This course studies the changing images of women in Russia through a study of folklore, the writings of feminist theoreticians and social activists and literature by and about women.

Selected epic songs and folktales of Russia will be analyzed from the viewpoint of contemporary feminist theory. The social position, political involvement and employment patterns of Russian women will be examined through a study of writers and theoreticians such as Kolontai, Akhmatova, Krupskaya, Tolstaya.

The course is primarily based on analysis and discussion of primary texts, interspersed with documentary and feature films. Grading based on class participation and presentations, 2 tests and a term paper.

N. Baranskaya, A Week Like Any Other and Other Stories.
G. Lapidus, ed. Women, Work and Family in the Soviet Union.
S. McLaughlin, ed. The Image of Women in contemporary Soviet Fiction: Selected Short Stories
T. Mamonova, Women and Russia