Newberry Adult Education Seminars will meet both virtually and in the building for the Winter/Spring term. Although we are still primarily virtual, you will find a smaller selection of in-person seminars in the schedule. For more information about the Newberry’s virtual seminars, including a Zoom tutorial, please see our Virtual Seminars FAQ page. If you have questions about online learning, please reach out to adulteducation@newberry.org. Registration opens Wednesday, January 19th at 9am (Central time). Registration will take place through our online platform, Learning Stream.

Register via Learning Stream here

Seminar Description

Is Dostoevsky’s The Devils a grotesque caricature of the Russian nihilist movement in the 1860s? How does the demonic intrude into the novel’s nightmare vision of reality? How does J. M. Coetzee’s The Master of Petersburg broaden and deepen our understanding of The Devils? In this seminar, we will closely examine these two novels, focusing on narrative sophistication, psychological insight, and philosophical complexity. Readings will be supplemented by interactive and customized biographical, historical, cultural, and critical resources.

Nine sessions. Registration – $300/$270

Julia Kriventsova Denne studied literature at St. Petersburg University, Russia, and teaches Russian and Soviet literature in the Chicago area.

Materials List

Required:

• Fyodor Dostoevsky,The Devils, (Oxford World’s Classics, 2008) ISBN: 978-0199540495;

• J. M. Coetzee, The Master of Petersburg, (Penguin Books, 1995) ISBN: 978-0140238105

First Reading:

• Please read two chapters of The Devils for the first meeting