The Brothers Karamazov and the Race Against Time

Assignments for May 9 to May 13



Dostoevsky

  Monday: 
Finish Simon Schama's "Empire of Good Intentions"
Follow-up readings and discussions of Empires, British and Otherwise

Dostoevsky Discussion and Helps
Reading from Dostoevsky--Part II, Book Four: Strains

Tuesday:
Darwin Reports
Wrap up of Notes and Discussion on Marx's Communist Manifesto

Dostoevsky Discussion and Helps
Reading from Dostoevsky--Part III, Book Five: Pros and Cons

Wednesday:
Overview of the 19th Century:  Timelines, Key Figures, Key Events

Reading from Dostoevsky--Part IV, Book Six:  The Russian Monk
(This reading should carry you through the week.)

Thursday:
Overview of the 20th Century

Friday:
Dostoevksy and the 20th Century

From that fortress of knowledge--Wikipedia:


Dostoyevsky and the other giant of late 19th century Russian literature, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, never met in person, even though each praised, criticized, and influenced the other (Dostoyevsky remarked of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina that it was a "flawless work of art"; Henri Troyat reports that Tolstoy once remarked of Crime and Punishment that, "Once you read the first few chapters you know pretty much how the novel will end up"). There was a meeting arranged, but there was a confusion about where the meeting place was to take place and they never rescheduled. Tolstoy reportedly burst into tears when he learned of Dostoyevsky's death. A copy of The Brothers Karamazov was found on the nightstand next to Tolstoy's deathbed at the Astapovo railway station.