<p> Robin Feuer Miller Shiffman 215 6-3192 Department office: 6-3200 [email protected] Office hours: Monday: 5:00 to 6:00 and Wednesday 1:00 to 2:00, 5:00 to 6:00 and by appointment</p><p>Chekhov and the Art of Storytelling (RECS 134b)</p><p>This course offers a detailed investigation of the evolution of Chekhov’s art--a unique blend of realism and symbolism. We shall emphasize both the thematic and structural aspects of Chekhov’s works. We will pay particular attention to his methods of characterization, use of detail, narrative technique, and the roles into which he casts his audience. We will read stories about children and the nature of childhood, about students, about “the woman question,” about peasants, about religion, about marriage and adultery, about art and storytelling, about the human condition (both generally and in Russia of the nineteenth century in particular). We shall also read two of Chekhov’s plays, Uncle Vanya and The Three Sisters, as well as selections from his extraordinary letters. Students will also be encouraged to read some critical material on Chekhov and to read more widely in Chekhov’s stories and plays if they so desire.</p><p>Course requirements:</p><p>Each student will write two short response papers (two double spaced pages) and use them as the basis for giving two oral presentations on two different stories or plays. These presentations, of ten to fifteen minutes, should also raise questions for class discussion. Your presentations may focus on those aspects of the work you have chosen which you find most striking or most problematic. Please sign up by the third week of class or before for these written assignments and the oral presentations. If more than one student chooses to work on the same story or play for this assignment, you should coordinate the focus of your presentation with the other person. Or, you may choose to give a small group presentation, a panel discussion, or a debate.</p><p>Finally, during the second half of our course you will write a paper of eight to ten pages or create a creative adaptation of some kind—working with a story, a play, or a combination of stories and plays. We will discuss the options for this final project more fully in class. You will formulate the ideas for your final project in a conference with me and turn in a written thesis statement by Wednesday, March 18. During class time on Wednesday, April 1, each student will bring to class a first draft of his or her paper. We will spend this class session working in pairs to edit and suggest ideas for revision of these drafts. You will present an oral version of your paper to the class on either Wednesday, April 22 or Monday, April 27. Your final papers are due NO LATER than noon on Wednesday, April 29.</p><p>Important Dates: The dates of your two oral presentations (and turning in your two response papers) TBD Written thesis statement for final paper or adaptation, Wednesday, March 18. Peer editing and review in class, Wednesday, April 1. In class presentations, Wed. 4/22 and Mon. 4/27. Final paper or adaptation due: Wed. March 29 no later than noon.</p><p>Grading and attendance:</p><p>Your final grade for the course will be arrived at by assessing both your written work and the quality and quantity of your class participation. I expect you to come to class having read the assignment at least once and to have found some time to reflect upon it as well. Late written work will be accepted only with an excuse from your Academic Dean.</p><p>Oral presentations on stories or plays 25% Response papers 25% Peer editing of student paper 5% Final paper 30% Class participation 15%</p><p>I regret to have to include a brief warning on plagiarism and cheating. All work which you submit must be your own, and any thought or words from the work of others should be acknowledged in the appropriate way, through quotations, footnotes, etc. Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses, and any suspected instances of either will be investigated according to University procedures. Having said this, let me also say that I do not expect cheating or plagiarism to occur in our class.</p><p>If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please let me know immediately.</p><p>Outcomes:</p><p>The goals of this course, as with each of the courses I offer, are both tangible and intangible. I emphasize the acquisition of the skills for close reading and analysis of literary texts. Close reading, clarity of speaking, the willingness and the ability to enter into searching conversation and dialogue, and finally, the ongoing work of writing compellingly and clearly are the most practical and portable goals of my courses. The achievement of these goals—their outcome—is, of course, up to the student. </p><p>Students will also acquire a firm grounding in the work of Chekhov as well as a basic knowledge of some of the fundamental aspects of the art of storytelling, whether through narrative prose forms or drama. At the same time, Chekhov’s work offers readers an intimate and searching look at Russia in the nineteenth century and at the human condition more generally. The intangible goals of this course are the most valuable. Often the surrender of oneself to a work of art—whether it be drama, visual art, dance, music, poetry or fiction—can profoundly and indelibly alter one’s sense of the world and of oneself. Moreover, one returns to particular favorite works of art throughout one’s life. Having an arsenal of treasured works of art prepares one for life as surely and firmly as does a grounding in math, science, or the social sciences.</p><p>Reading literature is, emphatically, an art, not a science, and in successful close reading, one gives oneself over to the exploration of the workings of another’s mind and heart in the act of creation. The meanings one derives from close reading are replete with ambiguities and uncertainties, but that does not equate to imprecision or sloppiness. The kind of knowledge one acquires through reading literature and writing about it is both lasting and ever-changing, for it evolves along with one’s own developing aesthetic sensibility and one’s own ever-deepening experience of being aliv Reading List Stories and Plays of Chekhov (RECS 134)</p><p>“Oysters” 1884 “The Huntsman,” 1885 “Grisha” 1886 “Vanka”1886 “Misery” 1886 “Anyuta” 1886 “Agafya” 1886 “Requiem” 1886 “The Siren’s Song” 1887 “At Home” 1887 “Enemies,”1887 “Kashtanka,” 1887 “The Kiss” 1887 “Sleepy” 1888 “The Nameday Party” 1888 “An Attack of Nerves” 1888 “A Dreary Story” 1889 “Gusev” 1890 “Peasant Women,: 1891 (“The Grasshopper” 1892) (“Ward Number 6" 1892) (“Neighbors” 1892) “The Student” 1894 “Rothschild’s Fiddle” 1894 “Anna on the Neck” 1895 (“Ariadne” 1895) ‘The House with the Mansard” 1896 (“Peasants” 1897) “In the Cart,” 1897 Uncle Vanya 1897 The Trilogy: “The Man in a Case” 1898 “Gooseberries” 1898 “About Love” 1898 (“A Doctor’s Visit” 1898)</p><p>“The Darling” 1899 “The Lady with a Dog” 1899 “In the Ravine” 1900 The Three Sisters 1900 “The Bishop” 1902 </p>