Fall 2006, M-W-F 10:50-11:50, HUM 212
Reading/discussion.
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| L. N. Tolstoy. Iasnaia Poliana, 1907. | L. N. Tolstoy going over his morning mail. Meshcherskoye, 1910. |
Photos by V. G. Chertkov. http://www.utoronto.ca/tolstoy/gallery/index.html |
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Our main objective is to and learn and reflect critically
on ideas about literature, Russian society, and Tolstoy, rather than
rehash what we already know. I see this as a collective enterprise to
which each of us has much to contribute. We will therefore spend most
of our class time in discussion and explanation rather than lectures.
It is important that you participate in discussions and I will make
sure that everyone gets her/his word in, but I will also try to keep
us on track, which means that I will cut off discussions that have little
relevance to our main focus. Since there are no prerequisites, I assume
in assignments, lectures, and discussions that you have no prior knowledge
of our topic, I will discourage class discussion of peripheral matters,
non-relevant personal likes/dislikes, and texts not familiar to all
(but encourage you to follow up on such topics and ideas outside class
with fellow-students, me, or Alexis). An important course aim is to
learn to be critical thinkers and to express ourselves orally. We'll
be covering new ground and I aim for you to get a basic, not exhaustive,
understanding of our materials. We'll devote most of our time to discussions
and explanations of our specific readings and to considering alternative
argument and approaches. Some readings will by necessity be very briefly
discussed in class—I hope discussions will continue outside class
or in the department's and college's other classes!
There will be no formal exams so it is crucial that you put lots of
effort into your class performance and your writing. Come to class prepared
for discussion! You can't discuss a text you haven't read!. Moral: Read
texts closely and carefully and by the date they are assigned!
Reading/Discussion tips:
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Literature is not a hard science, and most often there are no "right" answers to our discussion topics, though we should be be aware of potential misrepresentations, misquotations, or cultural confusion of texts. Hence it is important that you read slowly and carefully.
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War and Peace is a literary text—you don't read it only to find out what happened (in fact most of you already know who won the 1812 war!), but you also want to pay attention how it is written and whose point of view is represented. Read closely!
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As an active reader you are in dialogue with Tolstoy (as well as with the class) and the basis for our discussions is both Tolstoy and your reactions to Tolstoy. As you read, underline, scribble reminders/rejoinders, agreements, disagreements, connections to other writers, etc. in the margins, take notes, and anything else that will help you reflect on topics, remember your initial reactions, connect to other parts in the text, and prepare to share your ideas with the class.
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We aim for an open-ended dialogue and multiple points of view. I hope we will not always agree on issues and I'll encourage arguments, counterarguments, criticism (all with due respect to others and solid supporting "evidence").
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Make sure that you represent both Tolstoy and your classmates correctly: listen!
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Active listening is as important to a good discussion as speaking: avoid dominating the floor, interrupting others in midstream, showing off, or getting too heated just because you want to be right (getting passionate about ideas, however, can also be good).
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Raising questions is as important as making statements and is often more productive—in fact, that is really what scholarship is all about. If something in our texts is unclear, look it up in dictionaries, encyclopedias, on line, and if you still can't figure it out, ask in class.
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When reading (or listening to) critical ideas of scholars, keep in mind that they too can be wrong, they too usually have no "full" or "final" answers—don't let "authority" silence you. Your ideas count! Tolstoy is a good role model in this respect: he questioned everything from historians to government actions to the orthodox church..
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Respect cultural differences.
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The second major aim of the course is writing and though this will mostly be a matter between you and various resources, class discussions will help you define topics, carry on written arguments, and expose you to others' perspectives. I encourage discussing your writing projects in class (when pertinent) and outside class as energetically and widely as possible with each other, Alexis, me, or anyone else you might engage in the Macalester community. Writing is in fact important enough to warrant its own page!