How to Cope with Life: a Crash Course in Existential Skills with Russian Literature
Your Instructor
PhD Candidate in Russian Studies
Princeton University
Being an incorrigible bookworm and a night owl with a penchant for foreign languages, it was but a matter of time that I would land in some literature department. I was born in Barcelona, Spain, where I graduated with a BA in German and Russian literatures. After a few years in industry, I moved to Chicago to earn a MA in Digital Humanities from uChicago, before going back to Europe for a MPhil in Slavonic Studies at the University of Oxford. Currently, I am earning a PhD in Slavic Studies at Princeton. In my doctoral research, I focus on translation, intertextuality, Symbolism, and literature and the scenic arts. I believe that there is no better observatory of mankind than literature, and I enjoy welcoming others into that observatory.
What you'll learn
Spend your Sunday afternoon fully engaging in Monday dread
Read and analyse representative works by the main authors of the Russian literary canon
Discuss existential questions: perception of reality, meaning of life, the inevitability of death
Learn the strategies literature employs to tackle philosophical questions: what makes art so effective at philosophy?
Course Schedule
We begin our "how-to" course with one of the most common coping strategies: going mad. In this session, we will discuss the short story "Diary of a Madman," by Nikolai Gogol (1835). As we shall see, while existence is usually maddening, coping with it can be real fun!
What You Get
Live interactive sessions
Engage in real-time discussions with expert instructors
Small discussion groups
Up to 15 students for personalized attention
Session recordings
Review and revisit class content anytime
Dedicated platform
Track progress and organize your schedule
Frequently asked questions
Course-specific questions
Your Instructor
PhD Candidate in Russian Studies
Princeton University
Being an incorrigible bookworm and a night owl with a penchant for foreign languages, it was but a matter of time that I would land in some literature department. I was born in Barcelona, Spain, where I graduated with a BA in German and Russian literatures. After a few years in industry, I moved to Chicago to earn a MA in Digital Humanities from uChicago, before going back to Europe for a MPhil in Slavonic Studies at the University of Oxford. Currently, I am earning a PhD in Slavic Studies at Princeton. In my doctoral research, I focus on translation, intertextuality, Symbolism, and literature and the scenic arts. I believe that there is no better observatory of mankind than literature, and I enjoy welcoming others into that observatory.