Exploring Crime and Punishment in European Literature

California State University, Long Beach RGR 400 Crime and Punishment (Section 01) Class #4100 Dr. Bordage Fall 2023 Email: nicolas.bordage@csulb.edu Class meeting: Thursday 5 PM to 7:45 PM Classroom: LA1 305 Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM, and by appointment Office: AS 320 Course Description This course focuses on crime and punishment in the European context. As a point of departure, the course begins with Dostoevsky’s 1860 seminal novel, Crime and Punishment, which will be examined in the context of Russian Imperial history. As we move beyond micro-level acts of violence to a macro-level examination of crimes against humanity perpetrated by two leading totalitarian regimes, Soviet Russia, and Nazi Germany, we will do so by engaging with the works of Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt, two prominent philosophers and social critics of the twentieth century. In addition, because the course examines the history of violence, crime, and punishment through the lens of literature, special attention will be placed on its function to predict, as in the case of Franz Kafka’s In the Penal Colony. Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: Introduce students to various literatures of different world cultures, essential terminology, approaches of literary study dealing with crime and punishment, dynamic engagement between literature and social and cultural issues, critical thinking to literary works, provide analytical skills in written and oral format. Read works form around the world, recognize elements of literary genre and technique, research and be instructed about historical and social context concerning crime and punishment, synthesize literary analysis, to write and discuss literary works. Preparation: Since this is a three-unit course, you should expect a mi