Vera Proskurina
Associate Director
Email: vproskur@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5230
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Emory University
Kandidatskaya, Moscow State University
I received my Ph.D. in Russian Literature from Moscow State University (1989.) In 1989-1995 I worked in the Institute of World Literature (IMLI) of the Russian Academy of Science. Since 1995 I taught undergraduate and graduate courses at Cornell University and Wesleyan University . I published about 60 articles in Russian, American, British, German, and French journals and collections. My book, "Mikhail Gershenzon: ego zhizn' i mif" (1998), covers my study of Russian Modernism and intellectual trends of the first decades of the 20th century. Last year, I was a Regional Fellow of Davis Center of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Currently, I am completing a new book, "Eros of Power: Political Mythology and Russian Culture in the Age of Catherine the Great." I am investigating interactions of politics, poetry, royal ceremonies, and arts in eighteenth century Russia. I love parties, classical music, and travels.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
RUSS 6763 - Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina"
The course is designed as a close reading of the most acclaimed of Tolstoy’s works – his novel Anna Karenina. The novel was written and published in separate chapters during 1875 - 1877, and readers remained in suspense, as they did not know what would happen next with heroes. Students will be repeating the experience of Tolstoy’s first readers during their six weeks of study. Tolstoy’s work is an encyclopedia of the Russian culture of the second half of the 19th century. It makes our course completely interdisciplinary: we will discuss social, historical, philosophical, religious, cultural or legal issues, relevant for Lev Tolstoy as well as for his heroes. Such topics as family, marriage, wedding, women’s emancipation, and children’s education will be the themes of our class discussion. Students must be prepared to read about 30 pages for each class session, to actively participate in class discussion, and to write weekly short papers. Students will compose their final paper and present it during the mini-conference by the end of the course.
Summer 2010
RUSS 6766 - Dostoevsky's Crime &Punishment
Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
A seminar devoted to Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. Students will learn about the novel's background and creation, engage in a close reading of the text, place the novel in the context of Dostoevsky's other works and related topics in 19th-century Russian and West European thought, and explore echoes of Dostoevsky's ideas and later works.
LiteratureSummer 2011
RUSS 6884 - Master and Margarita ▹
M. Bulgakov's Master and Margarita
This course will be designed as a close reading of the famous “demonic” novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. We will discuss the unique structure and philosophy of the novel, as well as its political background and the novel’s artistic genealogy (literary, musical, religious, and philosophical sources).Class lectures will be supplemented by frequent slide, video, and musical presentations.
Students have to write weekly short papers, and a final paper.
LiteratureSummer 2012
RUSS 6903 - Research Paper
This research paper is a requirement for DML candidates during their summer of application.
Summer 2010
