Topics include the structural and psychological analysis and interpretation of oral folk traditions; the cultural specificity of Slavic and Baltic folklore; its adaptation and treatment in literature, music, and visual arts. Taught in English, all readings in English. Examining the cultural, linguistic, confessional, and social diversity of the Caucasus, this interdisciplinary course provides foundations for engaging with the region’s cultural history, the evolving self-conception of its peoples, and the historical place of the Caucasus in the imagination of European and Asian outsiders. We will study a broad variety of documentary and fictional sources including folklore, political and religious thought, literary fiction, autobiography, film, painting, architecture. Taught in English, all readings in English, no preparation is required.
Topics include the structural and psychological analysis and interpretation of oral folk traditions; the cultural specificity of Slavic and Baltic folklore; its adaptation and treatment in literature, music, and visual arts. Taught in English, all readings in English. Examining the cultural, linguistic, confessional, and social diversity of the Caucasus, this interdisciplinary course provides foundations for engaging with the region’s cultural history, the evolving self-conception of its peoples, and the historical place of the Caucasus in the imagination of European and Asian outsiders. We will study a broad variety of documentary and fictional sources including folklore, political and religious thought, literary fiction, autobiography, film, painting, architecture. Taught in English, all readings in English, no preparation is required.
