RUSSN 25
Great Russian Novel
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 25W. Designed for nonmajors. Knowledge of Russian not required. Study of major works by great 19th-century Russian novelists. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - Unless you really like Russian literature (and I mean already know you like it, not just think you like it in theory) I would not take this class. The readings pile up super quickly, so if you like dedicating many hours of your personal time to reading Tolstoy, you will love this class. The main issue I had with this class was with the final essay. The entire grade is two tests and one essay. Prior to the essay you will have submitted no written work to Professor Lenhoff and will have no idea what she wants. She provides no guidelines other than a loose choice of prompts (no rubric or guidelines other than font and length) and the TA seemed to really have no idea what she wanted either. The essay was pretty much a shot in the dark. For the tests she really just wants you to regurgitate her lectures, for which she never provides slides or notes (missing class is a death sentence). I found that my "interpretations" were somehow always "incorrect" and since the texts are primarily obscure Russian stories, there is no help to be found anywhere on the internet. I think someone with experience in Russian lit or an english major might enjoy this class more than I did, but if you are a STEM major looking for a random interesting GE, this is not the class for you.
Winter 2022 - Unless you really like Russian literature (and I mean already know you like it, not just think you like it in theory) I would not take this class. The readings pile up super quickly, so if you like dedicating many hours of your personal time to reading Tolstoy, you will love this class. The main issue I had with this class was with the final essay. The entire grade is two tests and one essay. Prior to the essay you will have submitted no written work to Professor Lenhoff and will have no idea what she wants. She provides no guidelines other than a loose choice of prompts (no rubric or guidelines other than font and length) and the TA seemed to really have no idea what she wanted either. The essay was pretty much a shot in the dark. For the tests she really just wants you to regurgitate her lectures, for which she never provides slides or notes (missing class is a death sentence). I found that my "interpretations" were somehow always "incorrect" and since the texts are primarily obscure Russian stories, there is no help to be found anywhere on the internet. I think someone with experience in Russian lit or an english major might enjoy this class more than I did, but if you are a STEM major looking for a random interesting GE, this is not the class for you.
Most Helpful Review
I really appreciated the tangents! Venturing into the world of the Russian Lit. minor was not an easy task for me, but the professor made the experience much more comfortable. As far as lectures go, well you're reading a novel, so there are man ways to interpret it. I didn't always agree with him, and I didn't take notes really, but I liked his insights, and when I expressed my own in the papers, he appreciated them as well. I liked the readings. The professor was passionate about everything...this is obvious if you visited him in his office. Overall, a really nice and well-informed guy. I'm taking Tolstoy with him in the Fall.
I really appreciated the tangents! Venturing into the world of the Russian Lit. minor was not an easy task for me, but the professor made the experience much more comfortable. As far as lectures go, well you're reading a novel, so there are man ways to interpret it. I didn't always agree with him, and I didn't take notes really, but I liked his insights, and when I expressed my own in the papers, he appreciated them as well. I liked the readings. The professor was passionate about everything...this is obvious if you visited him in his office. Overall, a really nice and well-informed guy. I'm taking Tolstoy with him in the Fall.
Most Helpful Review
This was absolutely the best class I've had so far in UCLA. I loved all of the reading material (we read Tolstoy, Turgenev, Pushkin, etc..) and at first it seemed like alot, but once you actually start reading you won't be able to put the book down. It was after taking Russian 25 that I became more interested in Russian Literature. Take one of Professor Vroon's classes, it's good for you!
This was absolutely the best class I've had so far in UCLA. I loved all of the reading material (we read Tolstoy, Turgenev, Pushkin, etc..) and at first it seemed like alot, but once you actually start reading you won't be able to put the book down. It was after taking Russian 25 that I became more interested in Russian Literature. Take one of Professor Vroon's classes, it's good for you!
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