Upcoming courses at SFU, Liberal Arts Program

 

 

 

 

Between Hell and Heaven: Russian Literature under Communism

 

 

One of the most dangerous professions in the Soviet period of Russian history proved to be that of writer. The Soviet dictatorship that claimed 60 million innocent lives physically exterminated authors together with their books. Why, under such circumstances, didn't most writers stop writing?  What drove them, often knowingly, to sacrifice their own lives and the lives of their families?

As we search for an answer, we'll look at the social, political and cultural contexts of the Stalin's times examining the works and destinies  of such diverse writers as Evgeni Zamyatin, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Isaak Babel, Osip Mandelstam and Michail Bulgakov.

 

 

 

Recent courses at SFU, Liberal Arts Program

 

 

 

ON the Edge of Empires: The Ancient Cultures of Armenia ans Georgia

 

Located at the crossroads of western Asia and Eastern Europe, former republics of the USSR, and now independent states, Armenia and Georgia are among the oldest civilizations in the world, with a recorded history of about 3,500 years. The earliest in Europe to convert to Christianity, and to translate the Bible into vernacular languages, both countries endured struggle with Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, the Persian and Russian empires and the Soviet totalitarianism. Yet, both countries have preserved powerful national identities, wonderful visual arts, music dance and literature.

This course is followed by a field trip to Armenia and Georgia.

 

Whether you took the course or not, you're welcome to join our spirited, curious, knowledgeable world-trotters.

We will drive along meandering mountainous roads with breathtaking sites in order to reach ancient churches and active monasteries in both countries. We'll visit art Museums as the Museum of Genocide in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia; will will admire mountain Ararat from Yerevan  (if anybody notices the Noah's ark on top, at least take a picture). But we'll also taste exquisite Armenian and Georgian wines that both countries claim were the first to invent 8,000 years ago. It is an exciting time to be in Armenia after the recent peaceful protests have led to a more democratic government, as well as to see changes in Georgia where a first woman President has been recently elected.

 

 

 

The Forgotten Splendor of Turgenev's Art

 

Among the highest elevations of 19th-century Russian Literature, Ivan Turgenev (1818 -1883) stands as one of the tallest peaks next to his famous contemporaries like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.  An advocate of European enlightenment for his country, a liberal who rejected the radicalism taking root in Russian society, Turgenev aroused fierce polemics with his novels. His life long devotion to the French opera singer Pauline Viardot has inspired some of the most beautiful passages on love in literature, at the same time fueling the anger of his detractors. We'll examine Turgenev's major works in the historical and social context of their time.

 

 

 

The Art of Short Story Reading (to be repeated  by popular demand)

 

Short fiction, a relatively new art form, developed at the end of the 19th century, is a difficult genre that allows a writer only a small space to recreate the fullness and wonder of life. What makes a story tick? What means does the author use to elicit our laughter or tears? We'll gain some insights by reading such diverse writers from different parts of the world as Camus, Mavis Gallant,  Dino Buzzati, Maupassant, Bachmanns and others.

 

 

 

Masterpieces of the Soviet Literature: Bulgakov, Master and Margarita

 

 

 

 

Tours

 

Every two years I take my engaged and culture-curious  students to a field trip to Russia and other post-Soviet states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia,  Armenia...

We visit both cities and villages focusing on the jewels of art and culture and simply looking at the way people live.

 

For a detailed program and further information contact me, or our travel agents at CBT Luxury Edition Travel:

info@luxuryedition.ca

604 925 9680

Past Courses at SFU and UBC Adult Education

 

Great Cities in Their Time: St. Petersburg and Its Culture

 

The Art of Translation

 

A Daring Eye Behind the Camera: Russian Women Film Directors

 

Aesthetics of Love: A History

 

Anna Karenina and her Creator

 

Chekhov and Bunin

 

Dostoyevsky the Visionary

 

From Cicero to Sacks: Sages on Aging

 

Genius of the Place

 

 

At The Highest Point Of Artistry: Nabokov And Bunin, Russian Writers In Exile

 

Petrarch and His World: The Story of "The Father of Humanism"

 

Picturing the Holy: The Russian Icon Through the Ages: Understanding Russian Icon

 

Russia's Arts on Film

 

Between Hell and Heaven, Masterpieces Of Modern Russian Prose

 

Russian Cinema

 

In Search for Meaning: Existentialism

 

Women In Russian Culture:

 

How To Read Nabokov

 

In Search Of Objects And Words Lost: Writing About The Intangible

 

Understanding Russian Civilization

 

Soviet Cinema: Wars, Revolution and Propaganda

 

The Art of Short Story Reading

 

The Forgotten Splendour of Turgenev's Art

 

 The Making of a Dictator: Putin’s Rise to Power