REEE 446 - Senior Seminar: The Myth of Lenin in 20th-21st-Century Russian Culture

FC ARHU CD WADV

4 credits
“Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will live forever!” So proclaimed one of the most famous of all Soviet slogans, codifying the mythological status of the Communist leader. This course explores the origins and afterlife of a myth that was so powerful that it survived the collapse of the state and ideology that Lenin created. Working with a variety of texts and media (folklore, literature, conceptualist art, film, scholarly publications), we will use the Lenin cult as a prism for an interdisciplinary inquiry into such themes as propaganda and art, rewriting history, Soviet colonialism, embalming, and more. Taught in Russian (with some readings in English). May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: RUSS 305.