PRELIMINARY SYLLABUS Stanford Continuing Studies, HIS 199, 2 units Spring Quarter 2018 St. Petersburg: A Cultural Biography Tuesdays, 7:00 pm - 8:50 pm
Course Subject In this lecture course we will explore the rich cultural history of St. Petersburg, Russia, through the works of its architects, planners, artists, writers, and composers. Lectures will be slide-illustrated. No prior knowledge of Russian history, architecture, urban design, or art is assumed, although any of those backgrounds will be useful, and your contributions will be welcome. Few cities in the world lend themselves so readily to a study of their cultural "biography" as St. Petersburg. Founded just over 300 years ago (1703) by Peter I the Great, St. Petersburg was "premeditated" (umyshlennyi, Dostoevsky's term) as the planned, rational, West-European-styled capital city of the Russian Empire, a deliberate counterpoise to Moscow and its tradition-bound Muscovite culture. From its inception until the present, St. Petersburg has raised more questions than answers in the Russian mind: Is it Russian or West European? And what of modern (post-Peter the Great) Russia itself: Is it European, or something else? Through the architecture, city planning, art, and literature of St. Petersburg, we will follow the cultural evolution and mythology of the city, from Peter to Putin. Lectures will be slide-illustrated, drawing on my collection of photographs I have made in Russia over the last 59 years. We will also watch occasional videos of relevant documentaries, ballet, and opera. Each lecture will be accompanied by an outline handout and suggestions for further reading.
Readings Three books have been ordered for this course to be stocked at the Bookstore: James Cracraft. The Revolution of Peter the Great, paperback. Harvard University Press, 2006. To be read in its entirety before or during the first two weeks of the course. An excellent introduction to what the instructor will argue was a Petrine cultural revolution. George Heard Hamilton. The Art and Architecture of Russia, 3rd (integrated) ed., paperback. Yale University Press, Pelican History of Art, 1992. In trying to put something into your hands that covers Petersburg art and architecture, Hamilton's book is useful and inexpensive. Admittedly, his text is a bit dry and detailed, and the b&w illustrations are
1 disappointing, but it has no single-volume rival. I'll suggest additional readings and albums on art and architecture in this Syllabus and in weekly lecture handouts. W. Bruce Lincoln. Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia, paperback. Basic Books, 2002. Lincoln's text is solid and readable, an informative history of St. Petersburg and it's importance in Russian history. All students are encouraged to read the weekly "Required Readings" listed below in the Course Schedule, and consult the "Recommended Readings" according to your interests and time available. Readings marked "Canvas" will be posted online in the Continuing Studies' Canvas online program for this course (CSP HIS 199). Feel free to ask the instructor for additional reading suggestions on any topic that interests you.
Color Photographs and Reproductions Some of our readings, beginning with Hamilton, are poorly illustrated in black and white, but these days one can find color reproductions of most works of art and architecture online. In addition, I intend to post all my weekly Power Point presentations online.
REQUIREMENTS CSP courses may be taken for a Letter Grade, or on a Credit/No Credit basis, or No Grade Requested (NGR). Credit will be earned by attendance (80%); class participation is encouraged but not mandatory. If you want to earn a letter grade, let the instructor know, and we'll arrange for you to submit a 10-page paper on a topic that interests you. Readings: you'll get the most out of the course if you do the "Required" readings in advance of each lecture. The "Recommended" readings are suggestions for further reading as may interest you.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
Weeks I & II, April 3 & 10, 2018. Lecture: "Peter the Great and the Founding of 'Sankt- Piterburkh'"
Required Readings: Cracraft, James, The Revolution of Peter the Great, paperback, Harvard University Press, 2006, 240 pp. Yes, the entire book, but it's in smallish format and an easy read, foundational to the rest of the course. Subsequent weekly reading assignments will not be so long.
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Hamilton, George Heard, The Art and Architecture of Russia, 3rd (integrated) ed., paperback, Yale University Press, Pelican History of Art, 1992; Chapter 19, "Peter's Baroque: 1703-1741," pp. 258-275 (Bookstore) (and search color reproductions online) Lincoln, W. Bruce, Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia, paperback, Basic Books, 2002; pp. 1-31 & 53-60 (Bookstore)
Recommended Readings: Brumfield, William Craft, A History of Russian Architecture, paperback, University of Washington Press, 2004 [and other editions]; Chapter 8, "The Foundations of the Baroque in St. Petersburg," pp. 201-227 James Cracraft: the required book by Cracraft cited above is based upon his more detailed studies, The Petrine Revolution in Architecture; The Petrine Revolution in Imagery; and The Petrine Revolution in Russian Culture Egorov, Iurii Alekseevich, The Architectural Planning of St. Petersburg, transl. Eric Dluhosch, Ohio University Press, 1969; pp. xiii-xxix, Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 1-40 Kaganov, Grigory, Images of Space: St. Petersburg in the Visual and Verbal Arts, transl. Sidney Monas, Stanford University Press, 1997, Chapter 1, "In This Petrine City," pp. 1-18 Wortman, Richard S., Scenarios of Power: Myth and Ceremony in Russian Monarchy; Vol. 1: From Peter the Great to the Death of Nicholas I, Princeton University Press, 1995; Chapter 2, "Peter the Great," pp. 42-78 (Canvas)
Week III, April 17, 2018. Lecture: "From Elizabeth's Rococo to Catherine the Great's Classicism: Architecture and Urban Planning"
Required Readings: Hamilton, Art and Architecture, Chapter 20, "Elizabeth's Rococo: 1741-1762," pp. 276-288, and Chapter 21 "The Classicism of Catherine II: 1762-1796," pp. 289-313 (Bookstore) (and search color reproductions online) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, pp. 31-52 (Bookstore)
Recommended Readings: Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, Chapter 9, "The Late Baroque in Russia: The Age of Rastrelli," pp. 228-260 Egorov, Architectural Planning of St. Petersburg, Chapters 3 & 4, pp. 41-81 Kaganov, Grigory, Images of Space, Chapters 2 & 3, pp. 19-56 Munro, George E., The Most Intentional City: St. Petersburg in the Reign of Catherine the Great, paperback, Farleigh Dickinson University Press, 2012, Chapters 8 & 9, pp. 233-276, and Conclusion, pp. 277-287
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Rice, Tamara Talbot, Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, Princeton University Press, 1970, Chapters 8 & 9, pp. 153-188
Week IV, April 24, 2018. Lecture: "The Triumph of Minerva (Catherine the Great)"
Required Readings: Hamilton, Art and Architecture, review Chapter 21 from previous week; Chapter 23, "The Medieval Revival: Eighteenth-Century Romantic Architecture," pp. 334-341; and Chapter 24, "Eighteenth-Century Painting and Sculpture," pp. 342-358 (Bookstore) (and search color reproductions online) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, pp. 60-102 (Bookstore) Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeevich, "The Bronze Horseman: A Tale of Petersburg," in Walter Arndt, ed. & transl., Pushkin Threefold: Narrative, Lyric, Polemic, and Ribald Verse, paperback, Ardis Publishers, 1993, pp. 128-144 (Canvas)
Recommended Readings: Bird, Alan, A History of Russian Painting, G K Hall, 1987, Chapter 3, "Triumphs of Russian Painters in the Eighteenth Century," pp. 39-66 (and search color reproductions online) Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, Chapter 10, "Neoclassicism in Petersburg: The Age of Catherine the Great," pp. 261-302 (Canvas) Floryan, Margrethe, Gardens of the Tsars: A Study of the Aesthetics, Semantics and Uses of Late 18th Century Russian Gardens, Sagapress, 1996; see esp. pp. 26-43, 87-118, 136-149, 153-154, 170-179, 184-187 de Madariaga, Isabel, Catherine the Great: A Short History, Yale University Press, paperback, 2002 (or see her longer Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great, 1981) Norman, Geraldine, The Hermitage: The Biography of a Great Museum, Fromm Intl., 1998, Chapter 1, "Catherine's Hermitage and Peter's City," pp. 1-20, and Chapter 2, "Catherine's Collections," pp. 21-46 [also published as "new edition" paperback by Pilimco, 1999] Schenker, Alexander M., The Bronze Horseman: Falconet's Monument to Peter the Great, Yale University Press, 2003, esp. Chapter 8, "The Monument," pp. 263-293, and "Epilogue," pp. 294-310. Also published on Kindle, and as a paperback in 2014. Also online as an e-book through Stanford Libraries: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/stanford/detail.action?docID=10178425 Shvidkovsky, Dimitri, The Empress and the Architect: British Architecture and Gardens at the Court of Catherine the Great, Yale University Press, 1996; 282 pp. [lavishly illustrated in color]
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Wortman, Richard S., Scenarios of Power, vol. 1, Chapter 4, "Minerva Triumphant," pp. 110-146
Week V, May 1, 2018. Lecture: "The Age of Alexander I, Nicholas I, Pushkin, and Gogol'"
Required Readings: Gogol', Nikolai, Plays and Petersburg Tales, transl. Christopher English, Oxford, paperback, 1998 [republished 2009], "Nevsky Prospect," pp. 3-36 (Canvas); and "The Nose," online via Stanford Library, translator Ronald Wilks, Penguin Classics: http://literature.proquest.com/searchFulltext.do?id=Z001584772&childSectionId=Z001584772&divLeve l=0&queryId=2854642076915&trailId=14BB877DCE3&area=prose&forward=textsFT&refno=PCS20180& queryType=findWork Hamilton, Art and Architecture of Russia, Chapter 22, "The Alexandrian Empire: 1796- 1850," pp. 314-333; Chapter 25, "Romanticism [in Art], pp. 359-373 (Bookstore) (and search color reproductions online) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, Chapters 4 & 5, pp. 105-146 Pushkin, Alexander, Eugene Onegin (Evgenii Onegin), transl. James E. Falen, paperback, Oxford University Press, 1995; Chapter 1 (Canvas) Pushkin, Alexander, Eugene Onegin, Verse 1 in accented Russian (Canvas)
Recommended Readings: Bird, History of Russian Painting, Chapter 4, "The Apotheosis of Academic Art," pp, 67- 92; Chapter 5, "Art Outside the Academy: Tropinin, Kiprensky, Venetsianov and Fedotov," pp. 93-112 (and search color reproductions online) Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, Chapter 12, "The Early Nineteenth Century: Alexandrine Neoclassicism," selection: pp. 348-372 Egorov, Architectural Planning of St. Petersburg," Part II, Chapters 5-9, pp. 85-211 Pushkin, Eugene Onegin (full text), I prefer the translation by James E. Falen, Oxford University Press, 1995; another translation, by Stanley Mitchell, Penguin Classics, is available online via Stanford Library: http://literature.proquest.com/searchFulltext.do?id=Z001586349&childSectionId=Z001586349&divLeve l=0&queryId=2854643917078&trailId=14BB885E7A8&area=prose&forward=textsFT&refno=PCS20285& queryType=findWork Tchaikovsky (Chaikovskii), Peter Ilich, "Eugene Onegin [Evgenii Onegin]," opera. Good video recordings true to the spirit of the original and in good quality video are hard to find. The role of the sophisticated cad Eugene, Russian literature's first "superfluous man," is particularly hard to perform convincely. One performance I like is by the Kirov Opera (Leningrad), 1984,
5 reissued in 2005. I'm still looking for the best recording and will keep you posted. Let me know if you recommend a video recording. Opera plot synopsis posted in Canvas. Gray, Rosalind, Russian Genre Painting in the Nineteenth Century, Chapter 4, pp. 99-124, and part of Chapter 5, pp. 133-151 (and search color reproductions online) Kaganov, Images of Space, Chapters IV-VI, pp. 57-121
Week VI, May 8, 2018. Lecture: "The Search for 'Russianness' in Art and Architecture: 2nd Half of the 19th Century"
Required Readings: Dostoevsky, Fyodor, "The Double: A Poem of St. Petersburg," translated by Jessie Coulson, Penguin Classics, available online via Stanford Library at: http://literature.proquest.com/searchFulltext.do?id=Z001590416&childSectionId=Z001590416&divLeve l=0&queryId=2854645945041&trailId=14BB894CE07&area=prose&forward=textsFT&refno=PCS20131& queryType=findWork Hamilton, Art and Architecture, Chapter 26, "Ideological Realism," pp. 374-387 (Bookstore) (and search color reproductions online) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, Chapters 6 & 7, pp. 149-195 (Bookstore)
Recommended Readings: Bird, History of Russian Painting, Chapter 6, "The Revolt Against the Academy and the Growth of a Self-Consciously Nationalist School," pp. 129-164 (and search color reproductions online) Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, pp. 393-411 Brunson, Molly. Russian Realisms: Literature and Painting, 1840-1890. Northern Illinois University Press, 2016. Dostoevsky, Fyodor, "White Nights," translated by Ronald Meyer, Penguin Classics, available online via Stanford Library at: http://literature.proquest.com/searchFulltext.do?id=Z001590442&childSectionId=Z001590442&divLeve l=0&queryId=2854646251431&trailId=14BB894CE07&area=prose&forward=textsFT&refno=PCS20130& queryType=findWork Gray, Russian Genre Painting, Chapter 6, "The Downtrodden and the Destitute: Vasily Perov," pp. 152-177 (and search Perov's paintings in color online) Kaganov, Images of Space, pp. 122-139 Valkenier, Elizabeth, Ilya Repin and the World of Russian Art, Columbia University Press, 1990; 276 pp. (and search color reproductions online) Valkenier, Elizabeth, Russian Realist Art: The State and Society; The Peredvizhniki and Their Tradition, Ardis, 1977; 251 pp. (and search color reproductions online)
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Week VII, May 15, 2018. Lecture: "The 'World of Art' (Mir Iskusstva): Fin de Siecle, and Early 20th Century Avant-Garde"
Required Readings: Akhmatova, Anna, selections from The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova, expanded ed., transl. Judith Hemschemeyer, ed. Roberta Reeder, Zephyr Press, 2000 (Canvas) Dobuzhinskii, Mstislav, selected illustrations (Canvas) Hamilton, Art and Architecture of Russia, Chapter 27, "The Slavic Revival and Mir Iskusstva [World of Art]," pp. 388-415 (Bookstore) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, Chapter 8, "On the Eve," pp. 196-227 (Bookstore)
Recommended Readings: Bird, History of Russian Painting, Chapters 7-8, pp. 165-194 (and search color reproductions online) Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, pp. 449-466 Gray, Camilla, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863-1922, 2nd ed., paperback, revised & enlarged by Marian Burleigh-Motley, Thames and Hudson, 1986, Chapters 1-3, pp. 9-183 Kaganov, Images of Space, Chapter VII, "The World of Art," pp. 140-155 "Paris Dances Diaghilev," Paris Opera Ballet, videorecording, 1990; revival stagings of the original sets, costumes, and choreography; see esp. "Petrushka," music by Igor' Stravinsky, sets and costumes by Alexandre Benois.
Week VIII, May 22, 2018. Lecture: "Revolutionary Art Meets Revolutionary Politics"
Required Readings: Annenkov, Yuri, selected illustrations for Aleksandr Blok's poem, "The Twelve," in Aleksandr Blok, Dvenadtsat' (The Twelve), Peterburg, 1918 (Canvas) Blok, Aleksandr, three poems: "Retribution," "The Twelve," and "The Scythians," in Yevtushenko and Todd, eds., Twentieth Century Russian Poetry, pp. 44-45 & 65-83 (Canvas) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, Chapter 9, "Comrades," pp. 228-265
Recommended Readings: Bird, History of Russian Painting, Chapters 9-13, pp. 195-256 (and search color reproductions online) Blok, other illustrations for "The Twelve" (Canvas)
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Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, pp. 467-473 Gray, Camilla, Russian Experiment in Art, Chapters 6-8, pp. 185-276 (and search color reproductions online) Milner, John, Vladimir Tatlin and the Russian Avant-Garde, Chapter 8, "The Monument to the Third International," pp. 150-180 Zhadova, Larissa A., Malevich: Suprematism and Revolution in Russian Art, 1910-1930, Chapter 2, pp. 41-68
Week IX, May 29, 2018. Lecture: "St. Petersburg / Petrograd / Leningrad / St. Petersburg: 'Piter' in the 20th Century"
Required Readings: Brodsky, Joseph, essay, "A Guide to a Renamed City," in Brodsky, Less Than One: Selected Essays, paperback, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1987, pp. 69-94 (Canvas: Brodsky, Renamed City) Excerpts from the trial of Joseph Brodsky, in Jonathan Eisen, ed., The Glasnost Reader, Plume, 1989, pp. 60-70 & 76-77 (Canvas: Brodsky, trial excerpts) Lincoln, Sunlight at Midnight, Part Four, "Hero City" (1941-1991), Chapters 10-12, pp. 268-365 (Bookstore) Zoshchenko, Mikhail, "Adventures of an Ape," in Scenes from the Bathhouse and Other Stories of Communist Russia, transl. Sidney Monas, University of Michigan Press, 1962, pp. 177- 183 (Canvas)
Recommended Readings: Bird, History of Russian Painting, Chapters 14-15, pp. 257-280 Brumfield, History of Russian Architecture, pp. 479-499 Kaganov, Images of Space, pp.. 156-189 Selected poems of Anna Akhmatova and Osip Mandelstam (Canvas) Mandelstam, Nadezhda, excerpts from her memoir, Hope Against Hope, transl. Max Hayward, Harper Collins, 1971 (also issued in paperback later), pp. 3-6, 415-416, and 419-420 (Canvas) Arrest of Osip Mandelstam, in Vitaly Shentalinsky, ed., The KGB's Literary Archive, Harvill Press, paperback, 1997, pp. 170-175 (Canvas: Mandelstam, arrest of) Reactions in Petersburg literature to Socialist Realism: Kharms, Daniil, mini-stories: "A Sonnet," "Vindication," "What They Sell in the Stores Nowadays," and "The Man with the Black Coat," in George Gibian, transl. & ed., The Man in the
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Black Coat: Russia's Literature of the Absurd, Northwestern University Press, paperback, 1997; pp. 60-61, 68-69, 97-99 (Canvas) Sinyavsky, Andrei, "The New Way of Life," in his Soviet Civilization: A Cultural History, transl. Joanne Turnbull, Arcade Publishing, Little, Brown and Company, paperback, 1990, pp. 164-169 (Canvas) Cf.: Two Soviet Socialist Realist songs: "Life's Getting Better," and "Ever Higher," in James von Geldern and Richard Stites, eds., Mass Culture in Soviet Russia: Tales, Poems, Songs, Movies, Plays, and Folklore, 1917-1953, Indiana University Press, paperback, 1995, pp. 237-238 & 257-258 (Canvas)
Week X, June 5, 2018: "Reflections on the Cultural Biography of St. Petersburg" We'll have a" Russian Pot Luck" party, we'll watch a documentary video, "Fear and the Muse," about the extraordinary life of Anna Akhmatova, the poetess of St. Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad in the 20th century, and we'll reflect on what we've learned about this extraordinary city. END
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