The great age of Russian literature reveals life at its most complex—a fascinating, often contradictory whirl of characters, events, observations and ideas. In this course, we will read the stories and verse of Pushkin, who marked the sudden coming of age of Russian literature. Providing more than an encore, Gogol’s stories and his famous drama depict a world going mad in stages. We will witness the birth of Russian realism in the beautifully crafted tales of Turgenev. But what’s the good of anything if you don’t know who and why you are? Such questions spur the obsessive and profound searches of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Throughout this course, we will experience and reflect on the energies of the Russian genius at its apex. (Specific texts may vary, depending on the semester.)