Philosophy of Love in Russia

In this course we will be reading two theoretical works: selections from an anthology titled Russian Eros that includes texts from such important thinkers as Vladimir Soloviev, poet-philosophers Afanasii Fet and Zinaida Gippius, gargantuan thinkers such as Nikolai Berdyaev and Dmitriy Merezhkovsky, among others; and a fascinating work on the role of Eros in philosophy and philosophy of Eros titled Love in Five Dimensions: Sola Amore by the prolific contemporary American-Russian scholar Mikhail Epstein. Sola Amore was recently reprinted under a simpler title “Love”: we will be using this edition. Throughout the course we will be supplementing the theoretical readings with poems, short stories, novellas, and possibly even plays from Russian literature that speak to the issues we discuss. We will be reading works of Anton Chekhov, Ivan Bunin, and Alexander Kuprin, among others. Reading, writing and conversation intensive. Counts as a course in culture & civilization or literature.