Interpreting Culture (202-0-11)

Topic

Gender & Revolution in Soviet Russian Culture

Instructors

Clare Cavanagh
847/467-2360
1880 Campus Dr. (Kresge) Office 3222
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2-3pm

Meeting Info

University Hall 122: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was, among other things, a grand experiment in family, sex and marriage. How did the backwards Russia of the early twentieth century become the most advanced nation in the world in gender and family legislation by the 1920's? How did Soviet government attempt to translate Marxist theories of the "woman question" into social practice? What happened when revolutionary visions were replaced by the "Utopia in Power" of Joseph Stalin? What becomes of utopian dreams in first a post-utopian and then a post-Soviet reality? How did the state regulate gender representation in the arts? And how did literature and the arts shape, resist or reflect key transformations in Soviet society as the century progressed? We will examine both state-sanctioned and oppositional works, including poetry, short stories, novellas, novels, memoirs, film, and the visual arts as we explore these questions.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area