RSb705 All Novels by Vladimir Nabokov

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Volodymyr Zvyniatskovskyi, Ph.D. (lecturer), prof. PhDr. Ivo Pospíšil, DrSc. (deputy)
Volodymyr Zvyniatskovskyi, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Ivo Pospíšil, DrSc.
Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: doc. PhDr. Jiří Gazda, CSc.
Supplier department: Department of Slavonic Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:40 A31, except Tue 14. 11.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
1. To consider separately (in chronological order, without omitting any) each of Nabokov's novels as an original text (Russian or English) in its semantic and stylistic integrity.

2. To trace the evolution of the main motifs and meanings of Nabokov's novel work.

Thus, Vladimir Nabokov will be presented not only as one of the best stylists, but also as one of the most interesting thinkers of the twentieth century.
This course is positioned as an elective course and is intended not only for philologists, but also for all those interested in twentieth-century literature and proficient in Russian and English.
It is not intended as a completed academic study, and its methodology is not strictly "literary": the lecturer will talk about Nabokov in the manner of Nabokov himself, as a university lecturer who taught a variety of courses on world literature.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students should:

- be able to competently (adequately) analyse literary texts of increased complexity in Russian and English;
- understand the essential, qualitative differences between a modernist text and a realist text;
- orientate in the system and evolution of "big styles" in the literatures of Europe and America;
- understand the peculiarities and limits of the artist's national identification in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries;
- understand the (non?)substitutable role of the native language in mental and creative processes;
- know everything about the possible limits of mastering a foreign language learnt from early childhood (Nabokov learnt to read and write in English earlier than in Russian);
- understand the additional aesthetic functions of a second foreign language (for Nabokov, French).
Syllabus
  • Based on point A, the course programme is structured as a lecturer's account (not a retelling!) of all Nabokov's novels in chronological order and in logical connection between them.
  • 1. Introduction to Nabokov's biography and work. Genre diversity. Ability to give a complete picture of the world in a short novel. Genre meaning of the novel.
  • 2. Novels of the 20s: "Mashenka" (1926) and "King, Queen, Jack" (1928).
  • 3. "Luzhin's Defence" (1930) and "The Feat" (1932): two sides of the same coin.
  • 4. "Camera Obscura" (1933), "Despair" (1934) and "Invitation to Execution" (1936) in a political context.
  • 5. "The Gift" (1938): a chef-d'œuvre setting.
  • 6. First auditions in English: "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight" (1941), "Bend Sinister" (1947)
  • 7. "Lolita" (1955) & "Lolita" (1967): the problem of Nabokov's translatability and the peculiarities of his auto-translation.
  • 8. At the Origin of the University Fiction: "Pnin" (1957), "Pale Fire" (1962).
  • 9. A Family Chronicle: "Ada, or Ardor" (1969).
  • 10. More on Meanings: "Transparent Things" (1972).
  • 11. Imagination versus Memory: "Look at the Harlequins!" (1974) compared with "Speak, Memory" (1967) and "Other Shores" (1954).
  • 12. Unspeakable and Unspeakable: the unfinished novel The Original of Laura (1975-1977, published posthumously in 2009).
  • 13. Preliminary totals.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars, independent reading, discussions.
Assessment methods
The course participant may choose one of three options for credit work:

1. Give their own presentation of their favourite Nabokov novel during a lecture on that novel.

2. Give a presentation of the "internal context" of Nabokov's novels of a particular period (poems, short stories, plays, lectures or memoirs) during a lecture devoted to that period.

3. Choose any topic related to Nabokov's novels at the beginning of the course and submit an essay on that topic for discussion during the final class.

You may prepare and present the essay in Russian, English or Czech.
Language of instruction
Russian
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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