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Lecturer(s)
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Čadajeva Olga, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Andrejs René, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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1. Introduction 2. Alcohol in Romantic literature: Pushkin and Gogol 3. Fedor Dostoevsky. Weakness and escape from reality. Nekrasov and the social criticism of alcoholism. Leo Tolstoy and sobriety as a moral attitude. 4. Chekhov and Bulgakov: alcohol through the eyes of doctors. 5. Alcohol and the Silver Age: the poeticization of the fall. Blok and Yesenin. 6. Alcohol in Soviet Realities: Vasily Shukshin. 7. Bards and Drinking: Vladimir Vysotsky. 8. Alcohol as a means of internal emigration. Sergei Dovlatov. 9. Alcohol as a worldview: Venedikt Yerofeyev.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook)
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Learning outcomes
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The seminar will introduce participants to the theme of alcoholism as a specific and distinctive element of Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will not only become familiar with texts in which the theme of alcohol is present, but will also have the opportunity to read parts of key works in which alcohol plays a central role and without which Russian culture is hardly understandable. The course examines the works of classical and contemporary authors, including Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Blok, Yesenin, Bulgakov, Shukhin, Vysotsky, Dovlatov, and especially Yerofeyev, in which alcohol serves as a catalyst for character development, social critique, and existential reflection. Through close reading, discussion, and historical context, students will discover how the culture of drinking alcohol shapes and reflects Russian identity, morality, and narrative traditions.
Basic understanding of the subject, knowledge of key works and relevant topics.
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Prerequisites
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Students are expected to have at least a B2 language level of Russian.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Student performance
seminar attendance with a maximum of 2 weeks absences per semester completion of assignments, preparedness, active participation in the discussions seminar paper (presentation) on a chosen topic (to be specified during the semester)
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Recommended literature
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Jerofeev, V., & Vlasov, E. Moskva-Petuški.: S kommentarijami Eduarda Vlasova. .
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Lekmanov, O., Sverdlov, M., & Simanovskij, I. Venedikt Jerofeev: postoronnij. Redakcija Eleny Šubinoj. 2018.
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Mankevič, I. A. Poetika obyknovennogo: opyt kul'turologičeskoj interpretacii. 2011.
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Pospíšil, I. Fenomén šílenství v ruské literatuře 19. a 20. století. Brno. 1995.
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Schrad, M. L. Vodka politics: alcohol, autocracy, and the secret history of the Russian state. Oxford University Press. 2014.
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Tarasova, D. V. Motiv op'janenija v otechestvennoj literature epochi postmodernizma. In Russkaja literatura za rubežom (pp. 203-207). 2023.
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