Join renowned Professor Pavel Khazanov for a slow journey through one famous Russian novel: Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (1940). The novel is a fantastic account of 1930s Russia under Stalin, whose primary characters include an imprisoned novelist, his witch-like lover, a talking cat who wields a gun, and Satan himself. It blends magical elements with Soviet history, philosophy, and slapstick comedy, making it an enjoyable and accessible entry point into Russian culture.
This course guides students in the basics of reading a literary text from a culture different than our own, providing the rudimentary cultural and historical context. Some of the questions we will tackle are: how to keep track of many characters whose names have multiple versions? What exactly is a religious “icon,” and why do people carry them around? What was unique about daily life in the Soviet Union? How can we understand Russian attitudes towards money, family, faith, and art ? This course is taught in English and has no prerequisites. No knowledge of Russian is required.