RUSS 142 - Dostoevsky and Psychology (in English)

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Fyodor Dostoevsky was an avid student of the human mind, with particular interest in aberrant and self-destructive behavior. He drew on his observations of people from all strata of society and his four-year-long prison experience to endow his characters with fascinating psychological depth. After Dostoevsky’s death, his works have been cited by Freud, existentialist philosophers and others to support theories of their own. This course focuses on a number of works in which Dostoevsky’s depiction of psychological issues is particularly crucial to the central message he attempts to convey. Readings include three of the major novels (Crime and Punishment, The Devils, and The Brothers Karamazov) as well as a number of Dostoevsky’s shorter works. This course entails detailed examinations of the texts and discussion of how Dostoevsky’s works relate to current psychological issues and problems.

All readings and discussion are in English.

Not offered in 2014/15.

Two 75-minute periods.