Michael Katz
C.V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East Eur. Studies
Email: mkatz@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5122
Office Hours: by appointment
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Biography:
I graduated from Horace Mann School (New York), and attended Williams College where I was the very first Russian major. Following graduation, I studied at Oxford University and the University of Leningrad, after which I received my D.Phil. (or Ph.D.) in Russian Literature from Oxford. First I taught Russian at Williams; I was Chair of the Department of Slavic Language at the University of Texas at Austin, and Director of the Title VI Center for Russian and East European Studies; and I became Deam of Language Schools and Schools Abroad at Middlebury in 1998. Since my term as Dean ended in 2004 I have been teaching full-time in the Russian Department.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ENGL 7751 - Tolstoy and/or Dostoevsky
ENGL 7753 - 19thC Realist Novel Old & New
ENGL 7765 - Modern European Drama
LITP 0101 - Intro to World Literature
This course is an introduction to the critical analysis of imaginative literature of the world, the dissemination of themes and myths, and the role of translation as the medium for reaching different cultures. Through the careful reading of selected classic texts from a range of Western and non-Western cultures, students will deepen their understanding and appreciation of the particular texts under consideration, while developing a critical vocabulary with which to discuss and write about these texts, both as unique artistic achievements of individual and empathetic imagination and as works affected by, but also transcending their historical periods. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
CMP CW LITSpring 2009
RELI 1030 - Jews & Rus Empire in Crisis
Jews and the Russian Empire in Crisis
S. An-sky (1863-1920) was a Russian-Jewish writer, ethnographer, and social activist. A prolific author, he wrote in two languages in every imaginable genre: articles, novels, plays, and songs. His best known work, The Dybbuk, immortalizes the legendary figure of a dead soul that takes possession of a living body to right an injustice suffered during its lifetime. We will study An-sky’s collected “works”: his fiction, play, memoirs, photographs, artifacts, and folk music. Our goal is a greater understanding of the cultural borderland between the two worlds, Russian and Jewish, which An-sky inhabited and portrayed at a time of crisis. (This class counts toward a concentration in Judaism within the religion major or as an elective credit towards the religion major).
Winter 2013
RUSS 0122 - The Russian Mind (in English)
The Russian Mind (in English)
In this course we will study the dominant themes of Russia's past and their role in shaping the present-day Russian mind. Topics will include: Slavic mythology; Russian Orthodoxy; Russian icons; the concept of autocracy; the legacy of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great; the Golden Age of Russian Literature (Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky); Russian composers, including the "Mighty Five"; Russian theater and ballet; the origins of Russian radicalism; the Russian Revolution; the legacy of Lenin and Stalin; and Russia from Khrushchev to Putin. 3 hrs. lect.
Fall 2010
RUSS 0351 - Dostoevsky
Dostoevsky (in English)
A study of the most important works by literary giant Fyodor Dostoevsky. Readings include: selected early fiction (Poor Folk, The Double, The Gambler); his seminal manifesto Notes from Underground; his first major novel Crime and Punishment; and his masterpiece The Brothers Karamazov.Biographical information, excerpts from the author's notebooks, analysis of comparative translations, and film adaptations will supplement readings. No knowledge of Russian required. Open to first-year students. 3 hrs. lect.
Spring 2009
RUSS 0354 / THEA 0354 - Chekhov
Chekhov (in English)
A study of Chekhov's major dramatic output: a survey of the history of Russian theatre before Chekhov; Turgenev's Month in the Country; Chekhov's evolution as a writer; analysis of his four major plays: Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and Cherry Orchard; Chekhov's European contemporaries and his Russian successors. 3 hrs. lect.
Fall 2010
RUSS 0500 - Advanced Independent Study
Advanced Studies in Language and Literature
Supervised individual study for highly qualified students. (Approval required)
Spring 2009, Fall 2010
RUSS 0700 - Senior Independent Study
Research:
I have written two books, one on the literary ballad in early 19th c. Russian poetry and the other on dreams and the unconscious in 19th c. Russian prose. I have translated a dozen or so works into English, including works by Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Mikhail Artsybashev, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Ivan Shcheglov, and Boris Akunin. I am currently working on an annotated translation of S. An-sky's novel "The Pioneers."
