L311 TH: Reading Nabokov                    
Mikita Brottman, Ph.D
L311 TH Tuesday 9.00-11.45am  B460
Office and Hours: Bunting 412; MTW 8-9 am
Telephone: 225-2498    e-mail: mbrottma@mica.edu

 Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) was one of the most remarkable novelists the world has ever seen.  Born into a wealthy family in late imperial Russia, he fled to Western Europe following the Revolution of 1917, beginning a life of exile and constant longing for the lost country of his youth.  He wrote novels in Russian throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and he was generally recognized as one of the finest writers in the émigré milieu.  After immigrating to the U.S. in 1940, Nabokov chose to begin writing in English and proved to be a master stylist in his second language. This course will introduce students to Nabokov’s works, from his early novels to his masterpieces, including his best-known and most controversial novel, Lolita.  

Required Books (available in MICA Bookstore). You might find different editions online, but these are the editions referred to in the reading schedule:

Vladimir Nabokov, The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov, NY: Vintage, 1995.
Vladimir Nabokov, The Annotated Lolita, NY: Vintage, 1991.
Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin, NY: Penguin, 1997.

Course Guidelines

Attendance: is expected at all classes and all film screenings. You come to class with your reading and writing assignments completed, ready to participate in class discussion, although, due to the size of this class, most sessions will be lecture-based. You should visit the course site at Blackboard and post your required response at least 24 hours before the next class. Doing the reading and responding on Blackboard is just as important as coming to class. Please show respect for other students by arriving promptly for class and posting promptly on Blackboard.

Midterm and Final: These will both be in-class exams. Please take note of the dates: it is impossible for me to give make-ups for in-class exams! If you become ill or the victim of emergency circumstances, please let me know as soon as possible. Evidence of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment. The midterm is 20 points of your final grade, and the final is also 20.

Blackboard: In the first week of class you will be given a group number, and introduced to the other members of your group. For 10 weeks, your group will have the responsibility of posting material on Blackboard. Individually, you will be asked to either: (1) comment on style and structure; (2) comment on themes & ideas; (3) comment on the week’s theory, OR (4) respond to any of the above comments. You must post BY MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY in advance, allowing time for responses to be posted before class. Every Blackboard entry must consist of (a minimum of) TEN grammatically correct sentences.

Quizzes: The course will involve two quizzes on concepts and vocabulary related directly to the course reading. Each of these quizzes will consist of 15
questions, and will be worth 15 points towards your final grade.

Writing Tutorials: You are strongly encouraged to visit the writing studio throughout the semester to discuss your work in progress. Please make an appointment to visit in order to discus any aspect of your writing. Tutorial appointments can be arranged to work on developing paper ideas, improving writing style, or discussing other ideas. You can also visit me during my office hours, MTW 8-9am, or make an appointment to see me at another time. My office is Bunting 412; if I'm not there, you can leave me a message, or speak to Judy Lidie, the Departmental Administrator, in B402.

Grades:
2 quizzes (15 points each): 30
10 Blackboard Responses (2 points each): 30
Mid-Term (in-class): 20
Final Paper (in-class): 20
Total: 100

95-100 = A+   90-94 = A       
85-89 = A-       80-84 = B+
75-79= B       70-74= B-
65-69=C+       60-64=C
55-59=C-        50-54=D+
45-49=D        40-44=D-

 (1) January 22
Introduction to the Course
Blackboard: Session 1 – Early Life and Writings
Clip: Vladimir Nabokov, by doloreshaze
Background and Biography.

RUSSIAN STORIES IN TRANSLATION

(2) January 29
Read: Blackboard: Session 2 – Nabokov as Translator
Clip: French TV Interview (1975) (20 mins)
“Bachmann” (1924), The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p116-125.
Group 1: style & structure
Group 2: themes & ideas
Group 3: theory
Group 4: response

(3) February 5
Read: Blackboard: Session 3 – Lectures on Literature
Clip: Nabokov on Kafka
“Terror” (1926), The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p173-179
Group 1: response
Group 2: style & structure
Group 3: themes & ideas
Group 4: theory

(4) February 12          Quiz
Movie, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Despair (1978)

SHORT STORIES WRITTEN IN ENGLISH

(5) February 19
 Read: Blackboard: Session 4 – Nabokov’s Passion for Butterflies
“Signs and Symbols” (1948), The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p598-604.
Group 1: theory
Group 2: response
Group 3: style & structure
Group 4: themes & ideas

(6) February 26
Read: Blackboard: Session 5 – An Overview of Nabokov’s Major English-Language literary Works
“Cloud, Castle, Lake” (1958) The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p430-438.
Group 1: themes & ideas
Group 2: theory
Group 3: response
Group 4: style & structure

(7) March 4
Read: Blackboard – Patterning and Artifice
“Scenes from the Life of a Double Monster” (1958), The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p612-619.
Group 1: style & structure
Group 2: themes & ideas
Group 3: theory
Group 4: response

(9) March 11
Read: Blackboard – Re-Creation: Memory
“The Vane Sisters” (1958) The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov p619-632.

SPRING BREAK
TWO NOVELS IN ENGLISH

(10) March 25
Midterm
Read: Lolita, Part 1, chapters 1-15.

(11) April 1
Read: Blackboard, BBC Interview, 1962.
Lolita, Part 1, chapters 15-33.
Group 1: response
Group 2: style & structure
Group 3: themes & ideas
Group 4: theory

(12) April 8
Read: Blackboard: Playboy Interview, 1964
Lolita, Part 2, chapters  1-33.
Group 1: theory
Group 2: response
Group 3: style & structure
Group 4: themes & ideas

(13) April 15
Read: Blackboard: LIFE interview, 1964.
Lolita, Part 2, chapters 33-36.
Movie, Lolita Stanley Kubrick, 1962
Group 1: themes & ideas
Group 2: theory
Group 3: response
Group 4: style & structure

(14) April 22
Read: Blackboard: Jeff Edmunds on Lolita, CNN
Pnin, chapters 1-4.
Group 1: style & structure
Group 2: themes & ideas
Group 3: theory
Group 4: response

(15) April 29
Read: Blackboard, New York Times Book Review Interview, 1974.
Finish Pnin.
Group 1: response
Group 2: style & structure
Group 3: themes & ideas
Group 4: theory

(16) May 6
Final Exam


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