A study of Vladimir Nabokov's novels written in Europe and the United States. Special attention is paid to the nature and evolution of Nabokov's aesthetics; the place of his novels in European and American literary traditions; Nabokov's creative uses of exile to artistic, philosophical and ideological ends; the aesthetic and cultural implications of the writers' switch from Russian to English. Novels studied: Defense, Despair, The Gift, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire. Taught in English, all readings in English. Dostoevsky's political, psychological, and religious ideas as they shape and are shaped by his literary art. Readings in English. Taught in English, all readings in English. Tolstoy's political, psychological, and religious ideas as they shape and are shaped by his literary art. Taught in English, all readings in English.
A study of Vladimir Nabokov's novels written in Europe and the United States. Special attention is paid to the nature and evolution of Nabokov's aesthetics; the place of his novels in European and American literary traditions; Nabokov's creative uses of exile to artistic, philosophical and ideological ends; the aesthetic and cultural implications of the writers' switch from Russian to English. Novels studied: Defense, Despair, The Gift, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire. Taught in English, all readings in English. Dostoevsky's political, psychological, and religious ideas as they shape and are shaped by his literary art. Readings in English. Taught in English, all readings in English. Tolstoy's political, psychological, and religious ideas as they shape and are shaped by his literary art. Taught in English, all readings in English.
