Course in contemporary Russian literature
St Petersburg University offers a comprehensive course in Contemporary Russian Literature, designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of Russian literary works from the 1990s to the 2010s. Led by Professor Andrey Stepanov, a distinguished scholar and author, the course explores the literary landscape of modern Russia within its historical and social context.
The course explores the main trends in prose from the 2000s to the 2010s, examining the works of prominent contemporary writers such as Zakhar Prilepin, Roman Senchin, Vladimir Sorokin, Viktor Pelevin, Boris Akunin and Tatiana Tolstaya. Students will develop skills in literary analysis and gain an insight into modern Russian culture, enhancing their understanding of Russian society and facilitating cross-cultural comparisons.
By the end of the course, students will:
- Gain an understanding of the Russian literary process in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
- Learn to use scholarly, reference, pedagogical and methodological literature relevant to contemporary literary studies.
- Master the terminology of contemporary literary criticism.
- Develop the ability to critically analyse literary texts.
- Improve their understanding of the Russian mentality and culture, and become better at communicating with Russians.
The course is designed and taught by Professor Andrey Stepanov, a renowned expert in Russian literature. He is the author of numerous academic publications, novels and short stories, and has translated works by prominent English-language authors. Professor Stepanov is a finalist in the New Literature Prize and a laureate of the Nikolai Gogol Prize.
The course is taught entirely in English, with the option of attending both online via MS Teams and on campus. The course workload is 34 hours of teaching over 11 study days. The new course starts in February 2025. Detailed information on course content, structure and fees is available from the course organiser.