Nabokov

The course examines Vladimir Nabokov's (1899-1977) major achievements in prose in both Russian and American periods, paying particular attention to their cultural context (Russian émigré culture of the 1920s and 30s); the questions of his aesthetics, ethics, and metaphysics, as well as his engagement in the dialogue with other European modernist writers, especially with the existentialists. Readings include Nabokov's selected short stories and novels, such as The Defense , Invitation to a Beheading , Despair , The Eye The Gift , Pnin , or Lolita . In English.