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-78-227166-6
- Mikhail Bulgakov, The White Guard. Alma Classics, 2016. ISBN: 978-1847496201
Recommended:
- Serhii Plokhy, The Gates of Europe. Basic Books, 2021. ISBN: 978-1541675643
First Reading:
- Please read Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka (Part I), Volume 1, pp. 3 – 88 for the first session.
Cost and Registration
Nine sessions, $330 ($300 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
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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