2023-24 Academic Catalog

This course explores the theme of madness in Russian literature and arts from the medieval period to the present. Madness is a basic but controversial aspect of world culture that has preoccupied Russian minds since medieval times. It is reflected in numerous stories, plays, paintings, films, and operas, as well as in medical, political, and philosophical essays. Madness has been treated by great Russian authors and artists not only as a medical or psychological matter, but also as a metaphysical one, touching the deepest levels of human consciousness, encompassing problems of suffering, imagination, history, sex, social and world order, evil, retribution, death, and the afterlife. Taught in English. No knowledge of Russian is required.