RUSS 464 - Russian Humor

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only. Korshunova. Prerequisite(s): Russian 360 or at least five years of Russian formal schooling, or consent of instructor. This course is intended for students who have spoken Russian at home and seek to improve their capabilities in formal and professional uses of the Russian language. One of the most fascinating and most difficult things for a student of foreign culture is to understand national humor, as it is presented in various stories and films, jokes and shows. To an extent, humor is a gateway to national mentality. In the present course we will examine Russian cultural history, from the sixteenth through the twenty-first centuries, through the vehicle of Russian humor. How does Russian humor depend on religion and history What was considered funny in various cultural trends What are the peculiarities of Russian humorist tradition Students will be familiarized with different Russian theories of humor (Bakhtin, Likhachev, Panchenko, Tynianov, etc.) and, of course, with a variety of works by Russian kings of humor Pushkin and Gogol, Chekhov and Zoshchenko, Bulgakov and Ilf and Petrov, Erofeev and Kibirov, etc. Class lectures will be supplemented by frequent video and musical presentations ranging from contemporary cartoons to high comedies and from comic songs (Chaliapins The Flea) to the music of Shostakovich (The Nose).

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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