Russian/African/Latin American Civilizations
I. Russian Civilization.
A. The Eastern Orthodox Church.
1. Origins in Byzantium.
2. Doctrinal elements.
3. Iconography.
B. Architecture.
1. Europe in Russia: St. Petersburg.
2. Moscow: the "Third Rome."
3. Ecclesial architecture (churches, cathedrals)
C. Literature.
1. Fyodor Dostoyevsky: the inner torment of guilt.
2. Leo Tolstoy: the philosophical questions of life-as -lived.
3. Anton Chekhov: the elusive nature of happiness.
D. Music.
1. Mussorgsky: a "nationalist" music built on indigenous themes (folk music, religious music).
2. Tchaikovsky: the romantic ballet.
E. The Revolution.
1. Overview of events.
F. Art of the Revolution.
1. Painting: Malevich and Lissitzsky.
2. Film: Sergei Eisenstein and "The Battleship Potemkin" (1925/26).
G. The Literature of Dissent.
1. Pasternak: Dr. Zhivago.
2. Solzhenitsyn: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
3. Yevtushenko: Babi Yar (to be distributed in class).
II. African Civilization.
A. The Three Geographies of Africa.
1. Maghreb (Northern/Mediterranean/Saharan).
2. Sub-Saharan (Atlantic Coast/West Central).
3. Sub Equatorial (Central/Southern).
B. Historical Periods.
1. Pre-colonial (indigenous cultures, religion, fine arts).
2. Colonial (Western African slave trade, European political domination and economic exploitation by early 20th c.).
3. Post Colonial (post WWII independence and self-determination, late 20th c. abolishment of apartheid in South Africa).
C. Fine Arts.
1. Sculpture: the centrality of the mask.
2. Music: polyrhythms, counterpoints, dance, and the roots of American jazz.
3. Literature: expressions of cultural and political identity (from text readings: Chinua Achebe).
III. Latin American Civilization.
A. European Colonialism: The “latinization” of the indigenous populations of Central and South America.
1. The colonists: affluent, landholders, Spanish/Portuguese, Roman Catholic, minority.
2. The native population: subsistence farmers, indigenous cultural/religious traditions, majority.
3. European colonialism resulted in both unique cultural syntheses (in culture and religion) and strong expressions of indigenous heritage that survived assimilation.
B. Fine Arts.
1. Painting.
a. The Mexican Mural Movement (Diego, Siqueiros).
b. Frida Kahlo (et al., based on time).
2. Music and Dance: expressions of both human spirit and cultural identity.
3. Literature (from text readings: Jorge Luis Borges).