Autumn Semester with Mark Schenker: Russian Fiction (Zoom)

About this event

Please join us for Mark Schenker’s six-part Autumn 2026 literary series in which we’ll look at a sampling of the range of Russian fiction, both long form and short form, from the latter half of the nineteenth century. Our reading list includes epic masterpieces such as Anna Karenina alongside delicate, nuanced works like Chekhov’s masterful short stories. We’ll explore Russian culture beginning in the early 1840s with Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Overcoat,” visiting every decade except the 1880s, and conclude on the threshold of the twentieth century with Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Lady with the Dog.” The schedule is as follows: - 9/23 – “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol (1842) - 10/6 – Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov (1859) - 10/21 – Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (1862) - 11/4 – The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866) - 11/19 – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878) - 12/2 – “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov (1899) No charge for the program. These lectures are made possible with the support of the Literary Series in Memory of Amy Quigley. Advance registration required. Register online or call 203-762-6334. You will automatically be registered for all six sessions. Mark J. Schenker, having served in various decanal roles in Yale College since 1990, retired last year. A former lecturer in the English Department, he received his Ph.D. from Columbia University with a concentration in 19th-century and early 20th-century English Literature. He had taught previously at Columbia, New York University, and Trinity College (Hartford, CT). Outside of academia, Mark has for over 35 years lectured on literature and film, and has led book discussion series in more than 100 venues in Connecticut, including public libraries, museums, and cultural centers. He also conducts monthly sessions for a number of private reading groups in the state. In 2001, he received the Wilbur Cross Award for Outstanding Humanities Scholar, presented by the Connecticut Humanities Council.