RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 1 University of Pittsburgh Department of Slavic
RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 1
University of Pittsburgh Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures RUSS 0090: Russian Fairy Tales (Online Hybrid)
Fall 2012 Instructor: Erin Alpert Day and Time: Online, with 3 Saturday sessions Email: [email protected] Room: CL 218 Office: CL 1417 CRN: 12112 Office hours: By appointment
Objectives The primary goal of the course is to teach students about Russian Fairy Tales, and the Russian Fairy Tale tradition. Along the way, students will also learn about Russian culture and Russian literature. Students will also learn critical frameworks, such as Freudian, Structuralist, Marxist, and Feminist theories of criticism, as well as how to apply these frameworks to texts.
A secondary goal of the course is to have students practice collaborative learning skills. Most meaningful ideas and achievements are the result of people working together to formulate, analyze, and perfect ideas. This course is designed so that the primary learning spaces are the discussion forums, where each module’s readings will be dissected and built upon through the participation of students and their interaction with each other and the instructor. Therefore, another goal of the course is to help students develop experience in this kind of collaborative space. Consequently, other goals of the course include developing and improving critical thinking, writing, textual analysis, and research skills.
Form of the Course This is an online hybrid course. This means that the bulk of the course will be conducted online. Here you will find course materials, communicate with your instructor and your classmates, and find information on and submit all tasks and assignments. You should access the course website frequently and check your messages at least once per day. In addition, we will meet face to face on three Saturday afternoons over the course of the semester. The Saturday meetings will be on September 15, October 20 and November 17 from 1-4pm in Cathedral of Learning 218 . The September and October dates are mandatory. We will use this time to screen films and film clips, and we will discuss them in the context of the readings we have been doing for the course. For the November date you will have the option to watch the film on your own time. If you cannot come to the Saturday sessions, and/or will not have regular access to the internet, you should rethink taking this class.
Attendance Since this is predominately an online course, you are free to study at the place and time of day of your choice (with the exception of the Saturday sessions). However, you have to complete your readings in time to participate in the online discussion, and your discussion grade will depend on the thoroughness of your participation on the discussion boards. This means that you need to log into the course website every day, or at least once every two days. Needless to say, the best way to succeed in the course is to keep up with the reading to ensure that you are posting thoughtful comments and questions during the week for which the reading is assigned. RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 2
Workload This is not an easy class. I will give you as much help as I can, introducing the material, moderating discussion, and answering questions, but I expect this course to challenge you. You should plan on an average of at least twelve hours a week for study and activity work, but some of you may spend considerably more time than that, particularly if you are seduced into extensive participation in the discussion (which is likely to result in a higher grade at the end of the term).
Technology and Skills I expect you to have at least basic computer skills, such as the ability to use a mouse and keyboard, use word-processing software, use an internet browser, etc. You must also have access to an internet connection and browser.
Email Policy Each student is issued a University email address ([email protected]) upon admittance. This email address may be used by the University (and me) for official communication with students. You are expected to read email sent to this account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in a timely manner does not absolve you from knowing and complying with the content of the communications. The University provides an email forwarding service that allows students to read their email via other service providers (e.g., Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo). Students that choose to forward their email from their pitt.edu address to another address do so at their own risk. If email is lost as a result of forwarding, it does not absolve the student from responding to official communications sent to their University email address. Therefore, please check your Pitt email regularly; “I didn’t get it,” or “It must have been lost” are not acceptable excuses for missing pertinent information. Please manage your email quota to ensure that you continue to receive important messages.
Course Website This course was developed using a web course tool called Blackboard. All course materials, tasks, assignments, exams, etc. (except for the required books) will be online. You will use your main Pitt account to log in to the course at CourseWeb ( http://courseweb.pitt.edu ). This course site will be available to you from the first day of the term.
To access the weekly modules, use the folders in the left-hand menu. There you’ll find an introduction, and discussion board for each module; some modules will also have an assignment. For easier access to the discussion boards, a list of all discussion forums from all modules is accessible through the “Discussion Boards” button.
If you haven’t used Blackboard before, in order to get started with a Blackboard course, please see the Blackboard Student Manual at http://library.blackboard.com/ref/ac6a8266-81c9-423f- a187-6cf4f7a505b7/index.htm. If you need further help, the Pitt Technology Help Desk Team provides technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can be reached at 412-624- HELP, [email protected] , or http://technology.pitt.edu/Help.aspx .
Interaction with the Instructor RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 3
I will communicate with you primarily through the discussion boards, announcements on CourseWeb and email. I will monitor the discussion boards all week, asking follow-up questions and responding to student posts as necessary. I will also respond to individual concerns and questions through email; my address is [email protected]. Unless something unusual arises, I will check the discussion boards and my email at least once a day on weekdays, usually during typical working hours. Late night or weekend emails will likely have a longer wait time for a response.
Course Requirements and Grading Your grade in this class will be made up of the following:
Exams (x 3): 20% each (total of 60%) Participation (both online and face to face): 30% Other assignments (quizzes, short analytical essays, etc.): 10%
I expect you to have a good command of the English language and be able to express yourselves clearly. Although typos are an unavoidable part of life, I expect you to proofread and spell- check your posts and all other assignments before you submit them.
Class Participation (Discussion Board): Participation is an essential part of this course. You MUST participate in the course’s discussions. Class discussions will take place in the Discussion Board of Blackboard for each module. I will post discussion questions to start each thread. These questions will be mainly about the assigned readings and your interpretations of them. I will also post follow-up questions and clarifying posts as the week goes on. Everyone must write at least FIVE posts per week, spread over at least THREE threads. At least two of those posts should be in response to other students’ posts, not instructor questions. Lessons will be posted by midnight on Mondays and your discussion board posts will be due at midnight the following Sunday. Please begin posting your responses early in the week so that you can respond to each other’s comments.
Each post must have content to count towards your grade assessment; simply writing “Yes, I agree” or other such comments is insufficient. I will assess each student’s participation in each module for a weekly discussion grade. I will consider post length and number of posts, but I will also judge posts on thoughtfulness, thoroughness of understanding, depth of analysis, and how much each post contributes to the discussion at hand, moving it forward in useful and interesting ways.
C grades will be awarded for adequate participation—if a student has met the basic requirements of saying five things over two threads, but the posts have not been particularly thoughtful or thorough, or demonstrate that the student has not read carefully or considered the readings with any real effort. A grades will be awarded to students whose posts are well-reasoned, carefully written, demonstrate careful reading and considered analysis, and contribute something particularly useful to the class’s understanding of the subject. B grades, of course, will fall in between. Extra participation (more than five posts, as described above) is not necessary to earn an A grade, but I will consider extra participation (that is useful and on-topic) in my weekly assessments. RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 4
I want to emphasize that just because thorough reading and thoughtful analysis will be rewarded with better grades, it is not a detriment to you to ask questions or to admit that you found something in the reading unclear. Great questions can be just as helpful to discussion as great answers, and useful, thought-provoking questions can help to earn As. And even if your question does not seem extraordinary, please feel free to ask it—asking questions, even basic questions, about a topic will NEVER hurt your grade (unless it is clear that you have not read the week’s assignment and are asking questions about it to try to avoid doing so). Questions are often very useful to fellow students who were too shy to ask the same things themselves, or who did not realize that they were not understanding something completely.
Bear in mind that even though you may not participate in every discussion thread, I expect ALL students to read through ALL of the threads each week. For exams, you will be responsible for knowing ALL of the information on the ENTIRE board, even discussion threads you did not participate in.
Finally (and I hope this goes without saying), the discussion boards are our classroom, and I expect you to behave as you would in any other class (i.e., be respectful and courteous to one another).
Exams : In this course there will be three exams. The exams will consist of essay questions. You are expected to give long answers (several paragraphs) to these questions. It is very important that you both present your knowledge about the issues asked and provide your own ideas in a critical and analytical way. You must be able to clearly state, analyze, and even problematize the issues you have encountered in the readings and discussed in class, and situate them in relationship to the course’s larger themes and patterns.
Other assignments: At various points in the syllabus, I will ask you to complete quizzes online or to submit short essays wherein you apply the critical frameworks you will learn to fresh tales.
Disability Policy If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, please notify both me and Disability Resources and Services by the second week of the term. They will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 412-648-7890 (voice or TDD) to schedule an appointment. The Internet address is http://www.pitt.edu/˜osaweb/drs/drs.html and the office is located in the William Pitt Union, Room 216.
Academic Integrity I expect every student to rigorously follow the guidelines laid out in Pitt’s Handbook on Integrity regarding cheating, plagiarism, etc. Please take the time to visit the University’s Academic Integrity Policies (http://www.as.pitt.edu/faculty/policy/integrity.html) and Procedures (http://www.bc.pitt.edu/policies/policy/02/02-03-02.html) regarding cheating, plagiarism, etc. I will also provide additional information about plagiarism on Blackboard. I take an extremely dim view on academic integrity violations, and violators will be penalized to the full extent RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 5
possible. If plagiarism occurs, I will proceed under the assumption that you have read these websites and committed a violation in spite of it.
Readings Some readings will come out of the required reading materials, but some will be found online at links provided to you.
You should procure copies of:
Russian Fairy Tales by AleksandrAfanas'ev Russian Folk Belief by Linda Ivanits The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim
These three books are available at the Pitt Book Center (as well as online). There will be many other readings, but they will be available online and will be posted on CourseWeb.
Schedule of Readings Readings and assignments should be completed in the order listed.
AA = AleksandrAfanas'ev BB = Bruno Bettelheim LI = Linda Ivanits CW = CourseWeb OL = Online, with link provided
Week 0 Topics • Welcome, Introduction Readings and Assignments • Introduction discussion board
Week 1 (due September 2) Topics • Terms • Domestic and Nature Spirits • Paganism, Orthodoxy, and Dvoeverie • Folklore • Jacobson and Bogatyrov Readings • CW: Definitions of Basic Terms • LI: pp. 3-17, 51-82, 169-89 • CW: Pushkin, “Rusalka” • LI: pp. 19-50, 130-168 • CW: Roman Jakobson and PetrBogatyrev, “Folklore as a Special Form of Creativity”
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Week 2 (due September 9) Topics • Lüthi • Propp Readings and Assignments • CW: Max Lüthi, The European Folktale: Form and Nature , pp. 1-36 • AA:“Ivan the Peasant’s Son and the Thumb-Sized Man,” pp. 262-68; “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” pp. 439-47; “Prince Ivan, the Firebird, and the Grey Wolf,” pp. 612-25 • CW:Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale , “The Method and the Material” and “The Functions of Dramatis Personae,” pp. 19-24, 149-155 • AA: “The Magic Swan Geese,” pp. 349-51; “The Crystal Mountain,” pp. 482-85 • Assignment: Select a tale that is not on the syllabus and analyze it as Propp would. Does it fit his structuralist theory?
Week 3 (due September 16) Topics • Intro to Psychoanalysis: Bettelheim • Youngest Child Tales • Two Sibling Tales Readings • BB: pp. 78-83, 90-96, 102-11 • AA:“Salt,” pp. 40-44; “Ivanushko, the Little Fool,” pp. 62-66; “The Princess Who Wanted to Solve Riddles,” pp. 115-17 • AA:“Misery,” pp. 20-24; “The Armless Maiden,” pp. 294-99; “Two Ivans, Soldier’s Sons,” pp. 463-75; “Shemiaka the Judge,” pp. 625-27
Week 4 (Due September 23) Topics • Animal Bride and Groom Tales • Sleeping Beauty Tales Readings and Assignments • BB:pp. 282-91, 295-310 • AA: “The Frog Princess,” pp. 119-23; “The Snotty Goat,” pp. 200-02 • CW:Sergei Aksakov, “The Little Scarlet Flower” • BB: pp. 225-36 • AA:“Prince Ivan and Princess Martha,” pp. 79-86; “The Enchanted Princess,” pp. 600-11 • Assignment: Select a tale that is not on the syllabus and write a brief analysis of it from Bettelheim’s Freudian perspective.
Exam 1 (due September30)
Week 5 (due October 7) Topics • Marxism • The Culture industry RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 7
Readings and Assignments • CW: Marxism Primer • CW:Jack Zipes, “Breaking the Disney Spell,” pp. 72-95 • OL:Theodor Horkheimer and Max Adorno, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/culture- industry.htm • Afanas'ev: “Salt,” pp. 40-44 • OL:ArkadiiGaidar, “Tale of the Military Secret,” at http://www.sovlit.com/militarysecret/militarysecret01.html • CW:Ivan Shukshin, “Before the Cock Crows Thrice” (excerpt) • Assignment: Write a brief essay critiquing one of our fairy tales from a Marxist/Frankfurt School perspective.
Week 6 (due October 14) Topics • Feminism • Bad Wives • Wise Maidens • Hagiography Readings • CW: RuthBottigheimer, “Silenced Women” • CW:Marsha Lieberman, “Someday my Prince Will Come” • AA: “The Wonderous Wonder, the Marvelous Marvel,” pp. 13-15; “The Bad Wife,” pp. 56-57; “The Indiscreet Wife,” pp. 226-27; “The Goldfish,” pp. 528-32 • AA: “Vasilisa, the Priest’s Daughter,” pp. 131-34; “The Wise Maiden and the Seven Robbers,” pp. 134-40; “The Wise Little Girl,” pp. 252-55; “The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise,” pp. 427-37 • CW: “Peter and Fevronia of Murom,” pp. 291-300
Week 7 (due October 21) Topics • Wicked Stepmothers • Cinderella and Stepmother Tales • Snow White Tales Readings • BB: pp. 66-73, 199-215 • CW: MariaWarner, “Wicked Stepmothers,” pp. 218-40 • CW: Sandra Gilbert &Susan Gubar, “The Queen’s Looking Glass” • AA: “The Golden Slipper,” pp. 44-46; “Burenushka, the Little Red Cow,” pp. 146-50; “The Maiden Tsar,” pp. 229-34; “Daughter and Stepdaughter,” pp. 278-79; “The Grumbling Old Woman,” pp. 340-41; “Jack Frost,” pp. 366-69; “Vasilisa the Beautiful,” pp. 439-47 • CW: Afanas'ev, “The Magic Mirror” • CW:AleksandrPushkin, “The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights”
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Week 8 (Due October 28) Topics • Baba Yaga and Koshchei the Deathless • Queer Theory Readings • CW: Maria Von Franz, “Taboos,” pp. 190-214 • AA: “Baba Yaga and the Brave Youth,” pp. 76-79; “Baba Yaba,” pp. 194-95; “The Maiden Tsar,” pp. 229-34; “Koshchey the Deathless,” pp. 485-93; “Maria Morevna,” pp. 553-62 • CW: Theoretical text TBD
Exam 2 (due November 4)
Week 9 (due November 11) Topics • Epics and byliny • Pushkin • Romanticism • Orientalism • Literary fairy tales Readings • CW:Felix Oinas, “Russian Byliny” • CW: “Ilya Muromets and Nightengale the Robber,” pp. 28-36; “Sadko,” pp. 32-42 • AA: “Ivan the Simpleton,” pp. 142-45; “FomaBerennikov,” pp. 284-87; “Ilya Muromets and the Dragon,” pp. 569-75 • CW: “How to Read a Poem: Poetic Meter” • CW: Aleksandr Pushkin, “The Golden Cockerel” and “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” • CW: Edward Said, Orientalism , “Introduction,” pp. 1-28 • CW:AleksandrOstrovskii, “The Little Scarlet Flower”
Week 10 (due November 18) Topics • Sorcery, Spoiling and Healing Readings • LI: pp. 83-124, 190-205 • AA: “The Sorceress,” pp. 567-68; “The Vampire,” pp. 593-98 • CW:Nikolai Gogol’, “Viy”
Week 11 (due November 25) Topics • “Fairy Tales” in 19 th c. and early 20 th c. Readings RUSS 0090: Fall 2012: 9
• CW:Nikolai Gogol’ “The Overcoat” • CW: Ivan Turgenev “Bezhin Meadow”
Week 12 (due December 2) Topics • Absurdism • Socialist Realism Readings • CW:DaniilKharms, selections from Today I Wrote Nothing , “A Ffairy Tale,” p. 178; “A Fable,” p. 218; “The Copper Look,” p. 227; “The Four-Legged Crow,” p. 246 • CW:Katerina Clark, The Soviet Novel: History as Ritual , “Introduction,” pp. 3-24; “Appendix A,” pp.255-260 • CW:Boris Polevoi, selection from Story of a Real Man , pp. 17-66
Week 13 (due December 9) Topics • Magic Realism • Contemporary women writers • Censored Tales Readings • CW:Tat'ianaTolstaya, “Date with a Bird,” pp. 116-30; “The Poet and the Muse,” pp. 117-31 • CW: “Reading Guide for ‘Date with a Bird’”; “Guide to Russian Mythic Birds” • Afanas'ev, “The Feather of Finist, the Bright Falcon,” pp. 580-88 • CW: Censored tales
Exam 3 (due SATURDAY December 15)