Friday, October 28th

Dostoevsky:  Madman or Mystic—Dostoevsky’s Importance in Nineteenth Century Russian Literature

A lecture by Richard Brown, faculty member in English (Normandale Community College)

Friday, October 28th

12-12:50 in room C1016

Abstract: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is arguably one of the most influential writers of his era in Russian literature.  The Nineteenth Century in Russian literature is reflective of a period of great social, economic, and political upheaval in Russia during that historical time.  Dostoevsky’s writing presents a complex and dynamic depiction of that turbulent period in many of its facets, bringing a deep thoughtful examination of the philosophy, sociology, psychology, and spirituality evident in that period of chaos and pre-revolutionary change in Russia.  In many ways, Dostoevsky is examining in his writing a definition of what it is to be Russian in those contexts.  His novel The Brothers Karamazov is an excellent example of how those themes are presented and developed, and is a fine representation of Dostoevsky’s genius.

Speaker Bio: Having taught English composition and literature at Normandale Community College since 2000 (a second career, by the way), Richard Brown has had a fascination with European literature throughout his academic career, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Russian literature, particularly that of the Nineteenth Century, has been a special area of that interest.  Having read and studied Dostoevsky extensively throughout the years, and studied it in graduate school, it is the expression of that passion for Dostoevsky’s writing that has led to this presentation.