Chekhov in Context

by Yuri Corrigan (Editor)

Overview

Premier playwright of modern theater and trailblazer of the short story, Anton Chekhov was also a practising doctor, journalist, writer of comic sketches, philanthropist and activist. This volume provides an accessible guide to Chekhov's multifarious interests and influences, with over 30 succinct chapters covering his rich intellectual milieu and his tumultuous socio-political environment, as well as the legacy of his work in over two centuries of interdisciplinary cultures and media around the world. With a Preface by Cornel West, a chronology and Further Reading list, this collection is the essential guide to Chekhov's writing and the manifold worlds he inhabited.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108901741
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/23/2023
Series:	Literature in Context
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Yuri Corrigan is Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature at Boston University. He is the author of Dostoevsky and the Riddle of the Self (2017).

Table of Contents

Preface: The Poet of Catastrophe Cornel West; Introduction Yuri Corrigan; Part I. Life: 1. Son, brother, husband (in Correspondence) Alevtina Kuzicheva; 2. Chekhov's friends Vladimir Kataev; 3. An 'Indeterminate Situation': Chekhov's illness and death Michael Finke; Part II. Society: 4. Class Anne Lounsbery; 5. Money Vadim Shneyder; 6. Politics Derek Offord; 7. Peasants Christine D. Worobec; 8. The woman question Jenny Kaminer; 9. Sex Melissa L. Miller; 10. Social activism Andrei Stepanov; 11. Environmentalism Jane Costlow; 12. Sakhalin Island Edyta M. Bojanowska; Part III. Culture: 13. Philosophy Michal Oklot; 14. Religion Denis Zhernokleyev; 15. Science Elena Fratto; 16. Medicine and the mind-body problem Matthew Mangold; 17. The arts Serge Gregory; 18. Fin de Siècle Mark D. Steinberg; 19. The harm that good ideas do Gary Saul Morson; 20. Chekhov's Intelligentsias Svetlana Evdokimova; Part IV. Literature: 21. Print culture Louise McReynolds; 22. Embarrassment Caryl Emerson; 23. Tolstoy Rosamund Bartlett; 24. French literature Sergei A. Kibalnik; 25. Modernism and symbolism Lindsay Ceballos; 26. Theatrical traditions Anna Muza; 27. Modern theatre: Resonances and intersections Julia Listengarten; 28. Chekhov's Moscow art theatre (1897-1904) Sharon Marie Carnicke; Part V. Afterlives: 29. Soviet contexts Radislav Lapushin; 30. Chekhov in England Olga Tabachnikova; 31. The American stage James N. Loehlin; 32. Chekhov in East Asia Heekyoung Cho; 33. Film Justin Wilmes; 34. In Translation: Chekhov's path into english Carol Apollonio; Afterword: Chekhov's endings Robin Feuer Miller; Further reading; Endnotes.

Editorial Reviews

‘Chekhov (as Cornel West and Yuri Corrigan remind us) poses a problem for the academy: he is notoriously hard to explain or teach. Rather than attempting to pin this elusive author down, this volume provides many different frames and contexts in which Chekhov’s works can be read and interpreted. An essential guide for all teachers, readers, and lovers of Chekhov.’ Irina Paperno, University of California, Berkeley

‘Chekhov in Context is an invaluable resource, the volume I wish I’d had on my shelf my entire career.  But it’s so much more than the reference work that implies. Exquisitely conceived by Yuri Corrigan and beautifully executed by its distinguished contributors, the book explores the network of personal circumstances, social structures, literary institutions, humanistic and scientific disciplines, environmental concerns, and ideological urgencies of Chekhov’s world with extraordinary nuance.  Moreover, it does so not to account for or even to interpret Chekhov’s work, but (in Corrigan’s felicitous formulation) to ‘complicate’ it. The resulting treatment of individual works is stunning, as is the analysis of the ways in which Chekhov irrevocably altered the status quo.  The book makes a critical–and inspiring–contribution.  Kudos to all concerned.’ Cathy Popkin, Columbia University

From the Publisher