Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

SLA338H, Ivan Franko. Spring 2024

Class meets on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 3:00 PM in Alumni Hall 103

Ivan Franko is one of the most important, influential, innovative, industrious, intrepid, and impenetrable figures in the history of Ukrainian literature. This seminar explores a selection of his belletristic writings to uncover a fascinating, factious, forceful and fastidious poet and novelist. It also examines the peculiar context of Western Ukrainian culture in Austria-Hungary before WWI. All readings in English.
The point of this course is to look at a major figure in Ukrainian culture who particularly reflects the Western Ukrainian tradition. The course is made possible by the recent appearance of a large body of Franko’s works in English translation. This course will deliberately offer a selected and watered down version of Franko, who is much too prolific and complex to be studied in a mere half year and in translation.

Final papers are due after the last class and must be submitted by email before midnight April 14, 2024. Late papers will be penalized three percentage points for every day they are late.. Papers are to be 5–6 pages long. They are to be typed, double spaced, and in English. Papers may be written on any topic after consulting with the instructor.

Class Presentations are weekly brief discussions by each student of a passage from the readings for that week. Each student must choose a passage and come to class prepared to present it and briefly examine what it reveals about the author, his ideas, his themes, or his style.