Shapes of Apocalypse: Arts and Philosophy in Slavic Thought

by Andrea Oppo (Editor)

Overview

This collective volume aims to highlight the philosophical and literary idea of apocalypse within key examples in the Slavic world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From Russian realism to avant-garde painting, from the classic fiction of the nineteenth century to twentieth-century philosophy, not omitting theatre, cinema or music, the concepts of “end of history” and “end of present time” are specifically examined as conditions for a redemptive image of the world. To understand this idea is to understand an essential part of Slavic culture, which, however divergent and variegated it may be, converges on this specific myth in a surprising manner.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781618118240
Publisher:	Academic Studies Press
Publication date:	05/30/2018
Series:	Myths and Taboos in Russian Culture
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Andrea Oppo (PhD UniversityCollege Dublin) is associate professor of aesthetics at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology of Sardinia (Italy). He is the author of Philosophical Aesthetics and Samuel Beckett (2008), Estetiche del negativo. Studi su Dostoevskij, Cechov e Beckett (2009), and numerous articles on Russian religious philosophy and the relationship between philosophy and the arts.

What People are Saying About This

Michael Pesenson Professor of Slavic Studies

"This volume, spanning such diverse areas as philosophy, literature, music, art, and film, is broadly appealing to an interdisciplinary audience interested in both Slavic and non-Slavic conceptions of the apocalypse."

Michael Pesenson

"This volume, spanning such diverse areas as philosophy, literature, music, art, and film, is broadly appealing to an interdisciplinary audience interested in both Slavic and non-Slavic conceptions of the apocalypse."

Editorial Reviews

William J. Leatherbarrow’s essay (previously published in 1982) on apocalyptic imagery in Dostoevskii’s The Idiot and The Devils is an outstanding model of concise, elegant and lucid analysis. Although the author modestly refers to it as a ‘working paper’ (p. 132) and draws only tentative conclusions, he succeeds in integrating his evidence into a focused and persuasive argument on Dostoevskii’s use of apocalyptic motifs to highlight the moral failure of utopianism and the dream of the Golden Age....[R]eaders will undoubtedly find unusual materials, novel approaches and stimulating ideas in this volume, which is attractively produced and pleasant to handle.

Pamela Davidson

This collection enhances our knowledge and understanding of the apocalyptic vision in Russia and Eastern Europe. It introduces experts on Russia to important figures in Bohemia, Croatia, and Poland, and it offers fresh interpretations of well-known Russian authors.

Slavic and East European Journal, 59.1 (Spring 2015) - Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal

The volume should be of interest to specialists of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russian literature and the arts, the Eastern Orthodox Church, or Slavic spirituality in general. While there is great variation among the authors of the ten essays, they all address their genres from a religious or spiritual point of view. As a result, the reader will find some unexpected ‘reads’ of familiar works in the literary and arts sections and an interesting variety of opinions regarding Eastern Orthodoxy and apocalypse in the philosophy section.

Sarah Predock Burke

For anyone concerned with or interested in the topic of the apocalypse in arts, literature and philosophy in Slavic culture this book would be invaluable and it is likely to become a primary reference source for future research in the study of religious concepts in general, and the apocalypse in particular.

Ayse Dietrich

"This collection enhances our knowledge and understanding of the apocalyptic vision in Russia and Eastern Europe. It introduces experts on Russia to important figures in Bohemia, Croatia, and Poland, and it offers fresh interpretations of well-known Russian authors." —Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal, Slavic and East European Journal, 59.1 (Spring 2015)

From the Publisher

William J. Leatherbarrow’s essay (previously published in 1982) on apocalyptic imagery in Dostoevskii’s The Idiot and The Devils is an outstanding model of concise, elegant and lucid analysis. Although the author modestly refers to it as a ‘working paper’ (p. 132) and draws only tentative conclusions, he succeeds in integrating his evidence into a focused and persuasive argument on Dostoevskii’s use of apocalyptic motifs to highlight the moral failure of utopianism and the dream of the Golden Age....[R]eaders will undoubtedly find unusual materials, novel approaches and stimulating ideas in this volume, which is attractively produced and pleasant to handle.”

Slavonic and East European Review (vol. 92, no. 3, July 2014) - Pamela Davidson UCL SSEES

For anyone concerned with or interested in the topic of the apocalypse in arts, literature and philosophy in Slavic culture this book would be invaluable and it is likely to become a primary reference source for future research in the study of religious concepts in general, and the apocalypse in particular.”

International Journal of Russian Studies, January 2014 - Ayse Dietrich Middle East Technical University (Ankara

The volume should be of interest to specialists of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russian literature and the arts, the Eastern Orthodox Church, or Slavic spirituality in general. While there is great variation among the authors of the ten essays, they all address their genres from a religious or spiritual point of view. As a result, the reader will find some unexpected ‘reads’ of familiar works in the literary and arts sections and an interesting variety of opinions regarding Eastern Orthodoxy and apocalypse in the philosophy section.

The Russian Review, January 2014 (Vol. 73, No. 1) - Sarah Predock Burke Trinity University