Cultural Critique & Cultural Construction in Soviet Russian Literature & Culture in 1920s & 30s

Introduction to the study of the literature and culture of the Soviet era from the heyday of the NEP, with its contesting view of the Revolution, everyday life, and high culture (e.g., debates around Formalism), through the Stalin revolution and the establishment of the Soviet cultural system in the landmark events of the 1930s (The First Congress of Soviet Writers, Campaign against Formalism, Pushkin Centenary, the fall and rehabilitation of Sergey Eisenstein). Two presentations and an essay (~3000 words).