Poetics of Resistance: An Introduction to Ukrainian Literature
SLAVIC 165
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
This course will provide an overview of Ukrainian multicultural literature through the lens of the poetics of resistance. Our exploration will span the period from the genesis of modern Ukrainian literature in the 17th century to contemporary works emerging in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Starting from the discussion of Ivan Kotliarevsky’s travesty of Virgil’s Aeneid, Nikolai Gogol/ Mykola Hohol’s hybrid identities and Taras Shevchenko’s resolutely anti-imperial poetry we will go on to discuss the groundbreaking feminist writing of Lesia Ukrainka and Olha Kobylianska. A significant part of the course will be dedicated to the Soviet period: we will study how Ukrainian modernists both reflected Soviet culture and subverted it; we will look at how Ukrainian dissidents defied the Soviet order and managed to create outstanding literary works even in the extreme circumstances of the Gulag. Finally, we will analyze some of the poetry, prose, and film that seek to articulate the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, shedding light on its causes and stakes. In studying some of Ukraine’s literary masterpieces, we will tunnel to the heart of the phenomenon of resistance: its philosophy, aesthetics, cultural practices, and historical reverberations. Fundamentally, we will reflect on the nexus between literature and ethics, focusing on themes such as resistance against political violence and oppression, human rights discourse, feminist struggle as well as justice and solidarity.
Course Notes
No prior knowledge of Ukrainian literature is required or expected. All materials will be provided in English.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
