Intercultural Transpositions: Russian Literature on World Stage and Screen

3 units

In this course, we pair our reading of one work of Russian literature with our viewing of a loose adaptation, in some cases a radical recontextualization, of this literary work by one or more non-Russian film directors. We will discuss these transpositions on several levels: 1) intercultural; 2) intermedial (literature to film); 3) between types of performance (stage and screen); and 4) across time (from one historical era to another). Our close examination of these works will be supplemented by theoretical articles that explore approaches to storytelling, translatability, performance, and creativity in a global context. Russian authors will include Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Gorky. Film directors include Visconti, Motamen, Bresson, Kurosawa, Malle, Scorsese, and Hamaguchi.