Class Description
Join in a rare opportunity to spend the fall reading slowly and closely the first part (Books 1 and 2) of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1865–69), supplemented by Nadezhda Durova’s famous memoirs, The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars (1836–39).
Though War and Peace is a story of the Russian Empire during the Napoleonic wars, it is also an exploration of the lives not just of one group of people or separate characters, but of the whole nation within a period of twenty years. Following the main characters of the novel, we will explore the fundamental issues that interested Tolstoy, the book’s reflection in film adaptations, and the way to read War and Peace now at the time of Russia’s turn towards imperialism and militarism.
During the last two sessions, for a different perspective, we will turn to The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars, the celebrated memoirs of Nadezhda Durova, a cavalry officer who served in the Russian army during the Napoleonic wars, and who has historically been understood as a woman disguised as a man. Recently the ambiguous gender identity of Durova, who considered his male identity to be his true self, has become subject to new studies of gender roles, masculinity, femininity, and sexuality.
Julia Kriventsova Denne studied literature at Saint Petersburg University, Russia, and teaches Russian literature and culture in the Chicago area.
All virtual classes are recorded and made available on a password-protected basis to participants registered in the class. These recordings are available for up to two weeks after the class ends.
Materials List
Required
- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780199232765
- Nadezhda Durova, The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars. Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN: 9780253205490
- Other Instructor-Distributed Materials
First Reading
- Please read War and Peace, Book One, Part One, p. 1 – 118 for the first class.
Cost and Registration
This class is full, but you can still register for the waitlist on Learning Stream.
9 Sessions, $320 ($288 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We now offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($320), Community Supported ($300), and Sponsor ($340). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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