Anna Karenina and her Creator

Anna Karenina is one of the greatest novels about love ever written. But as rich as this book is (or precisely because of it this richness), our understanding of it would be incomplete without our knowledge of the time, places, and politics it describes.

The novel changed Russian society and transformed Count Tolstoy, the author, in the process. While creating his masterpiece, Tolstoy went though a spiritual crisis that led him to put on a peasant’s garb and develop a new philosophy of non-resistance to violence. As we explore the pages of this novel, we will discuss the history of Tolstoy’s life and how he wrote this timeless story.

You may take this course as part of the following program:

What will I learn?

• Week 1 - Who was Tolstoy? We’ll discuss the author of Anna Karenina as an artist, a religious thinker, a philosopher, an educator, and a social reformer. 
• Week 2 - What makes Anna Karenina one of the greatest novels on love? We’ll discuss the history of its writing and the evolution of the author’s views at the time of writing. 
• Week 3 - What makes Tolstoy’s creative methods unique? We will analyze of the main protagonists.
• Week 4 - Tolstoy’s women
• Week 5 - The search for truth, ethics, and morality
• Week 6 - Watching a film

How will I learn?

• Lectures
• Discussion (may vary from class to class)
• Papers (applicable only to certificate students)

Who should take this course?

This course is for anyone who is interested in learning more about learning more about the great novel, Anna Karenina.

How will I be evaluated?

(For certificate students only)

Your instructor will evaluate you based on an essay you will complete at the end of the course. You will receive a grade of “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory.”

Textbooks and learning materials

Reading material (if applicable) will be available in class. Some course materials may be available online.