Almost 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, what can we understand about its culture and people, and its impact on the popular imagination in the West? To answer these questions, the course introduces students to canonical literary and cinematic works from the post-Stalin era to the present, with particular attention to the literary and cultural peripheries. Some of the topics will include: Gulag, or Return of the Repressed, Counter-Culture, Space Race, Immigration, Gender, Perestroika, and Putin’s Russia. All readings in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.